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Thoughts from the Pond
Thoughts from the Vancouver Status of Women
VSW Statement of Solidarity with Gaza
Journeying with Gaza: Vancouver Status of Women Statement on Israeli
Occupation and Aggression against Palestinian Peoples*
Your war drum ain't / louder than this breath.
Suheir Hammad
We at Vancouver Status of Women denounce the attacks by Israel on the Gaza
Strip and its posturing as the representative of all Jews. We condemn the
Israeli state's racist genocidal intent and actions against the Palestinian
peoples; we condemn the active support of the United States and the
complicity of the Canadian government; we condemn the failure of the
international community to mobilize in defense of besieged Palestinians and
confront the Israeli apartheid state. More fundamentally, we denounce the
violent occupation to which Israel has subjected Gaza since 1967.
After twenty two days, more than thirteen hundred Palestinians have been
massacred by Israeli occupying forces, an offensive that is being waged in
the name of self-defense. Thirteen hundred more lives - each of which is a
precious and irreplaceable embodiment of our collective humanity - have been
lost for the sake of domination and hate. Thirteen hundred more lives,
because of the impotence of governments all over the world, particularly
those still engaged in direct colonization such as Canada and the United
States, to honour life above power. Moreover, we note the connection between
Canada's abandonment of Palestinians in Gaza with its own ongoing occupation
of Afghanistan.
Since 1967, Israel has illegally occupied the Gaza Strip. And in spite of
withdrawing its settlements and army bases in 2005, Israel has continued to
occupy Gaza through other means. Prior to these recent attacks, Gaza has
been an open-air prison with 1.5 million prisoners daily subjected to
brutalization, extreme deprivation and death. Between 2000 and 2008, the
Israeli military killed nearly 3000 Palestinians in Gaza.
What is the weight of that loss on the living?
What is measure of that sorrow in our hearts?
As residents of Canada, Vancouver Status of Women recognizes that we too are
complicit in direct occupation. We may not have witnessed or experienced
directly the violence and the hate with which the Indigenous peoples of
these territories were massacred, assimilated and brutalized. But we have
inherited in every aspect of our lives the responsibility for transforming
these realities of colonization.
Right now we are witnessing that same colonial imperative ravaging Gaza.
Right now we are witnessing the cost of fascistic and perverse visions of
"democracy" and "freedom".
And just as we stand in solidarity with Indigenous communities throughout
Turtle Island in resistance, so too do we stand in solidarity with our
Palestinian sisters and brothers.
For every scar of violence and victimization, we have also inherited
legacies of resistance. For every moment of darkness inflicted upon us, we
have also received from our ancestors and from one another strength, dignity
and love.
As displaced peoples, racialized peoples, queer peoples, women - as
resisting peoples - we must not shirk our duty to affirm the significance of
those lives that are otherwise written off as collateral damage. These
lives are sacred and we do not become free by forgetting.
We join our voices in unison with all those organizing to demand an end to
Israeli occupation and aggression against all Palestinians. We are deeply
saddened by the failure of the women's movement in Canada to voice aloud our
opposition, outrage and grief at Israeli aggression and Palestinian deaths.
We, who have demanded that others stand with us in solidarity against
patriarchal domination and violence, we who know intimately the courage and
perseverance it takes for us to struggle against despotic power. We must not
be silent or still any longer.
As occupants of unceded territories, we know too well the cost of our
so-called freedom and we endorse wholeheartedly the voices of anti-zionist
Jews all over the world in opposing the siege of Gaza. We demand the
immediate dismantlement of Israeli apartheid policies, and join the call for
cross-border solidarity with Gaza residents in both political and material
terms.
We know that hospitals in Gaza are overwhelmed, that there are not enough
medical supplies, and that desperately needed aid cannot be delivered
particularly since the ground invasion began. We strongly encourage our
communities here to mobilize concrete resources to support Gaza residents.
In particular, we remember our sisters in Gaza who face multiple fronts of
devastation as caregivers in the community who continue to shoulder that
responsibility with destroyed infrastructures and lack of access to potable
water, food and medicine. We affirm the strength, resilience and courage of
these women warriors and demand the Israeli blockade of Gaza be ended
immediately to allow the transport of aid supplies.
