A debate is raging in Toronto this week about Muslim elementary students conducting Friday prayers at Don Mills public school. The issue at hand is whether the practice of girls praying behind boys is a discriminatory practice of Islam, and if so, is the school complicit in this discrimination by allowing its Muslim students to conduct prayers on school premise during school hours.

An example of the flame war can be found in this story by Toronto Star Columnist Heather Mallick. And yes, I do recognize that this is Toronto (Fox North) Star, so I won’t claim that this is the sentiment of the majority of Torontonians.

My partner brought the story to my attention. We have a unique relationship to this story: she’s a staunch agnostic feminist, while I would describe myself as a moderate or light-practicing Muslim, born in the Middle East to a moderate Muslim family (a match made in heaven! If she believed in the existence of one). Naturally, we indulge in frequent discussions about raising kids in such a dynamic, if we ever decide to have some.

As any inter-faith couple would attest, these discussions are often… intense. I’m yet to walk away from one feeling like I’ve won the argument properly articulated my point of view. Needless to say, this particular story initiated a similar discussion, and we (ehm!) agreed to disagree. But just to be safe, I think I should send flowers tomorrow.

So here’s what I think about this story.

Is this Gender Discrimination:

We can’t call Muslim prayer line-ups discrimination when those who wish to practice differently are not prevented from doing so. This isn’t Rosa Parks being prevented from sitting at the front of a bus.

I don’t think schools or governments should get into telling entire religious groups how they should practice their religion as long as they follow the law of the land. Just because a parent or even a minority group in the same social/religious group takes issue with a practice shouldn’t lead to the annexation of the wish of the majority. At the same time, the wish of the majority shouldn’t preclude the minority from practicing and engaging fully in what they think is right, within the confines of law/policy.

So, really, if someone has an issue with Muslims conducting their prayers according to the customs observed by over 1 Billion of them around the world, we should ask two questions. First: is the person with the issue a Muslim? If not, then that person is free to voice their opinions, but their individual inconvenience or distaste of the practice should not trump the rights of an entire social group to assemble and practice their religion according to their custom.

Second question is whether a minority of members of the same social group are taking issue and feeling like this practice is precluding them from full participation. If so, then I believe that one group’s practice shouldn’t stop the other from practicing as they wish. In fact, that right is guaranteed to them by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

If the liberal group would like to pray at a later/earlier/same time and have a co-ed prayer room with mixed rows, then this isn’t an issue of discrimination, it’s simply an issue of school policy. The school can decide to make accommodations for two prayer sessions, or not. The conservative group can come out to pray on-time following the teachings they believe in, and the smaller group of modern interpreters can have a co-ed session whenever they want.

Now, to me, this sounds like a lot of “accommodation” for a school to be making. If every religious group wanted similar arrangements this can get out of hand. My personal opinion, as a pragmatic ‘modern Muslim’, is that Friday prayers should not take place in schools of a Country that does not have existing policies to accommodate such interruptions to the school day. Islam has made an ‘accommodation’ for such cases as well, allowing Muslims to make-up for missed prayers at a later time if they are unable to practice their worship due to hardship or circumstances outside their control. Although, despite hardships, some Muslims would still go the extra mile for additional brownie points.

Kansas University junior Bazigha Tufail prays in the Spahr Engineering Library on Wednesday after her 1 p.m. structural engineering class. The Muslim student prays five times a day and often feels misunderstood by other students. Photo by Nick Krug

Therefore, the discussion should remain confined to policy. Should schools accommodate religious practices, for all religions, and how? A school shouldn’t attempt to determine whether a particular religious practice of a specific group is discriminatory. There are other avenues for that. These doctrines have been around for thousands of years and no school board should touch that land mine with a 10 foot pole.

The question in this case is not whether a particular religious practice is discriminatory or not. The question is whether prayers can happen at schools. You can’t piecemeal a religion and say “only that part of your prayer is OK with us non-Muslims, but the other part is weird and we don’t understand/like it, so you can’t do that one”. If some Muslims take offense to the way prayer line-ups are formed, they have the full right and freedom to worship as they wish (like I do), so I’m not sure how they’re being discriminated against if their rights are not withheld by anyone.

