Another reason to like Saint John

Great story here about a 1979 action by longshoremen in Saint John that prevented "heavy water" from reaching the military dictatorship in Argentina.  An excerpt:

As a result of the protest, 11 of the 17 political prisoners were released within days and three were sent into exile. Another of the prisoners identified by the NO CANDU campaign, union leader Alberto Piccinini, was released a year later. During a visit to Canada, he expressed his gratitude to a group of Canadian workers: “Unity is the unity of all of us; and it must go beyond national boundaries. I am very clear that I am free today because of the struggle first of the people in my country and second because of workers elsewhere – especially in this beautiful country.”

Chile under Pinochet was one of the most brutal regimes of the 20th century, and was supported by most governments, including Canada.  Luckily, the courage and common decency of people in Saint John was able to help a few Chileans. 

At long last, the facebook status blog

I knew it would come to this eventually.  Today I'm not writing about an article or podcast, but about a friend's facebook status.  She wrote:

JW is thinking about words: burqa, niqab, sharia, Europe, dhimmi, submission, identity, public security, social inclusion, choice, public/private dichotomy... and wondering whether it is possible to come to agreement on what these words mean.

It got me to thinkin'. 

I have read a bunch of books about the Muslim world and the veil and face-covering issues just never go away.  For women in the west, we've grown up hearing (if not always experiencing) that women and men deserve to participate equally in public life.  Canadian society is increasingly one in which women earn as much money or more than their partners, fathers take paternity leave or even stay at home with children, and the view that women belong in the kitchen, or are the property of their husbands and fathers is long since passed.  Thank goodness.

Of all the words in her status list, I think choice is the most important. Whether burqas are banned or not, either way you still have men (either Islamic fundamentalists or western lawmakers) telling women what is okay to wear.  They don't have a choice in the matter - their dress is dictated by someone else. 


I find this debate very difficult - Canada is supposed to be a nation of religious freedom. But when religious freedom means one gender oppresses the other it's a hard pill to swallow. The sad part is, most Muslim women don't even have any way to voice their opinions on the matter. They are mostly shut out from public participation.  That's what bugs me the most.

So then you have to ask yourself whether passing a law banning female face coverings will actually enhance quality of life for these women or further contribute to their seclusion. Looking at the examples of Muslim men murdering their wives or daughters for becoming "too westernized" you have to wonder if banning face coverings could mean putting a vulnerable group even more at risk. It could mean they will never be able to leave their houses.  Then you will have an entire sector of the population effectively under house arrest.
 
The other part of the debate that bothers me is that the law is aimed at Muslims.  I don't see anyone taking on the oppression of women within extreme Christian sects - and they do exist, in places where 14-year old girls are married off to old men who already have multiple wives.  And let's not forget that some religions don't allow women to wear pants or cut their hair. So it seems a bit hypocritical to me for western parliaments to point their fingers at Muslims only when religious "oppression" (if that's what you want to call it) exists in many forms. So to me the "human rights" argument feels a bit sanctimonious.
 
I don't believe a ban is the way to go. I believe it will do more harm than good. If we really wanted to do well for Muslim women, I think there are other things we could be doing, like education and job training.  Women will take off their veils when they have adequate social resources to do so.  When they can stand on their own feet economically and make their own choices financially and in terms of marriage then they will have a choice on how to clothe themselves, either at home or in public.

Not in my orchestra's back yard

Let me tell you a little bit about the New Brunswick Youth Orchestra.  It began back in the 1960's and up until a few years ago had a pretty low profile.  The budget was limited but the dedication of volunteers, players and the conductor, Dr. James Mark, kept it going.  Dr. Mark was my conducting teacher at Mount A. and never once have I heard a single person say anything negative about him.  Never once have I heard him raise his voice at a student or ensemble.  A true gentleman, to say the least.

Lately the NBYO has succeeded in taking some high profile trips such as China, Carnegie Hall and Italy.  Much of this was made possible by the hard work of the chair of NBYO's Board, Ken McLeod.  This Board also recently launched the 'Sistema' program, which is an excellent initiative that provides orchestral instruments and training to children in the Moncton area, regardless of their financial status.

But here's the conflict: it appears that the NBYO is considering replacing Dr. Mark with a Venezuelan conductor connected to Sistema.  After more than 15 years of dedication the Board is trying to push Dr. Mark aside over the objections of many in the orchestra, who feel that Dr. Mark is an excellent conductor.  Dr. Mark himself has said he does not want to leave the NBYO.  It really bugs me that such a dedicated man would be bulldozed in an attempt to build more prestige for Sistema. 

In NB we often think our people are not as good as outsiders but we need leaders who understand New Brunswick and its situation.  Dr. Mark rountinely travels all over our rural province in an attempt to give young musicians a chance to audition.  He knows who the active teachers are, and has given years of his life to build this orchestra. 

I support the Sistema program but I think NBYO is "cutting of its nose to spite its face," as we say around here.  Dr. Mark deserves our loyalty and he should leave at a time of his choosing, not because of someone else's ambition.

Attention mentors and teachers: you matter

Hopefully everyone can idenfity a person who helped them to build skills and character and become more successful.  These mentors are oftentimes more important than friends or family because they encourage us to overcome obstacles in our thinking that prevent us from putting our talents into the world. Here's a great list of famous people and their mentors from the Harvard Mentors Project, take a look. 

I've been reading a little bit by the Dalai Lama and the Buddhists believe we are reborn many times until we learn to transcend suffering.  One thing I have been thinking about is how our actions affect other people - the 'vibe' we give off translates to other people feeling worthy or worthless, scared or safe, joyful or depressed.  Sometimes we fool ourselves into thinking that our actions don't matter, that nobody sees or cares what we do.  But the truth is we have enormous power to inspire, motivate and support one another, if we choose.  As Yeats once wrote:

Had I the heavens’ embroidered cloths,
Enwrought with golden and silver light,
The blue and the dim and the dark cloths
Of night and light and the half light,
I would spread the cloths under your feet:
But I, being poor, have only my dreams;
I have spread my dreams under your feet;
Tread softly because you tread on my dreams.