In the Meeting House

I was recently invited to attend a Meeting House discussion at the Public Library. I’ve never been to a Meeting House discussion so I’m not too sure what to expect (is a Meeting House in Canada the same as a Town Hall Meeting in the US?), but nonetheless, I’m curious.  The topic of the night will be the community – how it’s developing, concerns, fears, worries and in general, how we’d like to see it develop.  This is a particularly interesting topic as I”m all for positive change and seeing progress, yet the thought of going to the Meeting House has me strangely anxious. My family has lived in the areas for almost a hundred years; suffice it to say, I know it fairly well. But my anxiety makes me question, do I really? I know buildings, roads, landmarks and friends, but I feel it lacks the same sort of community, the type of place that makes you want to be home and strive toward making it better. This, perhaps may be one of the items on the agenda – how to make a town, a community and a home.

Bringing together different members of the community and the people who can implement change is a great idea and I’m very curious to know what sort of issues will surface. Will it be a safe and open space to express opinions or will biases and intimdation silence voices?

I’ve learned that the tremendous and rapid growth of the region has already caused major problems, especially regarding affordable housing and food security. Knowing this, I became a little alarmed (!) to learn that there really was no social plan in place to deal with the influx of people; no services, infrastructure or preparation to deal with the problems that could surface. What’s worse is there is no data and no research mechanism to provide evidence to support the creation of infrastructure or services. Basically, the strategy is to sit back and wait until problems arise, until they’ve gotten so bad that some money, time and effort need to be thrown at the problem. Really? Is this the way to run a healthy community? It really is maddening to see this type of logic applied to the community where you live.

The Meeting House is a start, but the main actors running it are already swamped with their own (contract) work that takes up much of their day. Let’s face it, this is a full time job of an entire department to create, establish and grow the social infrastructure that’s needed.  However, funding allocations tend to favor activities that will provide a return (ie economic development) without acknowledging the social sector until it’s too late; the down side of politics… Reactions to the Meeting House to come soon….

Itchy Feet + Light Wallet = Innovative Travel

After a few long weeks of getting back in to the swing of my schedule, the sun is still shining, the birds still chirping and my mind is still wandering – where to go next? I never could figure out how people in warm climates ever got any work done? In my half-daydream / half-web search, I’ve found tons of neat concepts that help the average Joe wander the world on a budget.

First stop : CouchSurfing.org At first, I was a little put off by inviting random tourists to stay on your couch, but after reading through the details, I’m a little less hesitant. Basically, the site allows you to find locals in the places where you’re staying. It gives you the option to meet up and have a local take you around, have a coffee to practice your language skills or stay on the locals’ couch to save on hotel/hostel bills. The rating and feedback function lets you know others’ opinions of your surfer and helps you decide how much time you’re going to spend with the tourist. I like it, but I would approach it cautiously.

Next: I found an article about How to Swap Cities. Again, novel idea but I have my hesitations. Basically swapping is just as it sounds; you transplant yourself in to someone Else’s home and lifestyle for a designated amount of time. It’s a great way to get to really know another city for longer than just the 10-15 days that a holiday would take up and allows you to experience life in another culture/continent. It takes a lot of planning to make it work though – getting work to transfer you temporarily to another office location or convincing them to let you telecommute takes time.

Both of these options require a very high degree of trust between you an your guest and many would shy away from it, knowing since childhood to be weary of strangers. At the same time though, there’s recent studies to suggest that, in general, people are good. The Toronto Star’s experiment with stolen wallets is proof, but being cautious while abroad never hurt either.

Lastly, back to the ol’ faithful money saving tricks: Buy food at the grocery store, go camping, share toiletries, use your feet instead of transit and always, always have enough change to call home, just in case!

Ideas, Perceptions and Realities

I found an interesting article in the BBC summarizing a study by the PEW Research Center in Washington, DC, which looked at common stereotypes often associated with many African nations.

The results are as follows…

“1. 75% of South Africans think polygamy is “morally wrong” – bad news for their president, as Jacob Zuma took his third wife earlier this year and is engaged to a fourth. However, the survey also revealed some possible double-standards. While only 7% of Rwandans approved of polygamy (although this did include women), a rather higher number – 17% – of men said they had more than one wife.”

