What London Can Be

Over the past several months while we have all been confined to home, many of us have listened to the news on several platforms giving us the news of the day internationally, nationally, and local news.  As a member of the London Affordable Housing Foundation, one storyline that I have been following with great interest is the impact the pandemic has had on housing.  We know some people who have been able to save and have money to enter a housing market whose prices are rising weekly. However, a story not as readily covered is the impact the pandemic has had on those who have lost jobs, who work for very low wages yet in markets that are identified as essential, and who have lost housing, whose rents are already high, or who are homeless.  Solutions seem elusive or seem to take an endless about of time.

However, I am buoyed by the commitment of the not-for-profit housing providers in the city.  Six of these groups have come together to lay out a plan for mixed housing on part of the lands of the former Victoria Hospital.  The plan is called Vision SoHo Alliance.  As it takes shape, the plan will include over 350 affordable units (i.e. below-market rents for that area).  We were called together by the London Community Foundation to consider how we could collaborate to address the critical housing need in London. Click here to listen to a podcast discussion by Sylvia Harris and Greg Playford describes our plan and our hope to make a difference:

https://www.lcf.on.ca/whatlondoncanbe/2021/3/22/episode-3-sylvia-harris-amp-greg-playford

The podcast is longer than a few minutes, but it is worth the listen.  Join us in supporting this unique and collaborative effort, unique in Canada.

Joan Atkinson, London Affordable Housing Foundation - Part of Vision SoHo.

Click here to read more about the Vision SoHo Alliance.

Concept art for the proposed development on the vacant Old Victoria Hospital lands.

10,000 Ways to Love

On July 1st, some of us had the opportunity to see 10,000 manifestations of Love in the Healing walk that took place in Victoria Park to honour the thousands of children who had died as a result of the Residential School system.

There was a general sense of respect, gratitude, and kindness among the throngs of people as the Indigenous-led event took place with the drumming, the Gingo dancers, and the little children dressed in their regalia, danced, stepped to the beat of the drum.

Chief Jason Henry, with the ceremonial flags of some of the Anishinabe clans surrounding him, gave a very compelling speech in which he respectfully stated the truth of the Residential School System and the importance of ALL of us working together toward Reconciliation.

The gigantic drum beat in the crowd reminded me of the pulse of Life that flows through all of us, and somehow that was well captured and expressed by the young, old, and all those in between, Indigenous and Settlers alike.

As I was observing the Circle Dance, I felt a breeze coming over me and looked up to see an Indigenous man of about 50, gently fanning me to keep me cool.  It was so simple and yet, so profound.

Another Settler woman commented that for her… “Seeing the children and young people gathered gives me the hope that we can build a better Canada. I am compelled to educate myself and just purchased the audiobook “21 Things You May Not Know About the Indian Act.”

The experience has remained with me and many others since the event took place. Afterward, in a mixed group, one Indigenous woman suggested that we are entering the period of the 8th fire prophecy where Indigenous and Settler will once again live in harmony, caring for the earth together. https://roncesvallesvillage.ca/seventh-fire-prophecy/

“…there has been a talk of an Eighth Fire in which the ancestor prophets say that to light the Eighth Fire Indigenous People will come forward with their knowledge connecting with the western knowledge and from this union a new people will emerge lighting the Eighth and final Fire. This will begin the golden age of peace, explains lead artist and Indigenous art & history educator Phil Cote.

Reflecting further on this image is a source of much hope as the Orange flame that is planted in each of us by Creator is meant to spread throughout the earth as long as we are alive.”

A visual reflection, courtesy of Lindsey Mills. The sculpture is the Spirit Catcher Sculpture on Kempenfelt Bay in Barrie, Ontario

It is as if we are entering into a new period of history as noted by Lindsey Mills in this visual reflection. https://thetransfiguration.ca/2021/06/27/general-announcement-12/

In conclusion, I am grateful and VERY HOPEFUL after having had this experience.  I am hopeful because of the young Indigenous leadership that is emerging.  I am hopeful that more of us settlers are becoming more educated about the history of this land that is meant to be shared between the Indigenous peoples and us. It is from the grassroots that I believe real change is happening and this is a transfiguration for all of us.

