The Weight of Compassion: Refugees, Trauma, and Responsibility

 Be Careful — Not Again: A Warning to Policymakers

To the Honourable Lena Metlege Diab, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, and all policymakers shaping Canada's immigration future:

We watch the news, and it feels like a nightmare we’ve lived before. Starvation. Sleepless nights. Families ripped apart. Children scarred by violence they should never have to witness. 😢 And then we hear — they will come here, the refugees… and our hearts ache, not just with empathy, but with fear.

Fear because we remember. We remember the Syrian families, the Ukrainian families, the Vietnamese families — all seeking safety while we, as a society, struggled to support them. Hospitals overflowing. Schools strained. Social workers, nurses, and teachers stretched to their breaking point. And in the shadows, the echoes of past wrongs — Indigenous children taken, communities assimilated, promises broken — remind us how fragile compassion can be when systems fail. 💔

We do not have all the answers. All we have is the knowledge of what happens when decisions are made without care, without foresight. Housing ministers bring in hundreds of thousands of international students without homes or jobs. Governments promise support but leave the weight on the shoulders of ordinary people. And slowly, quietly, apathy seeps in. 😔

Consider the numbers: Canada accepted over 1.2 million refugees since 2015, including Syrians, Ukrainians, and others. Our hospitals, schools, and social services have been stretched to critical limits. Thousands of children arrive with trauma, and hundreds of professionals are burned out trying to help them. ⚠️

So we say: be careful. Not again. Watch history. Watch policy. Watch human suffering. Listen to the cries that cannot be ignored. Because the cost is real, and it lands here — in our schools, in our hospitals, in our streets, in the hearts of our children.

Reflective question for policymakers: 💭 How can Canada welcome those in need without creating unbearable strain on existing communities and public services? Are we prioritizing compassion responsibly, or are we repeating mistakes of the past?

Compassion is not infinite, but responsibility can be. Let us demand it. Let us remember. And let us be careful — not again. ✨

One Year Later: The Day After the Big Ugly Bill

🕯️ One Year Later: The Day After the Big Ugly Bill

By Zipolita – A Voice from the North

It’s June 30th, 2026.

The skies are clear, but there’s no joy in the light. The sun beats down harder now—every season runs hotter than the last. The rivers run thinner. The cornfields in Kansas are cracked. The bees are gone. And so are half the clinics in Mississippi.

One year ago today, the United States passed what its architects called “The Big Beautiful Bill.” But history—and the world—will remember it by its true name: The Big Ugly Bill.

In that bill, $930 billion was carved out of the soul of the country—Medicaid, SNAP, environmental protections, public housing, school lunches—all gutted. And with that knife, the richest got richer, and the rest were told to "bootstrap harder."

What followed was not a collapse, but a slow crushing.

🇺🇸 In America: A Dismantled Future

Within six months, 18 million Americans lost their health coverage. Emergency rooms overflowed. Insulin became black market currency. Some turned to Mexico for medicine. Some just... didn’t make it.

A year ago, little Maisie in Ohio got a yearly check-up for free. Today, her mother must choose: rent or the pap smear that could catch the cancer early. She chooses rent. She always does.

Prison populations grew as poverty criminalized itself. Tent cities bloomed like open wounds across every major U.S. city. Suicide rates spiked. Disability applications soared—but approvals plummeted. Entire towns became forgotten.

And the hurricanes? They kept coming. But FEMA no longer had the budget to help.

🌎 The Shockwaves Beyond the Border

In Canada, we felt the tremors too.

When the U.S. slashed clean energy funding, oil barons doubled down. Carbon emissions surged. Alberta's wildfires swallowed whole towns again, this time earlier than ever. Vancouver's skies turned orange. We wore N95s in July.

Canadian ERs filled with American refugees—people crossing the border, sick, scared, bleeding, begging for a system that still believed health care was a right. But we were already stretched thin.

Global food prices rose as U.S. exports shriveled. Farmers in Guatemala watched their coffee crops rot without subsidy buyers. In Africa, famine zones grew where American aid once reached.

The Amazon, no longer protected by climate pacts the U.S. withdrew from, burned freely again.