Policy or Social Engineering?

Canada is a multicultural melting pot where everyone can maintain their unique culture and religious practices while adopting Canadian values and way of life. That was the social contract that most Canadian Muslims were born or immigrated under, unlike France where the social contract clearly opposes multiculturalism when it comes to religious practice. It’s not fair to bait and switch on people who thought they can enjoy a certain amount of religious freedom and accommodation in this great country. These people are now faced with calls to change their practices, not so much because they’ve been proven as discriminatory, but because their practice has now crossed into the visible public domain and people are offended by its strangeness.

Talking in generalities is knee-jerk xenophobia. And flogging this particular religious practice as a means to score points on a larger discussion of morality, social values, student/child development, and gender issues is not fair to Muslims. Some folks are suggesting that this religious practice in Islam is an example of anti-social practices that engineer Muslim children along gender lines and affect their long-term development and integration into Canadian society, and that making accommodations for Muslims to pray in schools on a Friday assists in this negative social engineering.

There are many contributors and factors that affect the development of young adults in Canadian society, both girls and boys. Schools are but one factor. Home environments, peers, media, pop culture, and religious subscription are other factors along with many more. Weekends in Canada have been selected to accommodate Christian prayer practices, and those practices contribute to the development and social positioning of Christian teens just as much as practices of any other religious group in Canada affect the teens of that particular group.

And the hypocrisy of it all…

We don’t flog the government for instating Sunday as a holiday to allow the practice of a religion that discriminates against women even more than Islam does, and we don’t call on Catholics to abandon their subscription to the concept of “original sin” if they want to pray in publicly-funded areas like Muslims are being asked to change the way they line-up, and how they “think” about women, if they want to pray in public schools.

So why is Sunday a government-sanctioned holiday for a religion that doesn’t ordain female priests and dictates that men and women should be separated in Church? Because of Canada’s Christian heritage. And because subscribers to the faith are free to worship as they please: those who want to attend a conservative Church with separate seats for men and women can, and those who want to attend a Church the allows people to sit where they wish can do so as well. That answer is enough for me.

And why do Muslims pray the way they do? Because their heritage dictates it, and other Muslims who wish to do it differently can do so in Canada. That answer should suffice for the majority of those crying foul at how Muslims line up in their area of prayers.

Umbrella group Civic Coalition of Revolutionary Youth (CCRY) releasing list of demands for immediate transfer of power.

SANAA, YEMEN – Youth activist group Civic Coalition of Revolutionary Youth is calling for continued protests in advance of its press conference tomorrow. The group represents a coordinated large scale body of activists supported by activist parliamentarians, civil rights activists, and politicians.

“Our membership is the voice of a diverse group of activists, local influencers, professional associations, civil organizations and tribal groups,” says Husam Al-Sharjabi, Chairman, CCRY. “These groups have each expressed their aspirations, in one way or another, for freedom, democracy, and justice in Yemen. They reject tyranny and the monopolization of power and wealth.”

On March 23, 2011, CCRY will release its charter and a list of demands at a press conference on 9:30 a.m. at the “Yemeni Writers’ Union” in Raqqas Street, Sana’a. The Coalition’s charter lists one of its main objectives as the creation of a modern democratic nation for all Yemenis to enjoy equally under the rule of law.

This list of demands also includes:

• Immediate dismantling of the current regime.
• Arrest of all those involved in committing criminal acts against citizens and/or against the public’s interest through fraud and corruption.
• A constitution that transforms the governance system from presidential to parliamentarian.
• A decentralized government that ensures unity of Yemen while protecting the unique interests of different regions.
• Full transparency.

“The Coalition must warn all factions to refrain from attempts to divert the revolution from its stated goals, or try to take custody of its methods or agenda,” says Ahmed Saif Hashed, parliamentarian, CCRY. “We hereby call on all our brothers and sisters in protest squares across the country to continue their perseverance until a peaceful transfer of power to a civilian authority is completed.”

