Harsha Walia

Reimagining feminism on International Women's Day

rabble staff — Wed, 04 Mar 2015 13:07:27 +0000

Wednesday, March 4, 2015

Every morning I read my one-year-old daughter a fabulous children's alphabet book. When we get to the letter F, it goes "F is for Feminist, Fairness in our Pay." Of course a children's book is limited in its ability to express nuanced layers of analysis, but I often wonder about how relevant this articulation of a particular version of feminism will be for her.

How can we reimagine the dominant liberal framing of feminism? Embracing a multitude of feminisms can diversify our understandings of how oppression is experienced, as well as resisted.

Justice for Indigenous women, girls, two-spirit and trans people

rabble staff — Thu, 12 Feb 2015 23:32:21 +0000

Four Indigenous women leaders discuss gendered colonial violence in the lead up to the Annual Women's March on February 14.

A roundtable on gendered colonial violence: Part two

rabble staff — Thu, 12 Feb 2015 22:38:48 +0000

Friday, February 13, 2015

On Wednesday, we introduced a roundtable with four Indigenous family and community members who are leading the calls for justice for Indigenous women, girls, two-spirit, and trans people. Bridget Tolley, Zhaawanongnoodin (Colleen Cardinal), Carol Martin and Audrey Huntley continue the conversation today on what they envision as meaningful, community-led solutions to the ongoing reality of gendered colonial violence. As renowned Indigenous feminist Lee Maracle writes, "It is not simply about 'ending violence,' the violation is the colonial order."

Harsha Walia hosted a roundtable with four Indigenous women leaders who have been taking action against colonial gendered violence for decades. Here is the second part of that conversation.

'This system hasn't killed me yet': A roundtable on gendered colonial violence

rabble staff — Tue, 10 Feb 2015 20:17:12 +0000

Wednesday, February 11, 2015

For the past 25 years, Indigenous elders, women, family and community members in the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver, unceded xʷməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and Səl̓ílwətaʔ (Tsleil-Waututh) territories, have marched to raise awareness about violence inflicted on the lives of women in this neighbourhood. This February 14, they will be joined by over a dozen other marches across Turtle Island, making this one of the most widespread and longest-running marches in recent Canadian history.

In advance of this year's 25th Women's Memorial March, Harsha Walia hosted a roundtable with four Indigenous women leaders who have been taking action against colonial gendered violence for decades.

'Land is a Relationship': In conversation with Glen Coulthard on Indigenous nationhood

rabble staff — Tue, 20 Jan 2015 20:01:37 +0000

Wednesday, January 21, 2015

"Your good words make my ears tingle," says Elaine Durocher as she overhears Glen Coulthard at a diner in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside, unceded xʷməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and Səl̓ílwətaʔ (Tsleil-Waututh) territories.

In December I had the opportunity to sit down with Coulthard, and in our discussion, he is describing how the granting of certain rights by the state works perfectly within colonialism by effectively masking the ongoing dispossession of Indigenous peoples. Durocher, a Metis grandmother and activist who I know within the Downtown Eastside community, joins our conversation and is nodding along.

Harsha Walia sits down with Glen Coulthard for a wide-ranging conversation about Indigenous nationhood which delves into his powerful premise: that there is no freedom in the settler-colonial state.

Is Canada overlooking its own anti-Black racism?

rabble staff — Wed, 17 Dec 2014 22:52:11 +0000

As events in Ferguson and beyond unfold, many Canadians have been quick to distance ourselves from the systemic racism that plagues the U.S. -- but in doing so, overlook anti-Black racism in Canada.

Do Black Lives Matter in Canada?

rabble staff — Wed, 17 Dec 2014 05:28:42 +0000

Wednesday, December 17, 2014

As events in Ferguson, New York, Oakland and beyond unfold, many Canadians have been quick to distance ourselves from the systemic racism that has plagued the U.S. since the times of the transatlantic slave trade. With most Canadian historical accounts selectively highlighting the Underground Railroad, we overlook the history of enslaved Black people within Canada, de facto prohibition on Black immigration from 1896-1915, displacement of communities from Africville and Hogan's Alley, made-in-Canada segregation laws, foreign policy from Haiti to Somalia, and pervasive institutional and interpersonal anti-Black racism.

The problematic discourse of 'Canada's own Ferguson'

As events in Ferguson and beyond unfold, many Canadians have been quick to distance ourselves from the systemic racism that plagues the U.S. -- but in doing so, overlook anti-Black racism in Canada.