Fish patterns changed. Coral bleached. Birds stopped returning.

And so did hope, for many.

🐾 The Animals Knew First

The whales stopped singing near the coast of Maine.

The wolves in Yellowstone, released from silent observation, began hunting closer to towns.

Deer wandered highways more often. More collisions. Fewer survivors.

The animals knew: the balance was broken.

🕊️ A Voice from the Ashes

From my little room in coastal BC, I watch it all. I document. I draw. I resist. I grieve.

And I remember how it happened: in silence, in back rooms, with clerks reading 900 pages aloud to mostly empty chairs. While the world slept. While senators bargained their souls for campaign cash. While citizens begged and were ignored.

We Canadians may not have voted in that bill. But we live on the same planet. And now, we live in its shadow.

⚠️ The Warning

This isn’t just an American tragedy. It’s a planetary one.

When one nation forgets compassion, others must double down on it.

So I write this to warn you.

If you're reading this in comfort—in power, with voice or platform or even just a pen—know this: we are not safe from indifference. We are not exempt from history. We are not immune from the collapse of empathy.

One year later, I whisper across the border: don’t let your country follow.

🔁 Share freely. Let’s keep the lights of awareness burning while the grid still works.

When Non-Profit CEOs Make Hundreds of Thousands

 💸 How Can They Justify This?

When Non-Profit CEOs Make Hundreds of Thousands While Supposedly Helping the Poor

By Tina Winterlik aka Zipolita
http://zipolita.com (under construction)
📌 Please share and speak out. We deserve answers.

---

It’s hard to wrap your head around it.

We live in a world where millions are struggling—homeless, hungry, desperate. Families rely on food banks. Seniors skip meals to pay rent. Children suffer in conflict zones. And yet, the CEOs of some of the world’s biggest charities that claim to “help the poor” are pulling in salaries over $600,000 per year.

🏢 Save the Children – But at What Cost?

Let’s talk about Save the Children USA, where the President & CEO earns $629,000 a year. Top executives take home $400K, $500K+. And in Canada, other large charity CEOs in the environmental and humanitarian sectors are making $200K–$350K annually.

Meanwhile, ordinary people are scraping by—if they’re lucky.

---

💔 The Unjust Reality: Rent vs Income

How is it that this is legal? Because it sure isn’t ethical.

• In cities like Vancouver, landlords and property managers have conspired to keep rents inflated, despite warnings from the Competition Bureau that this is illegal.
• The average rent for a modest 2-bedroom is now $3,000/month.
• Many people bring home only $2,400/month—if they have full-time jobs.
• And social assistance rates? Barely $1,000/month, if that.

How are people supposed to live? Eat? Stay warm? Have dignity?

---

❓ Where’s the Logic in This?

When you donate $10 to a charity, you expect it to go to a child in need, a hungry family, or someone displaced by war. You don’t expect it to fund luxury salaries or big-city boardroom perks.

And yet we’re told:

“We need to pay competitive salaries to attract top talent.”

Really? If you want to “serve the poor,” maybe start by showing you're willing to live simply—like the people you claim to help.

---

🧭 Time for Radical Transparency

Charities need to be held accountable—not just in dollars, but in ethics.

✅ How much of each donation goes directly to people in need?
✅ Why are executives making more than doctors, teachers, or frontline aid workers?
✅ What if we capped non-profit CEO salaries and reinvested in real solutions?

---

🧠 Reflection Questions

Ask yourself:

1. Have you ever donated to a large charity without knowing how much their executives earn?
2. Does it seem fair that a charity CEO can earn over $600,000 while the people they serve live on less than $1,000/month?
3. What would you do differently if you were running a non-profit?
4. Should there be a legal cap on non-profit executive pay?
5. What grassroots groups do you trust more than big international NGOs?