The Civic Coalition of Revolutionary Youth is headquartered in Sana’a. It brings together Yemen’s four main youth groups – Alliance for the Youth’s Revolution, Alliance of the People’s Youth Revolution, Alliance of Youth and Students for a Peaceful Revolution, and the Coalition of Change Leaders – under one umbrella. It formed in response to the January 16, 2011 uprising at the University of Sana’a by students and youth.

The interview notes that the current dialogue is focused, in principle, on the following six points (as agreed in a previous attempt at national dialogue in early 2006, which went no where):

1. Freedom of expression (including protesting) is guaranteed if done by peaceful means without violence.
2. Ceasing public demonstrations and attacks on the media to create a better environment for returning to dialogue.
3. Conducting a national dialogue beginning with the quartet committee, then to the committee of 30, and finally to the 200 member committee.
4. Formation of a national coalition government to oversee the parliamentary election and to guarantee its conduct in a free, fair and transparent way under local, national and international monitoring.
5. The President commits to not running in 2013 and reaffirms what he announced in the two-chamber meeting, that is no extension of his presidency, no hereditary succession and no renewal of his term.
6. The President is committed constitutionally to preserve and maintain security and stability in the homeland and to maintain the tranquility of Yemeni citizens.

The idea is that these are the broad strokes, with the details of what concrete actions to take and how/when to implement them being left to committees to figure out.

While the above six points are of merit, they are disconnected from what the Yemeni street is demanding in terms of immediate, tangible actions. In business terms, the problem is being defined through the eyes of management instead of the voice of the customer. Therefore, the solutions that continue to be proposed are management-centric and don’t address the needs of the market or the customer (though they make management feel better about having done something). So before the government and President Saleh loose their business, the customer need must be identified accurately so that the public can see, and accept, the value of proposed solutions.

What I find objectionable in the noted six-point framework of dialogue is that none of them directly address key grievances of the Yemeni “street”, such as decentralization of power, the use of state funds for the benefit of the ruling party and its leadership, and establishing the rule of law and justice by prosecuting corrupt officials at any level of government. It is disingenuous to classify these issues as “details” and bury them in discussions of the umpteen committees that have traditionally never been able to address these issues.

The above issues are at the core of public discontent and are directly correlated to the deterioration of the economy and the erosion of public revenues. Political and power inequities between the ruling party and traditional (or yet-to-be-created) opposition parties stem from the regime’s illegal monopolization of the nation’s resources, and its distribution/use of basic infrastructure and public funds as means to subvert and buy political allegiances from rural leaders and tribal Sheikhs. Having a ‘clean’ election under these circumstances (i.e. no cheating) may be possible, but having a ‘fair’ election is not. The regime is predestined to win all future elections unless it is stripped of the public tools that it uses unfairly, and illegally, to gain political favor and advantage.

An empowered justice system that punishes the use of public funds for the benefit of a party or an individual is a key point, not a “detail”. Prosecuting those who are known to have pillaged the riches of the nation is a key point, not a detail. Put those in the six points as actionable preconditions to dialogue and watch the impact on protests. There is a real value proposition there that can grab the attention of the public. One that is unique and significantly different from any of the cliche promises that the public has grown numb to.

An immediate, just, and satisfactory resolution to these issues first and foremost should be presented on a platter to the Yemeni street. Only then will the goodwill of political reconciliation initiatives may have an effect on protesters.

The Toronto branch of Halifax-based Extreme Group and Toronto-based Lollipop have been tirelessly working on this unique branding and interactive campaign for a new Toronto business venture. The edgy campaign received final blessings and was about to launch when nature decided to rear its ugly head in Haiti.

So, instead of the massive launch this campaign was about to receive, a highly subdued roll-out took place. I’m being deliberately vague here because I don’t want to spoil your first interaction with this campaign. Go ahead and click on the image below to visit HaitianPure.com (Edit – March 1 2010: website has changed to PureBlackSunshine.com). Turn your volume up, set your browser to ‘Full Screen’, then follow the website prompts and you’ll know what I’m talking about.

While I can understand the potential risk of backlash, I can’t help but wonder if the campaign (and the client) would have benefited from the publicity that would have resulted from any potential controversy. In the end, I think the client and the agency correctly decided to err on the side of safety.

