dan kellar
Kitchener, ON – In the evening on September 19th, the Waterloo Region Friends of Palestine are hosting a screening of the documentary film Where Olive Trees Weep, which is described as offering “a window into the struggles and resilience of the Palestinian people under Israeli occupation. It explores themes of loss, trauma, and the quest for justice.” The film’s website continues “We follow, among others, Palestinian journalist and therapist Ashira Darwish, grassroots activist Ahed Tamimi, and Israeli journalist Amira Hass. We also witness Dr. Gabor Maté offer trauma-healing work to a group of women who were tortured in Israeli prisons”.
Before the screening, CKMS News spoke with Robert Massoud of Waterloo Region Friends for Palestine. Massoud spoke about the new documentary, the ongoing Palestinian solidarity actions from several local organizations, how injustice in Palestine is decades old, and how Canada is still “active and complicit in arming Israel” after a year of “genocidal” violence.
dan kellar
Guelph, ON – While Palestinian solidarity encampments at universities across the country have been dismantled, strategizing to keep up the pressure hasn’t stopped. The grassroots organization Guelph 4 Palestine is hosting the People’s Conference for Palestinian Solidarity at the University of Guelph on September 21st and 22nd. The conference’s website says participants “will engage in meaningful conversations, learn and share lessons and resources, and continue to propel efforts to support a free Palestine”.
Representatives from several Palestinian solidarity student encampments will share their experiences along with health care workers, labour organizers, Independent Jewish Voices, and others. Organizers from the “Gaza House” encampment which was set up at the University of Waterloo will be presenting. The event will feature workshops and speakers, discussion and resource sharing spaces and programming for kids. Registration is available online or in person at the event.
This show features an interview with Shabina Lafleur-Gangji of Guelph 4 Palestine.
A group of local Irish community members is asking the public to support and advocate for Palestinians this St Patrick’s Day. The group hopes to draw attention to the current deteriorating situation in Palestine.
Justine Rogers Basan, an organizer of the event, explains how the day will highlight the genocide in Gaza and the historical solidarity between the Irish and Palestinian people and draw parallels between the oppression experienced by both communities. The organizers of the event have called for a ceasefire, a Canadian arms embargo, and an end to the occupation in Palestine.
“No St. Patrick’s Day during Genocide” will take place at Waterloo Town Square on March 17 at 11 am.
This piece features an interview with Township of Wilmot council member Cheryl Gordijk.
Gordijk speaks about the anti-racism rally which took place in Wilmot in early May, as well as the presence of hateful posters plastered around the township recently. After this interview, the person who was allegedly responsible for the posters was ruled out for charges by Waterloo Regional Police.
Gordijk also talks to CKMS about hate-motivated issues in Wilmot over the last year. Mayor Les Armstrong shared a White Lives matter post on Facebook in 2020, hate graffiti was seen in Baden, while the SJAM statue has been a strong source of contention.
The interview took place on June 4 2021.
— This program is a part of the “Local Journalism Initiative” grant program and is funded by the Community Radio Fund of Canada, the Government of Canada, and the CKMS Newsroom.
Check out the archived versions of this program and other episodes onradiowaterloo.ca/news., and other stories commissioned under the Local Journalism Initiative atcanada-info.ca.
You can follow us on twitter@RadioWaterloo. If you want to get in touch with comments, or ideas about stories to cover, email us at news@radiowaterloo.ca
This episode of the Waterloo Region Weekly Roundup has us planted firmly in Wilmot township. First, we’ll hear from the April 26th Wilmot Council meeting and learn about the First Peoples Group, the Prime Ministers’ Path project, and the discovery of several ‘white lives matter’ posters in the township.
I’ll also share some updates about the Anti-Racism rally held on May 9th at Baden’s Castle Kilbride, in reaction to the discovery of those posters.
This program is a part of the “Local Journalism Initiative” grant program and is funded by the Community Radio Fund of Canada, the Government of Canada, and the CKMS Newsroom.
Check out the archived versions of this program and other episodes on radiowaterloo.ca/news., and other stories commissioned under the Local Journalism Initiative at canada-info.ca.
You can follow us on twitter @RadioWaterloo. If you want to get in touch with comments, or ideas about stories to cover, email us at news@radiowaterloo.ca
In July 2020, while the community was managing the COVID19 pandemic, including erecting checkpoints to keep non-residents from their reserve lands, some Indigenous folks from Six Nations of the Grand River also took action against continued land theft by housing developers and the nearby town of Caledonia by setting up the 1492 LandBack Lane reclamation camp.
Through court injunctions, lawsuits, a police raid, police intimidation, police violence, 17 million dollars in police spending, and being demonized by settler governments including Haldimand mayor Ken Hewitt and Ontario premier Doug Ford, the land reclamation action has continued and the LandBack movement has grown.
On April 20th 2021 members of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy Chiefs council, alongside spokesperson Skyler Williams announced the “Protect The Tract” initiative, declaring a moratorium on development in the Haldimand Tract and a need for real consultation with the community before any projects move forward.
This episode features an interview with Skyler Williams, the spokesperson for the 1492 LandBackLane land reclamation camp on Haudenosaunee territory at Six Nations in south-west Ontario.
To stay updated on the activities at the camp, check out @1492LBL on twitter and 1492LandBackLane on facebook. For more on the development moratorium and the history of land struggle at Six Nations, visit protectthetract.com
This program is a part of the “Local Journalism Initiative” grant project and is funded by the Community Radio Fund of Canada, the Government of Canada, and the CKMS Newsroom.
Check out the archived versions of this program and other episodes on radiowaterloo.ca/news., and other stories commissioned under the Local Journalism Initiative at canada-info.ca.
You can follow us on twitter @RadioWaterloo. If you want to get in touch with comments, or ideas about stories to cover, email us at news@radiowaterloo.ca
Over 250 organizations and over 3,000 individuals have signed onto “Choosing Real Safety: A Historic Declaration to Divest from Policing and Prisons and Build Safer Communities for All.”
Signatories include UNIFOR, and a wide array of human rights and racial justice organizations across Canada who talked at the recent online conference, presenting the declaration.
In this episode, we’re listening from Christin Macklin from UNIFOR, Robyn Maynard of Abolition Coalition, Ravyn Wyngs, of Black Lives Matter -Toronto, Molly Swain of the indigenous led organization Free Lands Free People, Nanky Rai of Doctors for Defunding Police, Souheil Benslima of the Criminalization and Punishment Education Project (CPEP), and Harsha Walia of British Columbia Civil Liberties Association, Canada’s oldest civil liberties organization.
The website sharing information about the declaration and facilitating individuals and organisations can sign on to declaration is www.choosingrealsafety.com.
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This program is a part of the “Local Journalism Initiative” grant program and is funded by the Community Radio Fund of Canada, the Government of Canada, and the CKMS Newsroom.
Check out the archived versions of this program and other episodes on radiowaterloo.ca/news. You can follow us on twitter @RadioWaterloo. And you can email news@radiowaterloo.ca to get in touch with comments or ideas about stories to cover.
The music was Blackroom by Moby, courtesy of mobygratis.com