---

✅ Mini Quiz

1. How much does the CEO of Save the Children USA make annually (as of 2023)?
A) $120,000
B) $325,000
C) $629,000
D) $1,000,000
→ ✅ Correct: C

2. What is the approximate monthly amount a person on social assistance receives in BC?
A) $500
B) $1,000
C) $2,000
D) $2,400
→ ✅ Correct: B

3. In cities like Vancouver, what is the average cost of a 2-bedroom rental?
A) $1,500
B) $2,200
C) $3,000
D) $3,800
→ ✅ Correct: C

4. What agency warned landlords that conspiring to raise rent is illegal?
A) BC Housing
B) Competition Bureau
C) CMHC
D) Vancouver Tenants Union
→ ✅ Correct: B

---

📬 Want to Take Action?

📌 Contact your MP (Member of Parliament – Federal)
Find yours here: https://www.ourcommons.ca/members/en

📌 Contact your MLA (Member of the Legislative Assembly – BC)
Find yours here: https://www.leg.bc.ca/learn-about-us/members

---

🌱 Support These Grassroots Groups Instead:

These organizations are closer to the people and often operate with much smaller budgets:

• Raise the Rates BC – https://www.facebook.com/RaiseTheRatesBC
• Vancouver Tenants Union – https://www.vancouvertenantsunion.ca
• Pivot Legal Society – https://www.pivotlegal.org
• Carnegie Community Action Project (CCAP) – https://www.carnegieaction.org
• Mutual Aid groups in your area – search Facebook or Instagram for "mutual aid + your city"

---

✊ Speak Out. Share. Ask Questions.

If this angers you—it should.
Let’s build a world where help goes where it’s needed.
Not into bloated salaries and fancy offices.

💬 Drop your thoughts in the comments.
📢 Share this with friends, community groups, or politicians.
💖 Be the change. Ask the hard questions.

---

🖋️ Written by Tina Winterlik aka Zipolita
📷 Artist • Photographer • Advocate
💻 Blogs: AdventurezInMexico | TinaWinterlik
📱 Insta/Twitter/Pinterest: @zipolita
🌐 CV: https://zipolitazcv.blogspot.com

---

No Recourse

 No Recourse: How Systemic Racism in BC Has Left Indigenous and Homeless Communities Defenseless

Vancouver’s latest attempt to remove Indigenous people from the Downtown Eastside (DTES) is not an isolated incident—it is part of a long, racist pattern enabled by government policies that provide no recourse for those affected. This is not just about Mayor Ken Sim’s leaked memo; it’s about how governments at every level have ensured that marginalized people—especially Indigenous communities—have no way to fight back.

The Dismantling of the BC Human Rights Commission

One of the biggest blows to justice in BC happened in 2002, when Premier Gordon Campbell dismantled the BC Human Rights Commission. Before this, the Commission had the power to investigate systemic discrimination and hold governments accountable for policies that disproportionately harmed marginalized groups.

• Without a Human Rights Commission, Indigenous and homeless people had no independent body to challenge discriminatory policies like forced removals, housing barriers, and racist policing.
• BC was the only province in Canada without a Human Rights Commission for nearly 15 years, until it was finally reinstated in 2019—but by then, the damage was done.
• In the meantime, governments, corporations, and police forces acted with impunity, pushing policies that disproportionately harmed Indigenous people.

COVID-19: Displacement and Death in a “Health Crisis”

When COVID-19 hit, the government had an opportunity to finally address homelessness and housing insecurity. Instead, they did the opposite.

• Encampment Evictions: Homeless encampments in Vancouver and Victoria were forcefully dismantled under the guise of “public health” while offering no real alternatives for housing.
• Selective Support: The government rushed to house middle-class people returning from vacations but left homeless and Indigenous people to die in the streets.
• Overdose Crisis Ignored: While COVID-19 funding poured in, the opioid crisis—which kills mostly Indigenous and poor people—was treated as an afterthought.

COVID revealed what we already knew: homeless lives are disposable to the government.

Ukraine Refugees: Housing for Some, Nothing for Others

In 2022, Canada opened its doors to Ukrainian refugees—offering them expedited visas, financial support, and housing assistance that homeless Canadians had never received.