Interesting. You would have thought that a President’s actions would be reflective of the people that elected him and his example is far from that. Makes me wonder what happened on election day?

2. An overwhelming majority of respondents disapproved of homosexual behaviour. In three countries – Zambia, Kenya and Cameroon – this was a massive 98%. Interestingly, one of the countries with the highest numbers of people – 11% – accepting homosexuals is Uganda, where an MP is trying to get legislation passed which would punish homosexual acts with life in prison and even death in some cases. The former Portuguese colonies of Guinea-Bissau and Mozambique were also relatively tolerant of homosexuality.

Ironic, no?

3. Africa is probably the world’s most religious continent, with more than 80% saying they believed in God in most countries. At least half of the Christians questioned expect Jesus Christ to return to earth during their lifetimes. In Ethiopia, 74% of Christians say they have experienced or witnessed the devil or evil spirits being driven out of a person and in Ghana, 40% of Christians say they have had a direct revelation from God. About half of all Muslims expect to see the reunification of the Islamic world under a single ruler, or caliph, in their lifetimes.

Think of all the effort Christian and foreign missionaries spent in trying to spread the word of God throughout Africa – it obviously worked!  Interestingly, it seems as though Muslims have just the same conviction to their faiths.

4. Zimbabwe, where the Lemba people say they are the lost tribe of Israel, was not one of the countries surveyed. But 26% of Nigerian Christians said they traced their origins back to Israel or Palestine.

5. Belief in witchcraft is also common – about 40%; a similar percentage also visit traditional healers to cure sickness. Belief in witchcraft is highest in Tanzania with 93% – this is the country where witchdoctors say that magic potions are more effective if they contain body parts of people with albinism. Ethiopia had the lowest levels of belief in witchcraft – at just 17%. Belief that juju or sacred objects can prevent bad things happening was generally lower – between 20 and 30%. In Senegal, however, 75% thought such things worked – far higher than in Tanzania (49%). It may come as a surprise to learn that South Africa had the highest number of people – 52% – saying they took part in ceremonies of traditional religions, or honoured or celebrated their ancestors.

I wonder if witchcraft is like a religion to the people polled? Can witchcraft and Christianity or Islam overlap? I had once written a paper on the Haitian use of witchcraft as a means to maintain their identities during the slave trade and how they disguised it by using the names of Catholic saints and terminology. Historically, it was fascinating; socially, it was remarkable and I’m really not all that surprised that it still exists.

6. Predictably, there was also a religious split concerning alcohol, banned by Islam. Surprisingly, however, more Muslims in Chad (23%) approved of booze, than Ethiopian Christians (5%). This comes as a huge surprise to Ethiopia experts, however, who point out that it is traditional to welcome Orthodox Christian clergy with traditional honey beer when they visit your house. Maybe “alcohol” was only taken to mean spirits by some of the respondents?

This was surprising – isn’t alcohol extremely strict for practicing Muslims?

7. Attitudes to divorce showed a strong divide along religious lines in Nigeria. A massive 79% of Christians thought it was “morally wrong”, while among Muslims, a narrow majority (46-41%) accepted divorce.

Really? I wonder why?

8. In recent years, Islamist hardliners in Somalia and Nigeria have introduced strict punishment based on Sharia law, such as amputating the hands of thieves and even stoning to death for adultery. The majority of people disapproved of such Sharia punishments. In Nigeria, they were backed by about 40% of Muslims and less than 10% of Christians. However, a majority did approve of whippings and amputations in Senegal and Mali. In nearby Guinea-Bissau, even 50% of Christians backed them. This was double the rate among Muslims in Ethiopia (25%) – maybe it feels like a more realistic prospect to them, as they share a border with Somalia and most Muslim Ethiopians are ethnic Somalis.

I wrote about this a few posts ago and I am strongly against the practice.  I think the fact that people, Christians and Muslims, support it, the closer they are in proximity to Somalia and its people is certainly characteristic of the lawlessness of the country. But I’d have to question just how closely the people polled were following their faiths  when they supported such a policy.