Despite the quiet launch, the campaign’s viral potential will make up for the lost attention. Extreme made sure to furnish the interactive with the necessary tools to squeeze as much social juice out of the site as possible. You can add it to your Facebook or MySpace profile. You can also Digg it and Tweet it (but for some reason, you can’t Stumble it).

Regardless of the outcome, this campaign is surely heading for some award nominations (at least a Davey Award!).

Below is the report that was issued by the initiative to carry the voices of Yemeni youth to participants of the international summit on Yemen that was held in London, UK, on January 27.The report is titled “Combating Terrorism in Yemen — A Youth Perspective”. You can download an English or Arabic version of the report by clicking the appropriate image.

Midman International supported the initiative through consultations on campaigning, social media, and PR activities. A Facebook group was established and (within 10 days) became the largest Yemen-related group on the popular social networking site. Press releases were issued in English and Arabic, and were published on 7 news websites and three print newspapers.

An organized youth campaign beat the Yemeni government and was first to receive an official and comprehensive statement (in video!) from the British Secretary of State, Ivan Lewis, regarding Britain’s intent from the summit on Yemen called for by UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bkOk-gX7LrM

With increased attention on Yemen (following the failed 2009 Christmas Day bombing attempt of a US plane over Detroit), organizers of the initiative believe that discussions about combating terrorism in Yemen are missing a key partner. Since 70% of Yemen’s population are under the age of 25, there is a good argument that involving youth representatives is more than just good politics.

“When was the last time you heard of a 50-year old suicide bomber?” said Rafat Al-Akhali, the Canadian-based founder of the initiative. “Any serious discussions about tackling terrorism should always involve youth representatives from the problem regions.”

90 per cent of the September 11 hijackers were under the age of 30. The shoe bomber was 28 when apprehended, and the Christmas bomber is 23. The data overwhelmingly points to youth being the key target demographic for terrorist/jihad recruiters.

The report was delivered to The Yemen Forum at Chatham House, a center for international studies in London, the US Embassy in Yemen, the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) and Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs, as well as a number of local and international NGO’s and journalists/researchers interested in Yemen. The report was also sent to officials in the Yemeni government who showed their interest and support for this initiative.

An interview about the initiative was published by the Yemen Times and can be viewed here.

Questions about tourism security in Yemen are misinformed at best. Brazil and Colombia have the highest rates of kidnappings in the world, yet that’s not the first  picture that pops to mind when thinking about an exotic vacation to Rio.

2008 Carnival in Rio de Janeiro (Attrib: Photo by sfmission.com provided on flickr under CC attribution license)

Research by the London-based ‘Control Risks Group‘ shows that between 1992 to 2000, only 52 people were reported as ‘kidnapped’ in Yemen. That’s about 6 people a year during the height of the kidnapping era in Yemen back in the 90′s.*

During the same 8 years, Colombia reported 5300 kidnappings, and Brazil reported 521. That’s an average of 2 people EVERY DAY in Colombia, and 65 people kidnapped annually in Brazil. The USA had 155 reported kidnappings, nearly 3 times the number of people kidnapped in Yemen during the same period.*

What’s worse is that since the year 2000, Yemen’s rate of kidnapping has steadily declined, while Brazil and Colombia went up. In  2003, Colombia averaged 10* kidnappings per day!

Yemen is the Biblical land of the Queen of Sheba, and purported ‘Cradle of Humanity’.  Now, I’m not saying you shouldn’t want to check out scantly clad Brazilians in fantastic costumes parading the streets of Rio to hot Latin music during carnival. But please don’t raise your eye brow when you (or someone you know) are considering a visit to Yemen.

Just remember that on any given day, you are a thousand times more likely to be the victim of violence in Rio than you would be in Sana’a, the capitol city of Yemen.

(Concert infront of the old city in Sana'a, Yemen)

Here is a video from a tourist’s recent visit to Yemen. I found this on YouTube and it is the only video I have seen so far that captures the ‘essence’ of Sana’a like no doctored tourism video has ever been able to: the people, the noise, the architecture, the dust, the customs, the smell, and the utter simplicity wrapped in cultural complexity.