• Airbnbs and Hotels Opened Up: While BC’s homeless population was told there was “no available housing,” Airbnb hosts and hotels quickly found space for Ukrainian refugees.
• Government Assistance Flowed Freely: While people in the DTES died in tents, Ukrainians arriving in Canada received housing subsidies, job placement programs, and emergency benefits.
• BC Housing Remained Useless: The very agency meant to address housing—BC Housing—was completely absent in supporting local homeless populations.

Let’s be clear: refugees deserve support. But the way Canada selectively provides housing, based on race and nationality, exposes its deep-rooted racism. Indigenous people, whose land this is, are still homeless in their own country.

Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC): A System Built for White Soldiers, Not for Everyone

When Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) was created in 1946, it wasn’t meant for everyone.

• It was designed to help returning white soldiers find homes after WWII—not Indigenous people, not racialized communities, and certainly not the poor.
• Over the decades, CMHC policies have helped middle-class and wealthy homeowners while failing to support low-income renters or the homeless.
• The federal government gutted funding for social housing in the 1990s, leaving provinces like BC to pick up the slack—and they failed miserably.

BC Housing: A Bureaucratic Failure

BC Housing, the provincial agency responsible for affordable housing, is a disaster.

• Millions in funding go to administrative costs, not real housing solutions.
• The waitlist for social housing is years long, leaving people on the streets.
• It prioritizes "low-cost market housing" over actually helping the homeless.

Meanwhile, the government has no problem giving tax breaks to real estate developers and Airbnb owners—proving that they care more about profits than people.

Where Do We Go From Here?

1. Reinstate a powerful, independent BC Human Rights Commission that can investigate racist housing policies and hold governments accountable.
2. Ban Airbnb-style rentals that take away housing stock while people die on the streets.
3. Demand real funding for Indigenous-led housing initiatives, instead of giving money to bureaucratic agencies that do nothing.
4. Call out the hypocrisy—when the government says there’s “no housing,” yet thousands of refugees find homes overnight, we need to ask why.

Final Thought: The Cycle of Racism Must End

From Gordon Campbell’s dismantling of human rights protections, to COVID-19 neglect, to the selective housing of Ukrainian refugees, we see the same story repeated:

• The government finds housing when it wants to.
• It makes excuses when it doesn’t.
• Indigenous and homeless lives remain at the bottom of their priorities.

It’s time to break this cycle—because housing isn’t just about policy, it’s about who the government believes deserves to live.

I don't think I'll ever look at life jackets the same way. #Lesvos #refugeecrisis @NeetuGarcha

 Wow Neetu, so brave of you to go and it must be very difficult.

I send you love and light and pray for you and all the refugees, to be safe on this terrible journey of their life, that it may be over soon and you and they will be safe.

I tried to put this in perspective, imagine if you in Vancouver BC lived near the beach and boatloads of people were arriving everyday...so hard to even think of such a thing...but this is the reality in Lesvos, Greece. 

I don't think I'll ever look at life jackets the same way. #Lesvos #refugeecrisis pic.twitter.com/czpB9YLalG

— Neetu Garcha (@NeetuGarcha) January 16, 2016

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“I never got the chance to sleep in settlements. I was too scared that anyone would touch me. The tents were all mixed and I witnessed violence.”http://globalnews.ca/news/2460849/female-refugees-endure-sexual-violence-exploitation-as-they-escape-war-torn-syria-iraq-amnesty

“If this humanitarian crisis was unfolding anywhere else in the world we would expect immediate practical steps to be taken to protect groups most at risk of abuse, such as women travelling alone and female-headed families,” Amnesty’s Hassan said.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dinghy full of #refugees arriving to #Lesvos today. Sun shining after few days of rain, wind, snow. Still very cold. pic.twitter.com/A3desyU0XH

— Neetu Garcha (@NeetuGarcha) January 19, 2016

Life jackets left on shore after refugees arrived to #Lesvos today. Very cold but better weather than past few days. pic.twitter.com/33omtJYLPN

— Neetu Garcha (@NeetuGarcha) January 19, 2016

Boats and life jackets recycled after #refugees arrive, used for shelter at receiving camp in northern #Lesvos. pic.twitter.com/eoAFBVEGrw