Let us embrace this opportunity to be the change that we really want.

Submitted by Sister Kathleen Lichti, CSJ

WORLD REFUGEE DAY - June 20th

WORLD REFUGEE DAY - June 20, 2021

“For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who is not partial and takes no bribe, who executes justice for the orphan and the widow, and who loves the stranger, providing them food and clothing.  You shall also love the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.”  Dt. 10:17-19.

World Refugee Day, what does that title bring to your mind?  The many Syrian refugees who made it to Canada in the last 7 years or so, or the endless stream of Rohingiya that fled from Myanmar to Bangladesh? Do you know that there are more than 79.5 million refugees and displaced people worldwide?

The UNHCR – the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees – established by the General Assembly of the UN in 1951 and ratified by 145 states, works in 135 states trying to help stateless people and refugees displaced by violence, conflict, and persecution. Climate change also brings about more and more refugees but no legal path for their safety has yet been established.

The latest wave of refugees has come from the city of Goma, Province of North Kivu, and its surrounding area, in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo, an area already plagued by many problems.  There, on June 1st the Nyiragongo volcano erupted, causing some 450,000 people to flee.  The UNHCR is preparing places for some of these refugees in neighbouring Rwanda at the Busamana Congolese refugee site. 

Let us also not forget the over 72,000 Palestinians from the Gaza strip displaced by the Israeli-Palestinian hostility last month. That probably brings the total number of displaced persons and refugees to 80 million.

Half of the world’s refugees are children. In 2019, more than two-thirds of all refugees came from just five countries: Syria, Venezuela, Afghanistan, South Sudan and Myanmar.  Currently, Turkey hosts the largest number of refugees, 3.6 million and Colombia is hosting 1.8 million Venezuelans. In 2019 only half a per cent of the world’s refugees were resettled and last year, because of Covid-19, the number was most likely much less. Over the past decade, just over one million refugees were resettled, compared to 3.9 million refugees who returned to their countries. As always 85% of refugees are being hosted in developing countries. What does that picture tell us?

“Wealthier countries aren’t doing nearly enough to share the cost of protecting people who have left everything behind. Appeals for humanitarian assistance for refugees are consistently – and often severely – underfunded.” (A.I.) “Many wealthier states continue to prioritize policies that will deter people from seeking asylum and finding ways to stop people coming altogether”. (A.I.) This, in turn, leads to desperate refugees having to take greater risks, such as handing themselves over to traffickers, getting into unseaworthy vessels, etc.

Manyovu Transit Camp

Canadians have tried to do their best, especially through sponsoring many Syrian refugees.  That is to be applauded but it is only a drop in the bucket!   For example, 2 years ago, a Karen sponsored refugee family, that had been living in refugee camps for 20 years, – all their children were born in refugee camps – came to St. Michael’s R.C. Parish.  What an endless time of languishing and hoping, hoping and hoping…Thankfully, they are settling in more and more!

Have you ever noticed how some of the Psalms speak of what refugees go through every day?  Pray these Psalms for them to keep up their courage.

How does the lack of money given to UNHCR show in the everyday life of refugees? From personal sponsoring experience with four young adult refugees, regarded as a family, I can tell you how small and extremely simple their food ration is: for one month they receive: 40 kg of cornflower, 12 kg of beans, 1 litre of vegetable oil and 0.4 gr. of salt. That is it for food for one month for a 4-member adult family!  They also receive 1 small piece of soap each for 2 months!  No feminine hygiene products are provided. 

We all know that the UN can only do what its member states agree to.  It seems even worse with UNHCR: UNHCR depends on the goodwill of the country in which it is operating. For example, to get refugee identity papers corrected can take forever if the country you landed in, is not favourably disposed to refugees or to a certain nationality, and who can blame them if they are carrying a much heavier weight than countries that have greater means to support refugees?

We are getting to the root of the problem.  As A.I. puts it: “In short, the world urgently needs a new, global plan based on genuine international cooperation and a meaningful sharing of responsibilities.” Doesn’t that echo Pope Francis’ encyclicals of Laudato Si’ and Fratelli Tutti?