(* Source: “Meeting the Challenges of Global Terrorism” – Dilip K. Das, Peter C. Kratcoski, 2003.)

Reader discretion is advised.

The purpose of this post is to expose the wretched and rancid state of a specific Metro Transit bus shelter in Halifax. This is no ordinary transit shelter; This is the main bus stop at one of the most important intersections in the city.

The corner of Spring Garden Road and Barrington Street is the core of downtown Halifax. As the nearest bus stop to two 5-Star downtown hotels (the Sheraton Four Points and the Marriott Courtyard), it is located where tourists walk up from the Waterfront to take pictures of the Saint Mary’s Basilica on their route to shopping, food, and entertainment.

It is located where workers and business people conduct their affairs in and around one of the largest business towers in Halifax (the Maritime/Aliant Building). It is located where residents from all corners of the city permeate back and forth between retail shopping and restaurants located on both streets. There is one enclosed bus shelter that services this bus stop, with 21 different bus routes aptly servicing it throughout the day.

So behold! Here is Metro Transit’s bus shelter servicing this premium intersection of the only two main streets in downtown Halifax.

(Click to enlarge. If you dare.)

I take the bus daily in this corner of the city. Five days a week at approximately 8:30 AM, I am faced with the same dilemma. Do I stand outside and battle the infamous 50km mini-hurricanes of what is known as the ‘windiest spot in Halifax’? Or do I suppress my gagging and take refuge in this urine-infested, garbage-ridden cesspool of municipal neglect?

When it is raining or snowing, it is common for transit passengers on this corner to compete for the ‘sweet spot‘ in this shelter.  That spot near the door that allows you to hide half your body inside from the harshness of the weather, while giving you the access to quickly stick your head out for precious gasps of fresh air.  We all give each other half-knowing looks to acknowledge the mutual discomfort from the stench of urine and organic decay of garbage that has been left there since last summer.

An older gentleman has secured the sweet spot today, but tomorrow I am going to wake up five minutes early and beat him to it.

Given the importance of this intersection, you would think that the city would pay extra attention to it and make sure that it reflects the best face Halifax can offer. After all, if tourists, shoppers, and business people are not really the ‘crowd’ the city should care about in the downtown district, then who exactly should we bother giving a good experience to in the heart of the business, shopping, and entertainment district?

Yet, it would seem that the universe of municipal priorities rotates differently in Halifax, specifically when it comes to Transit services.

So, this is a call out to:

• Metro Transit
• City Council (in particular our incumbent downtown councilor)
• Downtown Halifax Business Commission (DHBC)

Can you come up with a permanent solution to this embarrassment already? What is it going to take to put up and maintain a proper bus shelter in this sensitive intersection?

I realize that this is the city’s job, but the DHBC has a lot at stake here, so I’m not sure why they’re holding themselves hostage to the general mediocrity of our municipal services, Metro Transit, and city council. A small donation collected from downtown businesses can fund a fantastic structure worthy of this location and its significance. It can be a shelter that’s a joy to use and look at.

Perhaps even a bus shelter with (gasp!) a wall map of the downtown district and nearby attractions? Or (double gasp!) an electronic screen displaying bus departure and arrival information? Slap some sponsor advertising on it and Bob’s your uncle. Anything is better than the current status-quo!

(Click to enlarge photo)

CBC.ca reported yesterday (Feb 2, 2009) that Halifax Metro Transit has refused to allow Humanist Canada to place ads on Halifax buses that said “You Can Be Good Without God”.

CBC reported that Halifax bus transit spokesperson, Lori Patterson, said “the transit authority would reconsider its position if Humanist Canada toned down its message.”

The story has garnered close to 300 comments in less than 24 hours. A similar campaign launched in England late last year sparked an important debate across the UK. The controversy led to 326 complaints from the public to the UK Advertising Standards Authority, which issued a precedent-setting decision in favor of the campaign and closed the case (see ruling here).

This story is obviously of major interest to the public. So why the silent treatment from Halifax newspapers?