— Neetu Garcha (@NeetuGarcha) January 19, 2016

Snowing in #Lesvos. Terrible conditions for refugees to be arriving to the island. High risk #refugeecrisis pic.twitter.com/Tb7v8pULKR

— Neetu Garcha (@NeetuGarcha) January 18, 2016

Looking across to Turkish mountains from #Lesvos on this cold, windy, snowy day hoping there are no boats out there. pic.twitter.com/Z0pOhzzU7s

— Neetu Garcha (@NeetuGarcha) January 18, 2016

Significant rainfall in #Lesvos has lead to few boats arriving in past cpl days. Expecting many once weather clears. pic.twitter.com/9tRY9kh5m5

— Neetu Garcha (@NeetuGarcha) January 17, 2016

UPDATE: Arrested volunteers helping refugees in Greece have been released on bail https://t.co/re17Dw6RlB pic.twitter.com/uMuI0QODJs

— Global National (@GlobalNational) January 17, 2016

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/01/ngos-decry-arrests-volunteer-lifeguards-greece-160116193522648.html

NGOs decry charges against volunteers in Greece
Police charges carrying prison sentences of up to 10 years in jail made against volunteer lifeguards who rescue refugees have angered the NGO community in the Greek island of Lesbos, with some reporting a growing crackdown on their activities.

On Thursday, the Greek coastguard arrested two Danish and three Spanish volunteers from the Team Humanity and Proem Aid groups, respectively.

They are accused of people smuggling, Themistoklis Kefalas, a Danish citizens' lawyer, confirmed to Al Jazeera.

The Danish volunteers are Mohammed Abbassi, 26, and Salam Aldeen, 33. The three Spanish volunteers are Manuel Blanco, Jose Enrique and Julio Latorre.

Late on Saturday, the five volunteers who all deny the charges were released on bail.
All except Aldeen were made to pay a 5,000-euro ($5,450) fee.http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/01/ngos-decry-arrests-volunteer-lifeguards-greece-160116193522648.html

TIMELAPSE: Mountains of life jackets on a cloudy, windy day in northern #Lesvos. Very surreal sight. #refugeecrisis pic.twitter.com/cKwsoYWyf2

— Neetu Garcha (@NeetuGarcha) January 16, 2016

Welcome To Canada- Canadian Children Welcome Refugees Dec 2015

Canadian Children Welcome their new neighbours!

Welcome to Canada https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mINeZ28wC0I

Welcome to Canada https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mINeZ28wC0I

Welcome to Canada https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mINeZ28wC0I

Welcome to Canada https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mINeZ28wC0I

RE:Refugees- CHOOSE LOVE NOT FEAR!!

What "wouldn't " you do if this was YOUR child!!
This child is EVERYONE'S baby!!

www.bbc.com

RMR: Rick's Rant - Refugees
Rick's Rant on Refugees.
Posted by Rick Mercer Report on Wednesday, November 25, 2015

#Refugees #Syria #Canada #Love #Mothers #Children #Families #HELP

Island of Refugees-www.newyorker.com

www.zahratrust.com

"Justin Trudeau broke a campaign promise on Tuesday. And it might be the smartest decision his fledgling government makes in the next four years.

By acknowledging his government won't meet its deadline of resettling 25,000 Syrian refugees in Canada before the end of the year, the prime minister acknowledged that the ISIS-sponsored attacks in Paris this month have heightened Canadians' concerns about security.

"This is about welcoming people who are fleeing terrorism, not bringing terrorism with them," Trudeau said in an interview with CBC Radio's Matt Galloway on Tuesday." http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/justin-trudeau-syrian-refugees-canada-1.3335517

"This is a government that promised transparency and evidence-based decision-making," he said. "If the extension of six to eight weeks gives Canadians more confidence in the process, that's a good thing."

Details of revised plan

Under the revised plan, Canada will identify the 25,000 refugees it plans to resettle by Dec. 31, with 10,000 of those now slated to arrive in Canada by the end of the year. The rest will arrive by the end of February 2016

--------------------------------------------------------------

All I can say Canadians is CHOOSE LOVE NOT FEAR!!

