The Dominion - Photo Essay

As Firm as a Tree

dawn — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 05:48:51 +0000

Portraits of Diodora Henandez, a woman in resistance against Canadian mining

SAN MIGUEL IXTAHUACAN, GUATEMALA—On July 7, 2010, Diodora Hernandez, a staunch anti-mining activist, was shot point-blank in the right eye.

The incident took place outside her home in the small community of San Jose Nueva Esperanza, in the municipality of San Miguel Ixtahuacan, only a few metres from a fence that delimits Goldcorp’s Marlin Mine.

Hernandez, who lost her right eye as a result of the attack, lives with her daughter Maria and granddaughter Olga. One year after her miraculous recovery, Hernandez’s anti-mining stance and activism remains as steadfast as ever.

“They tried to kill me because I do not want to sell my plot of land,” she said while being interviewed on the local radio station, The Voice of the People.

“People around here do not think about the future or their children, but only on the present, the money they can get for the present.”

James Rodriguez is an independent documentary photographer based in Guatemala. He publishes at mimundo.org.

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Occupations spread to Streets and Squares across Canada

Tim McSorley — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 21:15:24 +0000

A look at Occupy actions from coast-to-coast

On Saturday, October 15, thousands of people across Canada joined the international day of Occupy Together: a call for people around the world to join Occupy Wall Street, an encampment in the heart of New York City's financial district and home to many of the companies that people now hold partly to blame for the ongoing economic crisis.

The Wall Street occupation, which began on September 17, has its own roots in the uprisings and occupations of central plazas across the Middle East and Europe over the past year. These movements are perhaps best exemplified by the Egyptian revolution, where people held their ground in Tahrir Square until the fall of then-president Hosni Mubarak.

The Occupy movement has since spread around the world, and taken on distinct characteristics and demands in each country—and each city— Canada is no exception. Recognizing that Canada is a colonial nation established on occupied Native land, many have called for Decolonize Canada to also become a rallying cry.

But like Occupy Wall Street, for many a radical change to the economy and the government are the main motivations for their participation. “What are people waking up to? We are waking up to a world where all young people and working class people have no future,” said Fightback member Farshad Azadian, to applause from the gathered assembly. “The conditions for our people are getting worse and worse, while bankers and industrialists are making huge amounts of profit and getting government hands outs, tax breaks, and bail-outs," he said. "What we are saying is we’re not having it.”

Below is a collection of photos from Occupy actions across Canada.

The photos above were taken by Caelie (Vancouver), Andy Crosby (Ottawa), Mike Barber (Toronto), Alheli Picazo (Calgary), Mike Barber (Toronto), Caelie (Vancouver), Darren Ell (Montréal), Caelie (Vancouver), Miles Howe (Halifax), Hillary Lindsay (Halifax), and posted to Media Co-op locals across the country.

Looking for more coast-to-coast coverage of the Occupy movement? View—and add—ongoing coverage in the Media Co-op's Occupy site.

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Straight from the Heart

Moira Peters — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 12:06:32 +0000

Messages from Occupy Wall Street

NEW YORK CITY—While in New York on October 8 and 9 to photograph the ongoing Occupy Wall Street (OWS) protest, I was struck by the clarity and simplicity of the messages being delivered by those attending. While protesters had many ways of expressing themselves, I was affected most by the direct, simple, and visceral messages coming from young and old, employed and unemployed, activists and non-activists. The posters—handmade and written in pen or felt marker on the simplest of surfaces—told the story of an angry, heartbroken and disillusioned population. It made me think of the signs I saw Haitians holding in Port-au-Prince following the 2004 coup d’etat: simple messages scrawled on cardboard demanding human rights and an end to injustice.

While the United States is certainly not Haiti, the disgust that people are feeling with the current economic system and those who run it for their own benefit is palpable. Among the protesters were those who understood the complex workings of the corporate capitalist system that is ruining the lives of millions of people. Also among them were people with a less sophisticated understanding of the issues, but nonetheless a very clear lived experience of the damage being done.

Although Liberty Square measures only one square block in the massive city of New York, I wondered like many of those present if this growing protest would have the long-term effect of satisfying some of the demands of those holding the signs.

On the eve of OWS coming to Canada, I am hopeful.

Darren Ell is a freelance photographer in Montreal and a member of the Canada Haiti Action Network. His work can be viewed at www.darrenell.com.

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Excluded, but not Silenced

Moira Peters — Sun, 09 Jan 2011 03:43:32 +0000

Indigenous Peoples at COP16

CANCUN, MEXICO—Led by members of international farmers movement La Via Campesina and the Indigenous Peoples Caucus, thousands marched through the searing heat in Cancun, Mexico, in December 2010, to demand real climate solutions. Their message was loud and clear: the communities on the front-lines of the problem—those who face the daily impacts of the climate crisis—are also on the front-lines of the solutions.