9. The survey also asked about material well-being in the world’s poorest continent. Not so long ago, Cameroon regularly topped surveys of champagne consumption per head. However, a shocking 71% of Cameroonians surveyed said there were times in the past year when they did not have enough money to buy food. In Ethiopia, which is commonly seen as a country struggling to feed itself, the rate was far lower – at 30% – the lowest of all countries surveyed.

Remember the famine in Ethiopia during the ’80′s. The media really had a field day with that one; the photo-journalists documenting starving children, Band-Aid released a song, raising funds and OECD countries suddenly woke up and delivered badly needed food aid. I don’t think the world ever forgot. It’s not surprising then to hear that Ethiopia‘s access to food being more than double that than Cameroon. It’s also shocking to hear that Cameroon‘s consumption of champagne!?!?! Is it a french legacy Is champagne more important than food or is there just a handful of Cameroonian’s who are buying up the lion’s share of its imports? Interesting indeed.

10. Ethiopia did, however, have the lowest numbers of people – 7% – who said they regularly used the internet. Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame is striving to turn his country into Africa’s answer to Silicon Valley and is being helped by the arrival of several new fibre optic cables off the east coast of Africa. He will be encouraged by the finding that 30% of his countrymen – the highest number – regularly browsed the web. Mobile phones, were far more common – with 81% of respondents in Botswana owning one. Many countries reported more than 50% having phones but here, Rwanda lagged behind at just 35%.

Wait a minute…Rwanda – the one that suffered from a genocide a while back? I’ve been told that since then, Kigali has become a major international hotspot for non-profit’s, international organizations and the like, who obviously necessitate a need for broadband! I’m shocked that Ethiopia isn’t taking advantage of those fibre optic cables – they could definitely assist in wider communication tools. Mobile phones, on the other hand, signify developing economies and perhaps micro-finance schemes that provide small scale funding for communities to fuel entrepreneurship. I’d want to know those figures, comparing Botswana and Rwanda.

I know it’s geeky to find stats interesting, but they are! How else would we know what is working, what isn’t, what needs work and how the media has manipulated perceptions? I just read a fellow blogger, who was doing just that – using blogosphere to debate North American perceptions of development and through its interaction with theory and reality. Granted it is a bit academic, though good for some brain aerobics.

I’m surprisingly enlightened by this study and appreciate its publishing. I guess it’s more frustrating to realize that stereotypes still exist and its refreshing to get a little dose of reality every now and again.

It’s all Personality to Me

My last post mentioned my passion for the environment and how much I enjoy traveling and marveling at the beauty that the earth has to offer, beyond the city-scapes and artificial-ness. So I was really excited a few months ago when BRAVO came out with a reality-show, PhotoExplorers, documenting a photographer’s journey into the wild to find the almighty ‘perfect shot!’ I was excited and knowing my own challenges in trying to do the same while travelling (the things I went through to get a photo!) made me incredibly intrigued and I promptly scheduled my recording device so I wouldn’t miss it! …. Talk about one of life’s disappointments :S It wasn’t that the cites were dull, the landscapes boring or the colours lustre – it was that the photographers were lifeless!! There were certainly interesting stories to be told, but done in such a monotone and uninteresting way a la retired librarian that made me want to hit the mute button! There was absolutely NO personality in any of these photographers! This was also a shock, thinking that their personalities would match the quality of their proofs, but no – mistakenly wrong. Come to think of it, cooking shows often do the same – loads of great info and tantalizing masterpieces, but none of the pizazz that brings a smile to your face or motivates you to watch the next episode.

Thinking of these two shows definitely shed a bit of light on the importance of PERSONALITY!!! It’s certainly not something that they teach you in school or that can even be learned, but it’s what draws you to them for conversation, for business, for interest and they inevitably become magnets to those around them – a likely asset to any firm or company! And it’s these personalities, whether on tv or in the real world, which bring a certain penache to life and keeps things interesting. Humour helps, actually it helps a lot and being able to not take yourself too seriously.  People are people no matter where you go, no one likes to scowl all day or brim with stress throughout their work breaks and, when used strategically, a  good laugh will get you a long way!