URGENTLY NEEDED: CLOTHING, HOUSEHOLD ITEMS, TOILETERIES- Chinatown-Access Gallery

If you have anything CLEAN/NEW and ORGANIZED BY CATEGORY for the 1500 refugees arriving in Surrey next week, you can drop it off at 

Access Gallery in Chinatown 12-5 on Wed & Thurs (Nov 25 & 26). 

 Especially coats/gloves/winter clothes, new soap/toiletries, bedding. Thanks to Martin Pescador and Julia Marshburn for organizing this.

More drivers are needed for Friday - probably late morning convoy? Pick up at Access gallery and take to the Middle Eastern Friendship Centre at 13483 108th Ave in Surrey (which is open 11:00 am to 6:00 pm Wednesday through Saturday usually). Thanks!

PS IT IS CRITICAL TO SORT AND LABEL YOUR DONATION. I just heard that it helps if all toiletries are in ziploc bags, and if other stuff is bagged or boxed by type (ie "women's adult clothes" etc.) to aid volunteers at the other end.

From the lady on Fb where I got this post but didn't post her name..
FINALLY: two small requests - don't message me please, and if you don't know me in real life, please don't send me a friend request. I got inundated with requests from strangers this morning. Thanks. 

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10153188075860544&set=a.10150201807660544.320703.695325543&type=3&theater

Did you ever see Charlie Wilson's War or Rawanda Hotel? Do You Remember Guatemala?

Did you ever see this movie? Well I saw it quite a while back.



 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlie_Wilson's_War
Making all the necessary arrangements, Herring persuades Charlie to fly out and visit the Pakistani leadership. Pakistani President Zia and two top military aides are skeptical of Wilson's courtesy call.

They complain about the inadequate American support in opposing the Soviet Union, with the sad result being that their country is being flooded with Afghans fleeing the warfare. Zia persuades Charlie to visit a major Pakistan-based Afghan refugee camp.

Charlie is deeply moved by the sprawling camp, the endless squalor, the ceaseless misery, the children maimed by land mines, the constant deaths and funerals, the struggle to find food, and, yet, amazingly, the obvious determination by camp inhabitants to fight the Soviets.

Charlie leaves the refugee camp a changed man. Immediately meeting with a regional CIA chief, Wilson is frustrated by the official's insistence on a low-key approach against the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan in order to avoid direct American implication. Charlie returns home to lead an effort to substantially increase funding to the mujahideen.
 Read more here or watch the movie

Here's another interesting excerpt from Wikipedia:

George Crile III, author of the book on which the film is based, wrote that the mujahideen's victory in Afghanistan ultimately opened a power vacuum for bin Laden: "By the end of 1993, in Afghanistan itself there were no roads, no schools, just a destroyed country—and the United States was washing its hands of any responsibility. It was in this vacuum that the Taliban and Osama bin Laden would emerge as the dominant players. It is ironic that a man who had almost nothing to do with the victory over the Red Army, Osama bin Laden, would come to personify the power of the jihad."

So back then everyone thought this was the answer...but it wasn't and now we have drones and other terrible things. WAR IS NEVER THE ANSWER.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guatemalan_Civil_War

 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


The saddest most disturbing part I found was at the end of the movie, where Charlie asks the US government to spend $1 million and go in a rebuild all the schools, so that that the children who had lost everything and hated the US would know that they had actually helped.

Now maybe that's all Hollywood or maybe it's the truth.

I believe children are forgotten in war and when you kill someone's parents and that child has no loving authority figure to guide them, especially if the area has been bombed to shit, than is it any wonder these children wouldn't grow up to be vengeful.

I have always said "Monsters make Monsters" meaning that if a child grows up beaten and abuse and hurt over and over they can not learn to love. They have no empathy. Empathy is a learned trait.

This is how wars start and continue. We must stop this from occurring over and over.

We must be peaceful, we must have social justice. We must address climate justice so that people have the opportunity to feed themselves and not be displaced.

We are coming to a crossroads, we have actually arrived in many ways. The choice will be ours. We must walk the talk and really be peacekeepers if we do  not want our children to live through the horrors that many children and young adults think are just memories for old men at Remembrance day.

