Incé Husain

“Where Olive Trees Weep”: Roots of injustice and resilience in the West Bank  

“I felt anger towards what the people on the screen were going through. Anger that this injustice – all of this – is still happening. Anger that all of this exists,” says Western University student Kamil Zerdoumi after viewing a film screening of Where Olive Trees Weep at King’s University College on November 29th, 2024. “It made me more aware of this huge, huge imbalance between [the] rights that Israelis and Palestinians have, and made me more fervent in Palestinians getting more rights and equal treatment and more justice, and less forgiving in any attempts to try and be a…

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“We’re all related”: Remembering Elder Dan Smoke

Elder Dan commemorated the Kanehsatake resistance by supporting the planting of a white pine — a traditional symbol of union and healing — in Victoria Park, London, in 1971. The red, white, black and yellow coloured bands on the tree represent the Colours of Man; the blue represents Father Sky; the green represents Mother Earth; and the purple represents the Creator. Photo by Rebecca Bartkiw.

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“The world is a relative”: How language can heal the Earth 

On Thursday, October 17th, Potawatomi botanist Dr. Robin Wall Kimmerer gave a talk at Centennial Hall on how Indigenous teachings encompass protection and love of the Earth. Indigenous languages hold a worldview where the land and all beings are relatives; this inherently disallows destruction of the Earth.  “If the world is a relative, there are boundaries on what can be taken,” says Kimmerer. “There are guidelines on what we consume… Use everything you take. Take only what is given. Understand them as gifts, not commodities. Corporate messages confuse us about what we need and what we want.”  Her voice was…

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Abortion Rights in Canada: Here to stay? 

On Thursday, October 24, an abortion rights protest clustered at the intersection of Southdale Road West and Notre Dame Drive. Five protesters stood in a line. Three raised familiar abortion rights signs that read “Honk for pro-choice”, “Safe and legal abortion is pro-life”, and “Keep your rosaries off my ovaries”.  The remaining two held more specific signs.  “Go home, Abby” read one. “Hellenic centre hosts RACIST,” read the other.  The abortion rights advocates were protesting the Hellenic Community Centre’s decision to serve as a venue for a fundraiser featuring American anti-abortion spokesperson Abby Johnson. The fundraiser was organized by 4LifeLondon…

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“From the river to the sea, from the cedar to the olive tree”: Stories of Lebanon and Palestine

“There is nothing that will compare to that childhood,” says Lebanese-Canadian PhD student Amer El-Samman, who grew up in the port city of Tripoli in northern Lebanon. He remembers the city as huge, bright, and authentic. It boomed with up-and-coming Internet cafés while remaining lush with old towns infused with unique, intergenerationally-preserved customs. The people were tolerant. Ways of life were passed down with “care, affection, and stability”. All religions lived side by side; El-Samman remembers sects of Muslims and Christians, and a Jewish family in his grandmother’s town who were a “remnant of a once sizable population before the…

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The Saga of Western’s Procedure 1.1: Why did it come, go, and will it return?

On August 29th, the Western University administration imposed “Procedure 1.1: Obtaining Authorization to Hold a Demonstration”. The procedure demands that no demonstrations – including “picketing, marching, carrying signs, distribution of literature, and other related activities, usually in favour of or opposed to some action or opinion” – occur on campus without the approval of the Director of Campus Safety & Emergency Services.  Students view the procedure as stifling free speech. Faculty call it authoritarian. Legal scholars argue that it may violate institutional, provincial, and federal laws, including the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. All view the procedure as a direct…

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“It’s not a metaphor”: Strawberries, forgiveness, and renewal

Originally published at NB Media Coop on August 8th, 2024 This year, June 21st marked the night of the “strawberry moon” – a full moon that glows smoky pink. To honour Grandmother Moon, King’s University College sociology professor Jess Notwell shared “strawberry teachings” from their Elders with attendees at the Western University encampments. They also contemplated the meaning of strawberries in Gaza. The teachings took place on June 23. Encampment attendees gathered at a picnic table, sitting shoulder to shoulder beneath a soft gray sky. Notwell joined the table with a microphone, a moon stone, an abalone shell, tobacco, and cartons of…

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Western University administration response to student encampments inconsistent with international law

Originally published at NB Media Coop on June 11, 2024 Note: The content of this article was proofread by a legal scholar to ensure its accuracy with reference to international law. On May 29, Western University’s President and Vice-Chancellor Alan Shepard released a public statement about the student encampments’ divestment demands. For 31 days, Western University students have maintained encampments filled with protests, teach-ins, and cultural celebrations. They will remain until Western University’s administration ceases its 33.6 million dollar investment in Israel’s occupation of Palestine and publicly condemns the occupation. Meetings between students and administration have been unproductive since. The latest…

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Israeli violations of international law go down the ‘memory hole’ in Western reporting: former UN Special Rapporteur

U.S. shields State of Israel from consequences for repeated violations, says legal scholar Michael Lynk Originally published at NB Media Coop on November 9, 2023 Israel violates international law with impunity because of unconditional U.S. support and highly skewed journalism that routinely ignores Israel’s record of human rights violations in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. That’s according to a Canadian legal scholar who served as a senior United Nations official examining human rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. “Israel is, as an occupier, in serious breach of international human rights law, international humanitarian law — which are the laws of war and…

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‘If you do nothing, that amounts to supporting the status quo’: Activism for Palestine and how to sustain it

Originally published at NB Media Coop on December 27, 2023 Solidarity movements for Palestine flare worldwide at an unprecedented level. Over 80 countries have seen rallies rich with Palestinian flags, protests that fill the air with chants of ceasefire, and candlelit vigils that honour the martyred Palestinian people. David Heap, a professor of linguistics and an advocate of universal human rights, offers his insights on effective activism and shares his experiences. He believes all forms of activism are important, that the risk lessens as more people advocate, and that sustaining activism relies on compassionate support networks. He emphasizes that abstaining from…

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