I’m always eager to meet new people, for the sheer curiosity of which personality I’ll uncover, hopefully one that doesn’t leave me snoozing and might even help to make my own more intriguing

What do Polls Really Say?

I went for a job interview once at a polling company that constructed polls and analysed the data. I thought it could be interesting, especially when the content was dealing with something interesting. Turned out, it wasn’t. But it did highlight the significance of polls in today’s world; be it for the leading marketer of canned soups, the political party in the lead or or the quality of living of global cities – this one was interesting to read in the 2009 Mercer’s Report, released last April and it really made me wonder what the criteria is to be ranked on the list because apparently Vienna came 1st in quality of living! After living there for about 3 years, I can certainly see why it should be on the report, but first? I’m not so sure. Looking closer, in the Americas I see the top 5 being all Canadian cities?!  Vancouver, Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, Calgary – Wow! Again, wondering what the criteria is and how each were judged?

It is entirely different to be an insider, living in a city than those looking in, juding it by the statistics and polls. Vienna is beautiful and clean and safe, with efficient transportation systems, bountious leisure activities, close proximity to travel destinations, good social security – tough to find a fault, really. But looking closer, you’ll find a history that continues to affect every-day life, stereotypes bordering on racial behaviour and hidden truths that never seem to surface. I enjoyed my time there, but it was very difficult to get to know locals (language barrier aside)  and even if I did, they were the ones who either were foreigners themselves or had an international character – one in a million. I would definately go back to see my friends or for vacation, but only to visit.

On the other hand, my own country. Wow – still amazed that 5 Canadian cities topped the North American listings! Seems like all we do is criticize one or another government without really taking stock of our situation in comparison to other nations…Clean cities – (sometimes) check! Good social security – (meh) ok, check! Health Care – (ok) check! Multi-culturalism – (depends where you go) check! If all that adds up to excellent quality of life, then the better we are for it! I guess I just have problems seeing it that way also.

In the last months, we have a Parliament that is closed for the season, we’ve earned a negligible human rights record abroad, we’ve degraded the environment for an oil source and we’ve a government that is out of control, all at a time when the biggest sporting event in the world is taking place in Vacouver. It’s a wonder why the PM was replaced by the Governor General at the Opening Ceremonies?

I am a proud Canadian, especially when Canadians are on that podium, but I haven’t been lately in regards to our own government and conduct abroad. I’m also very much a liberal, which perhaps is where my views with the present government’s view collide. I’m wondering though if Canadian cities were amongst the top cities last year, where they’ll stand this year? A lot has happened. But if we’re at the top of the list for ‘quality of life,’ what does that say about people around the world and how they treat each other and how well we’re taking care of our environment?

It’s sad. We have summit after summit, all highlighting a global issue; environment, security, health, economies, all claiming to be working together to reach a common goal. But really, is this what we’re doing or are leaders just using these meetings to critisize and place blame on each other for not adhering to given rules. It seems childish and one that is further complicated by political struggles or troubled economies. But if each of our countries can’t face facts and promote openly their global initiatives, it’s a fat chance that any other country would follow suit. This is what is going through my mind as the G8 approaches.

Entertaining Views

I can’t tell how much time I spend watching TV or reading up on entertainment news. I know it’s a waste of time. I know that watching the Grammy’s or reality shows will not enhance my well-being in any way or even relax me – who hasn’t watched “The Bachelor” and not felt anxiety?! But I do it anyway and I don’t know why?! It’s everywhere! It’s there when I wake up to my favorite morning show, it’s there when I sign into my email and it’s there in the newspaper! I can’t be rid of it and I don’t know how I ever escaped in the first place?

It could have been I spent most of my energy on my school work or out with friends. I had a TV and VCR, but no cable. And when abroad, would catch up with shows via internet when time permitted. Now that I’m back though, out of academia and back in North America, I find a lot of my conversations focus around entertainment in two different ways.