So as we all get back to the work week think carefully about what you say and how you say it. Think of peace. Because we all want to live in a peaceful world right.
http://tinawinterlik.blogspot.ca/2015/11/we-all-need-to-be-lighthouses-of-peace.html

We don't want our little cherubs living through this.
https://twitter.com/Free_Media_Hub
sign the petition @ http://stopthebombs.com
http://www.genocideinsyria.org/#!stop-the-bombs-petition-/hn6rq 

And keep in mind that nothing is fair in this world and while we try to take the higher road, there are going to obvious signs of inequalites in this world

Facebook gets flak for Beirut-Paris 'double standard'

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2015/11/facebook-flak-reaction-paris-attacks-151115071745802.html

Paris: You Don’t Want to Read This

 http://www.commondreams.org/views/2015/11/15/paris-you-dont-want-read

And if you haven't really thought thing through and you just want to ignore it all, well then you should watch this movie. I watched it last night. I had to fast forward through the really graphic parts but it gives a good portrayal of what can happen to people. 

People who are the same as you and I but get left behind with no one to help because of the their colour or nationality. This is based on a true story. If you have no idea what if feels like to be in the wrong place and have a war break out, then you should, because all of you that think that bombing some place is a good idea, then watch this. 

"We Need to Help One Another- it is the only thing keeping us alive"




If you don't know what is going on, and it's actually very complicated but this cartoon tells you how it all started.

This Cartoon Succinctly Explains The Background To The Syrian Conflict

Click the link to see the whole story

http://www.unilad.co.uk/articles/this-cartoon-succinctly-explains-the-background-to-the-syrian-conflict/

Instead we need to be Lighthouses of Peace, we must demand social justice and that interconnects with climate justice so strongly, we can not have one with out the other. 

This is the crossroads. Make a stand for them, make a stand for our future and children's future. Enough is enough... we all have rights http://tinawinterlik.blogspot.ca/2015/11/article-25-right-to-adequate-standard.html 

We must peacefully demand and vote for our rights. We must practice peace at home and in our community and in our actions.  









War, huh, yeah
What is it good for
Absolutely nothing
Uh-huh
War, huh, yeah
What is it good for
Absolutely nothing
Say it again, y'all
War, huh, good God
What is it good for
Absolutely nothing
Listen to me
Ohhh, war, I despise
Because it means destruction
Of innocent lives
War means tears
To thousands of mothers eyes
When their sons go to fight
And lose their lives
I said, war, huh
Good God, y'all
What is it good for
Absolutely nothing
Say it again
War, whoa, Lord
What is it good for
Absolutely nothing
Listen to me
War, it ain't nothing
But a heartbreaker
War, friend only to the undertaker
Ooooh, war
It's an enemy to all mankind
The point of war blows my mind
War has caused unrest
Within the younger generation
Induction then destruction
Who wants to die
Aaaaah, war-huh
Good God y'all
What is it good for
Absolutely nothing
Say it, say it, say it
War, huh
What is it good for
Absolutely nothing
Listen to me
War, huh, yeah
What is it good for
Absolutely nothing
Uh-huh
War, huh, yeah
What is it good for
Absolutely nothing
Say it again y'all
War, huh, good God
What is it good for
Absolutely nothing
Listen to me
War, it ain't nothing but a heartbreaker
War, it's got one friend
That's the undertaker
Ooooh, war, has shattered
Many a young mans dreams
Made him disabled, bitter and mean
Life is much to short and precious
To spend fighting wars these days
War can't give life
It can only take it away
Ooooh, war, huh
Good God y'all
What is it good for
Absolutely nothing
Say it again
War, whoa, Lord
What is it good for
Absolutely nothing
Listen to me
War, it ain't nothing but a heartbreaker
War, friend only to the undertaker
Peace, love and understanding
Tell me, is there no place for them today
They say we must fight to keep our freedom
But Lord knows there's got to be a better way
Ooooooh, war, huh
Good God y'all
What is it good for
You tell me
Say it, say it, say it, say it
War, huh
Good God y'all
What is it good for
Stand up and shout it
Nothing

http://www.oldielyrics.com/lyrics/edwin_starr/war.html

Syrian Climate Injustice = Syrian Crisis/War

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJWbxUUi4ME

 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJWbxUUi4ME

 

Published on Nov 11, 2015

Several studies have pointed to a link between climate change and the civil war in Syria, which started in 2011 and is still ongoing as of 2015. The direct causes of the conflict relate to popular discontent with the government. Yet the mishandling of a major drought in the preceding years likely fed into this discontent, and climate change increased the likelihood for such a drought.