Mobilizing against the tar sands: Grassroots action in Burnaby

rabble staff — Tue, 04 Nov 2014 19:20:27 +0000

The latest wall of opposition against the tar sands is occurring on Burnaby Mountain where protesters refuse to let Kinder Morgan work.

Burnaby Mountain: Latest wall of opposition against tar sands

rabble staff — Tue, 04 Nov 2014 14:00:05 +0000

Tuesday, November 4, 2014

An injunction and a $5.6-million civil suit in damages is what corporate energy giant Kinder Morgan is seeking against blockaders at a court hearing this week.

Since August of this year, a determined group of Burnaby residents have been stopping Kinder Morgan work crews at a designated conservation area within Burnaby Mountain. SFU professor and defendant Stephen Collis explains, "Many of us are increasingly concerned about climate change, issues relating to Aboriginal title, and the erosion of our democratic rights."

In the face of unrelenting corporate development and encroachment onto Indigenous territories, grassroots movements are persistently mobilizing against the various tentacles of the tar sands industry.

Permanent precarity: Canada's immigration model becomes neoliberal blueprint

rabble staff — Tue, 28 Oct 2014 12:00:13 +0000

Canada is often seen has a haven for immigration, especially by our U.S. neighbours. But the 'managed migration' model spells a different story.

No safe haven: Canada's 'managed migration'

rabble staff — Tue, 28 Oct 2014 11:59:39 +0000

Tuesday, October 28, 2014

Canada is often cast as a liberal counterpoint to aggressive U.S. immigration enforcement tactics. But, the U.S. has actually pointed to Canada as the model to implement for U.S. migration policy.

Jose Figueroa, who is courageously defying an immigration warrant to detain him, is a symbol of the arbitrary and exclusionary nature of Canadian immigration and refugee laws.

Jose has been in Canada since 1997 and was approved in principle for permanent residency. Years later, he received a deportation order for his prior membership in a group Canada claims is an organization that engages in acts of "espionage" and "terrorism."

That organization is the Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (FMLN), which fought against U.S.-sponsored dictatorships in the 1980s and is the current elected government of El Salvador.

Ten key facts about the Lucia Vega Jimenez inquest

The Mainlander — Mon, 06 Oct 2014 21:20:05 +0000

This past week an all-white jury listened to testimony at the inquest into the death of Lucia Vega Jimenez while in Canada Border Service Agency (CBSA) custody.

During the last month of her life, every institution that Lucia came into contact with was most interested in law enforcement and least interested in her safety. Though this is not shocking to anyone familiar with the immigration system, the facts that are emerging about what happened to Lucia while in custody are illuminating to those unfamiliar with how immigration enforcement really operates.

Death and despair in Canada's migrant dungeons

rabble staff — Mon, 29 Sep 2014 11:29:44 +0000

Monday, September 29, 2014

One month after the death of 42-year-old hotel worker and Mexican migrant Lucia Vega Jimenez in Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA) custody, I received a call from a young Haitian woman at the same prison Lucia had been in. Unlike most detainees, she did not call to ask for legal advice to fight for her release, nor was she seeking support to stop her deportation. She called to ask me if I could find information on preventing the spread of infection. She had just miscarried.

One month after Lucia's death, another migrant death in detention.

The coroner's inquest into Lucia Vega Jimenez's death that begins today may expose some horrifying details about migrant detention, but it will not restore Lucia's humanity and her right to be free.

Thirteen years into the War of Terror

rabble staff — Thu, 11 Sep 2014 12:09:02 +0000

Thursday, September 11, 2014

While facilitating a youth workshop recently, I realized that this generation is completely shaped by the events and politics of 9/11. Though few of the youth were able to define terrorism (beyond "blowing things up"), most of them were quick to normalize surveillance, military occupation, online tracking, CCTV cameras, extraordinary rendition, torture, deportations and incarceration.

Over the past 13 years, the War on Terror has been one of linguistic and legal contortions that allow the state to fortify itself with increasing policing and surveillance powers.

Mount Polley: Mining is disaster

rabble staff — Tue, 12 Aug 2014 20:50:16 +0000

Wednesday, August 13, 2014

The Mount Polley mining disaster in B.C. has barely been sustained in national news, let alone break in international news. This is despite the fact that mining experts are cautioning that the incident is the largest mining disaster in Canadian, possibly even global, history. Where it has made news, the incident is exceptionalized as a single accident, a failure, or the incompetence of one company. The notorious Canadian mining industry, actively supported by provincial and federal governments, has largely escaped public and media scrutiny.

Mount Polley disaster

The mining industry is a key example of Canada's colonial and capitalist foundations, devastating the environment, dispossessing communities, and committing egregious human rights violations.