We need to use our power as citizens in lobbying for worthwhile humanitarian causes and bring them to the fore in election periods. We need to be aware of what our federal budget is used for and what Canadian foreign policies can help stem the flow of refugees. And next, are regulations set in place to prevent human rights and environmental abuses, for example in Canadian mining companies operating globally - being observed, controlled, and enforced if not?

We need to support refugee agencies financially, if able.  The Covid-19 recession is expected to push 115 million people into extreme poverty.   During this month of June there is a chance for UNHCR and/or Development and Peace and probably A.I. as well, to win $ 20,000.00 if you donate to one of these organizations on the Canada Helps platform.  Or again, try to be ready to help with government or privately sponsored refugees, as this last part of 2021 could well overwhelm supportive agencies if, to make up for the sponsorships postponed or delayed because of Covid-19, too many refugees arrive all at once. You’ll be pleasantly surprised by your newfound friends!

And in the spirit of anti-racism, if you can, give a refugee a job, no matter from what country they come! Their hard work will please you and will quickly make up for any early language barriers you may have to struggle with.

Through your companionship with refugees or your work for refugees on whatever level, may you experience Christ’s promise:

“Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry, and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing….

Lord, and when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing?

And the king will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did it for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did it to me.”  Mt. 25: 34-35; 38, 40.

-Sister Maria van Leeuwen, C.S.J.

 [Basic statistics and information based on UNHCR-Canada, Amnesty International, Development and Peace, plus personal experience.] 

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June 20 is World Refugee Day. See how you can get involved in refugee support with this toolkit from the UN Refugee Agency. #WorldRefugeeDay

https://www.unhcr.org/609553414/world-refugee-day-2021-toolkit-pdf

Our Vanishing Heritage: Canada’s Irreplaceable Old Growth Forests

Forests  are our climate allies – defending against climate change. They sequester carbon below and above ground, provide habitat for endangered species, clean water and revive our spirits. The survival of Canada’s remaining old-growth forests is in jeopardy. The logging of old-growth forests in BC has increased this past year despite protests.   

In the June 2021  issue of The Walrus, Suzanne Simard, Professor of forest ecology at UBC, provides a startling description of how “trees cooperate, share resources, and communicate through underground fungal – or mycorrhizal – networks . . . “ in British Columbia’s old-growth forests. The giant 250-year-old trees are central in the ecosystem consisting of plants, fungi, rainfall, fires, birds, animals, and humans.  These marvelous old-growth forests contribute greatly to the quality of our environment and enjoyment of life.  However, they are rapidly disappearing and will never be replaced.   Our future will lack giant trees that nurture seedlings, host disappearing species, deter wildfires, protect water systems, absorb carbon dioxide, release oxygen, and feed our spirits.   

The May 27 issue of The Globe and Mail  contains an article by Justine Hunter, “Understanding the backstory behind the Fairy Creek blockade”.   The Teal Jones Group, the largest privately-owned timber harvesting and lumber-product manufacturing company in BC., had obtained a license to harvest a 12.8-hectare block of mainly old-growth forests.  On discovering a new logging road to this site last summer, a group of protesters called the “Rainforest Flying Squad” established a series of moving blockades to prevent access. On April 1 this year the BC Supreme Court granted an injunction that authorized the RCMP to remove protesters from blockades in logging roads within Tree Farm License areas.     

Hunter’s article states that BC has 57 million hectares of forests and about 200,000 hectares are harvested each year—mostly in replanted second-growth areas “which do not recreate the rich biodiverse ecosystems of an undisturbed forest”.  There are about 13 million hectares of old forests in B.C. and 80% of that consists of less productive areas of bogs or high altitude sparsely treed land of low commercial value. Approximately 50,000 hectares of old-growth is harvested annually. Unlike countries, such as New Zealand, old-growth logging is still permitted.    

Protests against logging old-growth forests continue despite more than 150 arrests. Protesters are chaining themselves to whatever they can to fight against logging in the Fairy Creek area of B.C. Hundreds of people continue to flood back into old-growth blockade camps cleared by the RCMP to protect what they view as the very limited remaining old-growth forests.                 

In Canada, we are facing a choice of valuing a lucrative resource that rewards governments and corporations versus protecting a valuable and irreplaceable heritage.   

-Sister Patricia McKeon, csj