If local residents relied on local newspapers, they would have no idea that this debate is taking place, and would have no opportunity to express their opinions about how the transit authority, a publicly funded body, should deal with issues of freedom of speech and religion that are a given right to all tax payers in Halifax who contribute to subsidize the transit authority.

The media needs to ask the tough questions. Would the transit authority allow an ad to be placed on Halifax buses that advertise a ‘Three Wisemen’ or ‘Baby Jesus’ Christmas play at the local church? What if the local Muslim association wanted to run an ad to announce the opening of their new mosque and library and inviting all interested people to join them for an opening ceremony? What about free speech?

Where do we draw the line as to what is appropriate to say, and who gets to decide what a ‘toned down’ religious statement is? Lori Patterson of Metro Transit?

The answer is that unless there are clear bylaws (that were voted on by representatives of the people in this city) against allowing religiously-affiliated advertising in publicly owned facilities and services, then separation of church and state remains the defacto rule.

If Metro Transit was a private company, then they can decide to run whatever ads they want on their buses and no one but their shareholders (and the advertising authorities) can say anything. But the transit authority is publicly funded, and therefore it must conduct itself in the best interest of the public, following the established bylaws, and removing personal opinions and religious affiliations/preferences when determining what is appropriate to be shown on the buses to the public.

The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms lists that “Everyone has the following fundamental freedoms”:

• freedom of conscience and religion;

• freedom of thought, belief, opinion and expression, including freedom of the press and other media of communication;

• freedom of peaceful assembly; and

• freedom of association.

Are we going to see the appropriate attention and debate take place regarding this issue? Will our understanding of applied freedoms be enhanced by this event? This is a call to the Chronicle Herald and other media outlets in Halifax. Please give this issue the attention it deserves. (Edit: The Chronicle Herald published the story a couple of hours after this blog was posted).

The Kuwait chapter of the International Advertiser Association (IAA) wanted to target upper management of media owners, agencies and clients in a bid to cut down on corruption. Corruption in the ad industry can range from un-tendered ad contracts given by public  or crown corporation to select agencies (similar to what brought down the Canadian Government of Liberal Prime Minister Paul Martin in late 2005), to ad agencies bribing award selection committees.

Then again, the campaign wasn’t targeted at government officials who, in many Arabic countries, are quite involved in a governance culture that accepts corruption and bribery as the inevitable ‘grease’ that must be applied to keep the wheels of bureaucracy turning.

From the lowest-paid employees to members of the highest echelon in the organization, everyone needs a little extra sum’n sum’n to make ends meet. For the big fish in the system, ‘making ends meet’ sometimes means making the final payment for the marble floors of their third villa by the ocean.

Click the image below to enlarge and read the details.

The campaign was featured on the MediaME website, the premiere resource for Middle East media, marketing, and advertising news.

One poet squeezed out this bitter piece at a recent Gaza rally in New York City. It may give you a glimpse into what the Palestinians see as the real unresolved issue. Before the suicide bombs. Before the rockets came along.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a22CNVrrT-w

The root of the problem has persisted since the establishment of the state of Israel. There is no real will from the international community (read: USA & Britain) to resolve the real issues, as they refuse to instate a permanent and viable solution for the Palestinian refugees who have been displaced by the creation of Israel.

According to the latest figures from the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), there are currently over 4.5 Million Palestinian refugees who persist in shanty houses in refugee camps and cities in and around the disputed territories.

It is widely believed that there can be no two-state solution until clear provisions are made to address where the refugees will return to, seeing how their homes and lands have been appropriated by Israel. You can’t squeeze that many new people into the little slice proposed as the Palestinian “state” (that Israel and the US will “bestow” on the Palestinian people, but only if they begged nicely) and expect everything to be fine.

Surprisingly, most public comments I have read in Nova Scotian news articles regarding the recent Gaza situation show an overwhelming tendency by readers to fall into the practice of cursing the symptom while ignoring the disease. “Hamas are terrorists”, they say. “The rocket attacks must stop”. “Don’t poke the bear if you don’t want to be mauled”, they wisely offer.