"Current models of consumption, production and trade have caused massive environmental destruction," according to a statement by La Via Campesina. "Indigenous peoples and peasant farmers, men and women, are the main victims. [We] need a change in economic and development paradigms. Human beings do not own nature, but rather form part of all that lives."

Images and text by Allan Lissner, an independent photojournalist based in Toronto.

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Water to Mine

Moira Peters — Wed, 06 Oct 2010 05:07:19 +0000

Goldcorp’s Penasquito project in Mexico robs semi-desert region of precious resource

ZACATECAS, MEXICO—Five years ago a new neighbour arrived in Mazapil, Mexico, promising employment, medical services and general development for the local peasant communities as it hoped to develop one of the world’s largest gold mines. The newcomer—Canadian mining company Goldcorp Inc—built its mine but has yet to honour its promises to the thousands of people of Mazapil. Particularly for the residents of Cedros, Las Palmas and El Vergel—communities adjacent to the massive industrial complex—hope for a brighter future has dimmed.

In fact, Goldcorp’s Penasquito Mine has turned out to be a troublesome addition to the community, guzzling the municipality's scarce water sources, while its most significant contribution has been contamination and social division.

“Even though it has been a mining town by tradition, [Mazapil] has never been prosperous. Its population has managed to survive off agriculture and the raising of livestock,” according to an April 2010 article in the local paper, El Diario de Coahuila. The ejido system still prevails in this part of the country. It consists of community members, known as the ejidatarios, sharing a common landholding, both for agriculture and residence.

"We have had a very hard life and struggled enormously to upkeep this ejido," says Hernandez Herrera. "We have already suffered so much, and now, this monster comes to devastate our territories. What will we do once the water runs out? And it is clear that it will run out! Because in every place where a mine establishes itself, the water eventually runs out."

James Rodriguez is an independent documentary photographer based in Guatemala. He authors mimundo.org, where a version of this photo essay was originally published.

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Tamils Welcomed in Vancouver

dawn — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 05:24:54 +0000

Hundreds support Tamil refugees on the MV Sun Sea

VANCOUVER—Two hundred people assembled at the Vancouver Art Gallery on the afternoon of August 22 to show solidarity with the 492 Tamil refugees detained and being processed by Canada Immigration. The refugees arrived together on the MV Sun Sea, a ship which docked near Esquimalt, BC.

"People all across the country are saying that we're with the refugees; let the boat stay," said Harsha Walia, an organizer with No One Is Illegal. "[To] every single person who says the boat should go back: we will overcome your dehumanization."

Text by Isaac Oommen; photos by Murray Bush. This photo essay was previously published in two parts by the Vancouver Media Co-op.

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Guatemalan Women Speak Out Against Rape

dawn — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 05:05:42 +0000

Soldiers, police, security terrorized residents who live in nickel-rich area

EL ESTOR, GUATEMALA—It was the middle of May, just days into the rainy season, when I made the trip to Lote 8, one of the dozens of Maya-Qeqchi villages scattered about the steep and perennially green Santa Cruz mountain range in eastern Guatemala. Clouds formed and dissipated over the Western Highlands, reaching by dusk the lowlands around Lake Izabal and the Polochic River basin. Then the stagnant heat broke, in storm. In the weeks to come, the rains would increase, scouring the mountains of their red-tinted earth, forcing it to the valley below, and eventually out to sea.

Roughly 100 years ago, the Maya-Qeqchi of Izabal began to occupy the marginal lands. Many still live on these lands—on the narrow sloping tracts beneath the mountain, within view of the sprawling lake and the distant mist-shrouded ridges of the Sierra de las Minas to the south. Others, like those from Lote 8, fled the lowlands below, higher into the mountains. Despite the steep slopes and rugged terrain, they took root, grew with family, endured flood and drought, had plentiful harvests and practiced the ancient ways.

Nathan Einbinder is a graduate student in the field of geography. Much of his work focuses on the impacts of development on Indigenous and marginalized people, particularly in Central America.

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Whose Woods These Are

Moira Peters — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 05:08:00 +0000

Land defenders celebrate a year since Hanlon Creek occupation

OCCUPIED NEUTRAL TERRITORY (GUELPH)—The struggle to defend the Hanlon Creek Wetland Complex (HCWC) against developers and the city of Guelph has been ongoing for close to a decade. Last summer, from July 27 to August 15, this struggle culminated in a 19-day defensive land occupation just south of Guelph, and resulted in a $5 million Strategic Litigation Against Public Participation (SLAPP) suit against five people—myself among them. We were charged with conspiracy, interference with economic relations inducing breach of contract, trespass, nuisance, and intimidation. The Court recognized our struggle by awarding us an injunction against development, which strengthened a popular direct-action campaign to stop development and challenge the city's policies of greenfield development (development of a green space ecosystem, as opposed to redevelopment) and sprawl.