We examine these dynamics by introducing the ECC Factbook -- a visual and interactive tool informing policy makers and the general public about conflicts with an environmental dimension.

For more detailed analyses on the background of the civil war in Syria, see here: https://library.ecc-platform.org/conf...

If you would like to reseach other cases, you can also do so at: https://factbook.ecc-platform.org/.

Canada FAIL! I am so sorry Aylan.

With the horrific images in the news today we are faced with many emotions.
First you feel like "Don't Look!" and you want to turn. But you must, we must face this.

Our country rejected Aylan and his family and many more. The conservatives have put so many new rules and made things so difficult the people can't make it through the system. Could YOU?

Who could? If a war broke out, who the hell has time for paperwork when all your friends and neighbours and families are being murdered....how would you cope.

If you had no food, shelter, water, ....if you child was scared...and you could offer no comfort because you were scared too...what would you do?

How Can We Help?
Supposedly the governments are supposed to take care of these things but obviously it's not working. Governments are just people. We are the people. What can we do? What can I do...I am not in a position to give money or even advice but I can share this.

I can help you realize that these are people. They are not animals. They are not just something happening in a far off place, we need to help...

#shame #Canada #Conservatives #refugees #Calais #Syria #Britain #Africa #help #crisis #Climate #poverty #CallforChange #DoSomething #StopTheMadness

https://twitter.com/search?q=refugee+crisis&ref_src=twsrc^google|twcamp^serp|twgr^search

His name was Aylan. He was 3 years old. He drowned at sea with his parents and his 5 year old brother, Galip. They fled from violence, oppression and poverty and tried to reach Europe. They symbolise the desperation of thousands. https://www.facebook.com/solidaritywithgreece/photos/a.1681903648696778.1073741828.1681857028701440/1707154162838393/?type=1&theater

This is how he should have been lying tonight. Safe. Warm. Alive.

God bless this poor little cherub, let him sleep with the angels tonight. May his parent somehow survive there grief and loss, not of just one beautiful child but of two, as his brother drowned also.
RIP beautiful boy. You DESERVED SO MUCH MORE!!

I am so sad this world has failed you! Emotions overwelm me as I write this post, it is very difficult to share these disturbing images. I pray that there can be change, enlightenment, empathy and that this madness will end.

NO CAMP!
http://news.sky.com/story/1545899/no-camp-no-camp-migrants-forced-off-train

 
 Calais Migrants- Life in the Jungle- WATCH TO UNDERSTAND
Away from the chaotic scenes on Calais's motorways and ports, the migrant camp known as the 'new Jungle' is growing fast and showing signs of becoming a permanent fixture. The Guardian spent three weeks following the lives of a few of its 3,000 residents, rare in-depth access that reveals a growing human cost of the crisis, and the challenges facing refugees and migrants trying to reach Britain
http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/video/2015/jul/27/calais-migrants-jungle-camp-video

Aylan Kurdi: Canadian immigration minister suspends election campaign to investigate why Syrian family's refugee application was refused

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/aylan-kurdi-syrian-boys-family-took-deadly-voyage-after-canada-refused-refugee-application-10483968.html

17 Heartbreaking Cartoons From Artists All Over The World Mourning The Drowned Syrian Boy

http://www.buzzfeed.com/ryanhatesthis/humanity-washed-ashore?bffbmain&utm_term=4ldqpgp#.rd7BdlQvo

Life in the Jungle: Migrants Stories

It's difficult to see this and even harder to imagine living like this. This film gives a brief personal look  into these refugees and why they are risking their lives doing what they do.  I am praying for them all. This could be you or me! What would you do?