So here is a crude attempt at providing a bit of perspective to those Halifax/Nova Scotia readers, from the Palestinian side of things. Feel free to dispute this version of events, but remember that truth is in the eyes of the beholder. What really happened is somewhere between the following fictional analogy, and what you believe to be the truth.

Imagine that tomorrow an army of Vulcans arrives at Halifax harbour, having been displaced from their Vulcan planet due to unfathomable reasons that have rendered their planet un-inhabitable, and with the understanding that Nova Scotia really belonged to their ancestors, who had landed and lived in the area some 10,000 years ago.

Jewish settlers arriving at Haifa harbour, Palestine in 1946

This army, using the latest and greatest in military might, then proceeded to herd all current residents of Halifax (including you and your family) into two designated areas: Sackville and Cole Harbour (Gaza and the West Bank). This army then proceeded to appropriate all vacant lands, and moved their families into the homes that previously belonged to Haligonians.

As Haligonians huddled in Sackville around camp fires and in gas stations, they pondered their future. The humiliation was unbearable. Food was scarce, medical capacity inadequate, and the ever watchful eye of the Vulcan troops surrounding their area are a constant reminder of their state of imprisonment in their own city.

Of course, they were always given the choice to leave the city altogether and seek shelter in another province or country, but Haligonians were silly people with salty sea-faring blood who clung to such old fashioned notions like ‘home’, ‘pride’, ‘freedom’, ‘justice’ and ‘resistance’. So they decided to stay.

Those without homes in Sackville and Cole Harbour formed camps and shelters which they built out of scrap metal and any materials they could gather to protect themselves from the harsh winters. The Vulcan army controlled entry and exit to these camps, ensuring that occupants do not obtain any weapons or significant means of resistance.

Palestinian Refugee Camp, 1952

Yet, Haligonians persisted. They refused to leave the city, and continuously caused trouble with various attempts at resistance over the years. This kept the Vulcan army at a constant state of alert, and prevented them from enjoying normal lives with their families and friends that had moved in to the rest of Halifax. So, they decided to create ‘incentives’ to encourage the occupants of Sackville and Cole Harbour to leave the area permanently.

For example, on one dreadful evening, guards at a particular camp (called Sabra & Shatila) in Sackville gathered a gang of known enemies of the Haligonians (let’s call them the Lebanese Christian Phalangist militia). They let the armed gang into the camp, then closed the gates behind them. In the following 60 hours, the gang carried out a systemic rampage of rape and murder on the men, women, and children who occupied the camp. An estimated 400 to 800 were killed. (Israel launched an inquiry into the Sabra/Shatila massacre and found then Defense Minister Ariel Sharon to be ‘partially’ responsible, and forced him to resign his post. He later became Prime Minister of Israel, while preparing to defend himself against charges of war crimes.)

As similar ‘incentives’ were creatively introduced across the designated Haligonian areas, more and more Haligonians left the area for fear of the safety of their families and children. They became the largest known group of nation-less refugees in the world, surviving on the charity of neighbouring nations and requiring special permission papers to be able to move from one place to another.

Meanwhile, life for the Vulcan families in Halifax was prosperous. Vulcan children played in school yards. Vulcan students attended Dalhousie University, which was renamed “Vulcan Institute of Higher Learning”. Vulcan guys and girls partied the nights away at the Lower Deck, oblivious to the strife of Haligonians a few miles away.

Slowly, the simmering anger and discontent of Haligonians erupted into a major uprising (the first intifada). Men, women, and children picked up what they could and attacked their Vulcan prison guards in any way they could. They threw rocks, whacked tanks with sticks, and shot at anything wearing a military uniform, using any ammunition they could get their hands on. The resistance took to the streets of Sackville and Cole harbour, and urban warfare was in full effect.

First Palestinian Uprising (intifada) 1987-1993

The resistance continued for 6 years, yet the Vulcan army kept it firmly contained within the designated Haligonian areas of Sackville and Cole Harbour, ensuring that the daily lives of the Vulcan army’s families and friends in Halifax were not being disturbed by the Haligonian nuisance.