The first revolves around films and TV. My main criticism is just that I (and probably most people around me) spend way too much time parked in front of the tube. It’s a compelling force coming out of this little box, moving people to tears, screaming out of fear and stirring anxious minds for an hour or two out of the day. The second revolves around the people on TV and in movies; What couple is headed for divorce? Who will star in the next reality show? or What the actor said about…? When push comes to shove, who cares?

Perhaps it’s just a by-product of under-employment and boredom, but I find  it shocking how the media is able to suck you in and suddenly, before you know it, daily news isn’t news without some sort of talk about TV characters or inquiries into the latest love child or cover-up. Or is it the same traits that make us slow down at a car wreck to see? A little moment to escape from reality?

Admittedly, I, just like everyone else out there, sometimes need to just sit, unwind and not do anything. TV and movies have certainly filled that void. But I think we (especially in Canada and the US) have been doing it too much, otherwise  we wouldn’t be talking about shows so much, we wouldn’t be striving to look like the girls on TV (*not healthy*) and we wouldn’t be influenced to buy products that are promoted by TV and movie stars.

So, I’ve set myself a reasonable limit – no more than 1 hour a day in front of the TV or more than 1 film a week. I think it’s reasonable and it makes me chose wisely what I’m watching – infomercials and Big Brother, be GONE! It also means that the films I watch are going to be well worth the $15 I pay for them at the theater or $5.99 from Blockbuster.

I might spend more time blogging – is the computer a replacement for TV? or learning a new sport? or language? or hanging out with friends? cooking? Who knows? I just know that my psyche, body and peace of mind may well benefit.

Fundraising at its Best

I’m truly amazed and a little shocked that funds are still being  raised for Haitian relief. First, the out pour of contributions from regular Joe’s, then the telethons and concerts and now, a cover of ‘We Are the World’ being released. It’s wonderful that so many people have rallied behind a cause and done something great for other people in the world for no other reason than helping out. I’m shocked for three reasons; first, because news never stays new for long and what’s hot today will be gone at the latest by the end of the next week. So the fact that stories continue to hit the press about Haiti and the fundraising continues to rise, is phenomenal. And second, I don’t think I’ve ever seen such a wide-scale fundraising effort generate so much success. The Canadian government matched donated funds on the first week – out of the ordinary, but a positive step. And third, a good chunk of the funds are coming from the public, independent of development aid and disaster relief funds that governments have in their stocks.  Fantastic, get everybody involved!

The only thing that I don’t seem to get is why Haiti is special? I don’t mean that they don’t deserve it, but rather, Haiti was a devastation before the Earthquake; rampant crime, scores of trafficking victims, poor rule of law, devastated economy, but the news barely covered it, Hollywood was ignorant and I’m sure ordinary citizens didn’t even know where it was on a map. Does it take a disaster to get people to wake up and act?  And if that were the case, why doesn’t widescale action happen for every catastrope, issue or devastation that takes place in the world?

Did ordinary citizens, business tycoons and Hollywood starlets lend their efforts to raise funds for victims of the tsunami, an earthquake in Sumatra (which occured just a few months before Port-au-Prince) or for victims  of genocide etc. Are earthquakes easier to understand? I just see so many causes that could benefit from similar fundraising efforts, but no one seems to acknowledge that there is a need for it – at least not in the mainstream press.

So as the Haitian funds continue to flow and provide aid to those that need it, I hope that donor’s, both governmental and private sphere, become a little more aware of the world around them and spread their awareness and funds around to other parts of the globe that could use similar assistance. A simple good deed goes a long way.

Pet Controversy

Throughout my early childhood years, I remember vividly wanting a pet, a dog in particular. I suppose I met the usual resistance from my family, thinking that it’s a lot of work, a lot of responsibility and also, knowing how kids can be, could have been an impulse prompted by the neighbor’s new cat or best friends’ new guinea pig. But…it wasn’t and my family finally gave in to getting our little dog (which I sometimes write about here) and it was a good decision. She’s still little and cuddly, but she’s old and treated like a queen – maybe better than a queen :S She is a part of our family and has given us a lot of laughs.