What drove people to stand against the city to prevent development around the HCWC forest? Here is a look at some features of the land that have motivated us. Perhaps you will recognize some of these features in the land around you.

The Struggle to defend the HCWC did not end with the May 2009 occupation. On May 7, 2010, a protest and disruption was held outside of Carson Reids Homes, Astrid J. Clos, Van Harten Surveyors and Guelph City Hall. The three companies are major contributors to sprawling developments in and around Guelph. On May 25, 2010,   City Hall approved a $3 million contract with Capital Paving, a Guelph-based aggregate company, for clearing, grading and servicing one-quarter of the Hanlon Creek site formerly occupied by land defenders. As engines start on the HCWC, a new chapter in the struggle to defend the land and halt the sprawl begins...

Matthew Lowell is rooted in occupied Neutral Territory.

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G8 Meets Resistance in Halifax

hillarybain — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 17:36:33 +0000

Protesters balk at G8's feel-good claims

HALIFAX—From April 26 to 28, development ministers from the G8 countries met in Halifax, Nova Scotia. The official agenda included maternal and child health in developing countries, but protesters in Halifax weren't convinced: the G8 rendezvous was met with a slew of demonstrations.

"I'm repulsed by the fact that the G8 development ministers are meeting in my town," said protester Cole Webber. "They represent an agenda that's about profit-making without any regard for human needs and I think they should be opposed vigorously."

For articles, audio, and videos on this story, check out the Halifax Media Co-op.

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Fighting for Sutikalh

dru — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 06:51:37 +0000

St’át’imc unity has kept BC-backed ski resort at bay for ten years

Since first contact with European settlers, St'át'imc people (also known as the Lillooet) have fought against land theft and destruction by resource extraction and development. Their traditional territory surrounds the Lillooet River, stretching from Whistler to the town of Lillooet.

The St'át'imc way of life has always been inextricably tied to the land. For thousands of years, the St'át'imc have hunted, fished, and gathered medicine in the mountains, valleys and rivers of their land. Starting in the 19th century with the 1858 gold rush, and continuing through the 20th century to the present, settler governments encouraged settlement, clearcut logging and hydroelectric dams. The resulting overfishing, destruction of land and blockage of waterways caused food shortages and forced displacement of the indigenous population. Prime lands cultivated or occupied by St'át'imc were often simply stolen without compensation. One St'át'imc chief complained: "Our friends the whites they have been taking our lands away from us and there is nothing left to us and everything that we use they stop us from using it."

In 1911, all the Lillooet chiefs signed a joint statement declaration: "We are aware the BC government claims our Country, like all other Indian territories in BC; but we deny their right to it. We never gave it nor sold it to them. They certainly never got the title to the Country from us, neither by agreement nor conquest, and none other than us could have any right to give them title." In 1927, the Indian Act was ammended to outlaw organizing to challenge land theft.

Photos by Dru Oja Jay unless otherwise noted

For more on the Sutikalh occupation, read this longer account.

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Toronto Housing Crisis

Tim McSorley — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 05:03:57 +0000

TORONTO-The City of Toronto is struggling to cope with an ongoing housing crisis, according to The Toronto Report Card on Housing and Homelessness, published by the City of Toronto. The study reveals that 550,000 residents are living in poverty—that’s roughly 25% of the city’s population. With few options available to them, thousands find themselves living on the streets. In 2002, 32,000 people stayed in Toronto’s emergency shelters; 4,779 of these were children. Well-over 500 people have died on the streets as a result of being homeless. With the financial crisis being felt around the world, there are no indications the situation is improving. For one of the wealthiest cities in the world, how is this allowed to happen?

The following photos tell the stories of a few of the people who have found themselves losing control over their lives, living in government housing or on the streets, as well as some people who are raising questions about the City’s priorities and looking for solutions themselves.

Abandonment Issues is a coalition of housing activists fighting to have abandoned buildings converted into affordable housing. According to the group, "Toronto is in the throes of an affordable housing crisis that has seen thousands of citizens made homeless [...] Property that could house people is going to waste.

"When communities assert a collective right to their own neighborhoods, municipal policy should support them, not oppose them."

Allan Lissner is an independent photojournalist based in Toronto, Canada. Some of the organizations Allan has done work with include Amnesty International, GlobalAware Independent Media, Oxfam Canada and Make Poverty History.

Tragedy at Toncontín

Moira Peters — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 08:09:31 +0000

Manuel “Mel” Zelaya, the democratically elected president of Honduras, was removed from the country during a military coup on June 28. Major demonstrations have been calling for his return, but the corporate media has virtually ignored them. Transcribed below is an interview from the Real News Network with Dominion correspondent Sandra Cuffe, who was at the Tegucigalpa airport on July 5, awaiting Zelaya’s return.