The uprising yielded no results for the Haligonians, and the death toll was far more significant among the stone-throwing Haligonians and their families than the tank-riding Vulcans. However, during 6 years of active resistance since the uprising, Haligonians formed guerrilla groups of former police officers, firemen, volunteers, and anyone who knew anything about handling guns and/or defence tactics. These groups paraded under a variety of uplifting names and acronyms, like HAMAS, FATAH, etc.

These groups studied the futility of the uprising, and came to a dreadful conclusion. They decided that, after nearly 40 years since the Vulcans arrived at the Halifax harbour, the stakes for the Vulcan army were not high enough for the Vulcans to consider any form of change in their policies towards the afflicted haligonians, let alone the idea of returning Halifax to its previous inhabitants.

These groups decided that in order to be effective, the fight has to affect the Vulcan army’s families and children just as much as it is affecting the Haligonian families and children in their camps in Sackville and Cole Harbour. The suffering had to befall both sides of the conflict, not just the side that is trying to break free.

Since the Haligonians did not have the means to remotely launch attacks into Halifax (where the Vulcan families resided), they looked at options and came to the conclusion that the only way for their attack to reach places like the South End or Clayton Park is for one of them to smuggle a bomb in person, then detonate it manually, inevitably sacrificing his own self in the process. These ‘martyrs’ were to be praised as fallen heroes of the resistance, achieving near comic-book fame of caped/masked crusaders of the Justice League.

Following Role Models. A child dressed as a suicide bomber during a demonstration in the West Bank.

Thus began the era of suicide bombings. Unfortunately, the tactic worked. The vastly unaware Vulcan populace in Halifax began to take note that the chirping canaries they had locked up were screaming in pain, not singing in joy. International observers, previously silent, became active and rushed in with proposed ‘solutions’ to end the war and the conflict. Things began to look up, but not for long.

The Vulcan army came up with a new tactic. To stop Haligonians from escaping their settlements and sneaking into old Halifax to plant manual bombs, the Vulcans decided to build a wall around Sackville and shoot anyone that comes within a few hundred yards. This ought to bring things back to the way they were before the uprising, they thought. The same idea they used with the refugee camps in the past, but on a larger scale.

This way they could control what comes in and out of Sackville, and have total rule over the livelihood of the Haligonian inhabitants. If the Haligonians act up, the army can cut off food, medicine, power, and water. They will squeeze Haligonians into submission.

But the Haligonians have learned a few things now. With some help from some PEI volunteers, they learned how to make potato-fueled rockets to carry their homemade bombs a limited distance. They no longer needed to carry bombs in person into the army quarters in Halifax, so the rate of suicide bombings dropped significantly.

Instead, they now lobbed as much as they can over their prison wall, as far as they can get it into Vulcan territory. While the practice was virtually ineffective, it continued to send to the Vulcans the timeless message: that Vulcans will not live in peace in Halifax and drown out the injustice taking place in the besieged territories in Sackville (Gaza) and Cole Harbour (West Bank) until they face what they have done to Haligonians and fix it.

In over 60 years since the Vulcans landed in Halifax and began herding Haligonians out of their homes and concentrate them into the two camps of Sackville and Cole Harbour, no solution has been offered to Haligonians that truly addresses the humiliation and injustice they have suffered. It is as if this little part of the world called Halifax just doesn’t matter to anyone other than the Haligonians themselves.

In 6 decades, Haligonians lost everything. Any notion of a normal future for them and their families had vanished one or two generations ago. There is no industry. There are no jobs. There are no schools. There are no Saturday morning cartoons. Food is scarce. Medical supplies are even fewer. Death and destruction surrounds their daily lives, as they remain besieged in Sackville, hopelessly looking over that notorious wall, wondering if the nightmare will ever end, and if they will ever be let out.

Until then, they might as well send another message in a rocket to the outside world. ‘Help Us’.

……………………………….

I will leave you with a compelling insider account of the deep rooted causes of the conflict in Palestine/Israel, by Jewish Israeli journalist  Gideon Levy of the Haaretz daily news paper in Israel. He gave this talk in Halifax not too long ago. (From the website of the Halifax-based organization called the ‘Canadians, Arabs, and Jews for a Just Peace‘.

Audio: Gideon Levy