Perhaps on our own our voices are easily overlooked, especially in the face
of the corporate media machine and state/military censorship. But together
and person-to-person, we have a duty to make ourselves heard; we have a duty
to make ourselves felt; we have duty to make our words and actions
consequential.
We have a duty to let it be known that, Gaza, we are with you. Our hearts
are breaking because of what has been and is being done to you. You are not
outside of us, you are not other to us. You are within us.
And no, we do not bring peace like a birthday gift in our hands. Peace is
but an ideal, a principle; and it is the decisions we make, the actions we
take, that can take us beyond this place of injustice and pain to somewhere
more recognizable as peace. Our words alone cannot stop the bullets or undo
sixty years of terror, displacement and destruction.
But we are journeying with you.
Until all of us are free, the few who think they are remain tainted with
enslavement.
Lee Maracle
*This statement was prepared by the VSW Staff Collective with the approval
of the VSW Coordinating Collective.
Thoughts for May, 2008-The Cycle of Life
The sun begins to rise over the water of Kawkawa lake and I am struck by the silence and the noise. The birds awaken and begin to sing, calling out to each other and letting the world know they are here. The wind whispers through the trees. Somewhere in the forest a branch creaks, a squirrel chatters and woodpecker begins his workday.
I glance at the red and yellow tulips, the just beginning to bud Lilacs, the dew covered Lady's Mantle and the delicate nodding lavender. The little grey cat stretches, yawns and begins his morning prowl. The horses come down from the hill looking for their breakfast as the pot belly pig looks out from his pen and grunts his morning hello.
There are no sounds of cars, boats or people. No children's laughter, no angry words, no voices singing. Just the intense silence associated with nature. It is mother's day and I am grateful for this brief moment with Mother Nature. She knows what we need and she provides for us all. She can be harsh and tempermental sometimes but she is always there for us. I take a moment and pray for her.
Thoughts for March, 2008-The Universal Sideswipe
"Without change there is no change", "Be the change you wish to see", "A change is as good as a rest." I, for one, am tired of change. There has been too much lately. Sometimes we need a rest from all the trials and tribulations associated with the ever changing world we live in. Why can't our little piece of the planet just stay the same for a while. I dream of settling into a little cabin in the woods where the only thing that will alter will be the seasons and the variety of wildlife that comes to visit. I am tired of chanting my mantra of "this is a challenge and an opportunity in a time of crisis to grow."
I suppose that the little cabin could ultimately become a prison of my own making and that eventually I would tire of the solitude and quiet. I am also more than a little afraid that I thrive on both changes and challenges in my home and work environments. I sometimes have difficulty taking vacation time without planning some big project to fill the hours of downtime.
Still, I would like to try some solitude for a while to see what it feels like. Perhaps just a month or so to review and reflect on things. Of course there needs to be a pond, a stream or a river in which to draw energy from and perhaps a garden full of flowers. For now though I will be grateful for the moments of peace I can find and consider "being the change I want to see." Until next time, those are my thoughts from the pond.
Thoughts for February, 2008-Family
On February 2nd my brother Patrick Lacey died of a heart attack. It was very sudden. He and his wife Judy were visiting friends when he dropped to the floor.
As my sister and brothers and I reminisced after the funeral we were struck by how empty we all felt. A part of our family was missing. It had been years since we had seen each other, 30 years since I had visited with my oldest brother who lives in Texas. We always assumed that we would be there for each other and that email and phone calls would suffice.
After spending this time with my family and sharing the loss of our brother, I vowed never to let years pass again without seeing them. As we laughed and cried together I realized how much I missed being with them. The time goes by so quickly as we become busy with our own lives. The children grow up, grandchildren are born and still we say, well maybe next year we'll take that trip back home.
My mother is now 87 and in very poor health. I will be travelling to Winnipeg before another year passes without seeing her. I intend to hug her, all of my aunts and uncles, my cousins, my nieces and nephews. Life is so unpredictable. If this were to be my last day on earth I would want everyone to know how much I love and appreciate them. I wish I had the opportunity to hug Pat one more time. I hope he knows how much I cared, and how much he is missed. My thoughts and love go out to Judy, his wife of 35 years, his children Deanne and Christopher and to his grandchildren.