“When the march was approaching the airport—and at first there was the roadblock set up by soldiers one kilometre away from the airport [to] stop it from getting to the airport, and there were other roadblocks set up on the way to the march, so that people who hadn’t joined the march from the very beginning, this morning at the Tegucigalpa University, and were heading to the airport or to meet up with the march, couldn’t even get that far. So I had gotten through one of the roadblocks and made it to the airport. I was there when the march finally arrived. And the march—which was probably two, three times the size it had been in the past couple of days, so we’re talking, like, literally hundreds and hundreds of thousands of people—managed to get to the airport, because they actually kept advancing peacefully, slowly, and steadily, and pushing back soldiers and the police all the way back to the airport.

Everybody who’s participating is against the coup, they’re against a rupture of democracy, and therefore [are demanding] the return of the elected president. That’s pretty much clear across the board.”

“The army has shot at a completely unarmed civil population. For more than five hours the people were respectful of the army and of the police. [...] The people were not bringing sticks, were not bringing weapons. [...] There was no need to shoot. Many were trying to remove the mesh [to enter the landing strip], it is not possible to deny that. But it was not necessary to shoot the people with bullets.”
–César Omar Silva, television journalist, Channel 8

James Rodríguez is an independent photo-documentarian currently based in Guatemala. To contact, and for more of his work, please visit www.mimundo.org.

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Shantytown, USA

dawn — Thu, 21 May 2009 05:39:38 +0000

Nickelsville residents demand permanent land for the homeless

NICKELSVILLE (RENTON), SEATTLE–"Thank God for Nickelsville." That's how two women living at the site summed up their feelings towards the "permanent homeless shantytown" currently set up in the side lot of the Bryn Mawr United Methodist Church in northeast Seattle, WA, USA.

Its existence has provided a safe place to people who would otherwise have nowhere to live, allowing residents to "provide for themselves a basic level of safety and sanitation when their government steadfastly refuses to do so for them," according to the Nickelsville website.

Nickelsville got its start on city property on September 22, 2008, in response to a lack of city action in response to growing of homelessness. Days later, the site was raided by police, and 22 people were arrested. Nickelsville has moved five times since it was founded.

Every so often, residents of Nickelsville, who call themselves Nickelodeons, have to pack up and move. The City of Seattle sets time limits for how long Nickelodeons are allowed to stay in one place. Nickelsville has been located in Renton since March 5, and residents will be forced to move on June 5.

Residents of Nickelsville are working to secure a permanent site where long-term housing for 1,000 people can be built.

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Life under Occupation in Ni'lin, Palestine

dawn — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 06:00:01 +0000

Peaceful actions against the Apartheid Wall* result in Israeli repression

NI'LIN, PALESTINE–The residents of the small Palestinian village of Ni'lin have committed to fighting Israel's Apartheid Wall through regular, non-violent demonstrations. Protests began in the summer of 2008, when Israeli bulldozers began to clear the land in the village's olive groves in preparation for the continued construction of the West Bank barrier,* which runs through their land.

The Israeli army continues to retaliate against peaceful protesters with violence: rubber-coated steel bullets, tear gas grenades, sound bombs and, on occasion, live ammunition.

With a population of just 4,700, the shootings of two youth last summer have made the people of Ni'lin more determined than ever to continue to resist the occupation of their land.

The following photographs were taken on July 31, 2008, in Ni'lin, with the exception of one photo, taken in the Ramallah hospital.

*The construction of the West Bank barrier, otherwise known as the Israeli Security Fence, is a "central component in Israel's response to the horrific wave of terrorism emanating from the West Bank," according to the Israeli Ministry of Security. Those who liken the State of Israel's treatment of Palestinians to South Africa's treatment of non-whites during the apartheid era refer to the barrier as the Apartheid Wall, declaring that it restricts the movements of people based on race, and that its construction violates international law. If the barrier is constructed in Ni'lin, it will annex about 618 acres of agricultural land.

Rana Hamadeh is a Palestinian-Canadian student living in Ottawa; she has thrice visited occupied Palestine.

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Indigenous Justice in Colombia

dawn — Sat, 06 Dec 2008 10:02:08 +0000

Traditional justice sentences kidnappers, restores faith in community and traditional authorities

The town center of the Resguardo (Reserve) of Jambaló in Northern Cauca. On November 26th, seven people were kidnapped on the road leading out of Jambaló's town center, in the village of Pioyá. Five were liberated later that night, and the other two in the early hours of the next day. The hostages were liberated by the Indigenous Guard of Jambaló and members of the community, and four of the five kidnappers were apprehended.

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