I think it’s great that animals have integrated nicely into our domesticated lifestyles, so much so that we go to great lengths to make sure they’re safe; rescuing a dog  on an iceflow; or in the middle of  flood waters. We’ve also created blogs and reported on pet safety and health. It’s just a testament to how far we would go for the furry members of the family. And so, when cases of abuse or mishandling of animals is recorded, we are right to be outraged and upset, just as we would for people.

“Are Animals People?” by an Ethics Professor, Margaret Somerville, breeches the subject and tries to name the relationships that humans hold with animals and what our behavior should be toward animals and what the law enforces.  It’s a complicated subject; how do we differentiate those that we have as pets and those that we consume for dinner? Sommerville claims that there is a responsibility to protect (sounds like familiar political jargon used in international circles?), but not to equate animals with humans – I assume she means domesticated animals. Slippery slope, indeed and it opens many doors. Protect = do not abuse, provide loving home, teach behavior, provide medical  attention, put down when necessary.  We do the same for our loved ones, don’t we? All but the latter, which some may argue is what we should be doing.

When you think about it, we really do go to tremendous lengths for our pets, be it a dog, cat, hamster, potbelly pig or bird and when we see them abused, homeless or hungry, our hearts reach out to them, much in the same way we do for humans. I know that animals are not the same as people; their knowledge, capabilities etc. but knowing my own dog’s (aka *baby*) role in our family, it’s hard to say she isn’t a part of us.

Foreign Correspondence

I’ve  thought of a career in journalism.  I like being able to express myself in ways that the spoken word couldn’t. But what has made me shy away from the practice as a career avenue, was it’s lack of analysis that it provides its readers.  True enough, good journalists with years of experience are able to provide insight to their readers that the regular desk reporter wouldn’t, but it rarely did anything more than inform the public, but even that was subject to the biases of the newspapers or corporate politics.  I found it discouraging to write a piece that you were so passionate about, hoping to spark debate, a public outcry or promote change, only to find reader’s indifferent. I wanted to be part of the group of people that made those changes, not simply uncovered them. I respect journalists, for the work that they do and the lengths that they go to to uncover a story. But for me, a story is never just a story. I would tend to invest myself in it and would want to see things through, work towards change and spread awareness.  It took me a long time to figure that out and even now, I cannot pretend that writing isn’t a part of me, my blog can attest to that. And so, I’m writing today to express just how affected I was this morning by all the reports coming out of Haiti.

Being abroad, far away from chaos, it’s easy to keep these events at an arm’s length. Life has been tough, dealing with my own problems, worrying about family and friends, job prospects and those nagging 10lbs that just won’t go away. And knowing myself and the extent that issues affect me, I just change the channel or avoid the links on the webpages, send my best wishes and wait until the news becomes less new and is replaced by a new story.  But today, it was unavoidable. I was reading yesterday’s paper (I was working yesterday morning) and found more than 10 articles dedicated to Haiti, with documented photos alongside. The headlines were striking, ‘surgeons conduct amputations without anesthetic,’ ‘gang executions of looters,’ ‘foreign aid slow to come.’ I was bombarded with emotion, tears brimming my eyes. I can almost imagine the chaos that is echoing out of the country.

If I can just see myself trying to report these types of things and bubbling through a reportage, trying to take in the children around me who are drinking dirty water, which in itself could be infested with countless unknown diseases. But I’m thankful that I did have that shock this morning. It’s prompted me to internalize this, and write about it here. I’ll be surfing the aid agencies tonight, trying to find the best one to donate to. I have little funds and am working 3 jobs and living with my parents, but I would sleep better tonight knowing that I can contribute. And it’s because of those journalists.

It’s at a time like this that I’m proud of our government – never thought I’d say that, – for its quick action to assist -  lower ing immigration standards for claimants from Haiti, delivering aid and surgical equipment, for welcoming Canadians into the Haitian Embassy. Perhaps the Governor General and her  Haitian heritage had something to do with it. Regardless, it almost makes up for the fact the PM basically closed Parliament for a few months and reaffirms what Canada is all about.