CitizenShift
Updates from the basement, courtesy of the CITIZENShift team.
Archive of March, 2009
Written by
Nick
March 27, 2009
Well, my stay here at CitizenShift is coming to an end as we speak, or as I type. My final week/day as an intern is coming to an end and final exams for my school courses are right around the corner. Oy vey! What an opening line to really tug at the heartstrings.
I will really miss my contribution, my times and the fantastic chemistry that exists here. I’ve had a wonderful time working with passionate and motivated people and having them give me sound pieces of advice, tips and knowledge will stay with me for quite some time. It is too bad this train ride has reached its station; I wish it hadn’t come yet, but all good things in life must come to an end at some time or another.
Several months back when I was just a fish out of water, I was unsure as to the level of magnitude and impact that CitizenShift and its staff had on so many people, cultures and groups. Through the weeks and months I came to realize how outstanding the work that was going into these projects truly was. I have been very proud to have been part of a few amazing projects in my short life, and I can very gladly say that being part of the CitizenShift team is among the best. I have learned a lot about my styles of writing, research and understanding of networking for social change through media. My awareness and thought process of events around the globe has increased tremendously and I only have the group of wonderful people I got to work with at CitizenShift to thank, and get coffee for (just joking).
Being as fortunate as I was to just have the opportunity to work in this organization has been a gift. The chance to work on memorable projects like Brave New 1984, Measuring Security Measures, Monarch Vectors and Xenophobia Unplugged, just to name a few, has been an eye-opening experience and a memorable time to say the least. Online users and viewers of the site are so lucky, and I’m sure thankful, for all the fascinating media, styles and content that exists at CitizenShift. It makes me really proud when I am able to contribute a great piece of video, an aesthetically and emotionally pleasing image, a captivating podcast or a resourceful hyperlink. I hope you enjoyed the projects that have originated out of CitizenShift and continue to benefit from the many more to come.
So, to all those readers of blogs, mine and others, or viewers of the site, so long, farewell for now, and enjoy your life! You only get one, so live it up!
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After we have done our National Presentation, we had to prepare a party. For example, Canada and Norway organized a northern party, with hot chocolate and games, and all the islands made a party together (Tonga, Vanuatu, New-Zealand and Fiji). The first party we had was the Japan Fest, with a lot of Japanese sweets, dances and music.
Please join us watching the Japan Fest by clicking here.
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The second day on the Ship, we had to choose one Club Activity among maybe 7 or 8. We had a short briefing about what was each of them because we had no clue. We could choose between salsa club, martial arts, Japanese traditional dance, Japanese traditional dance and drumming, Japanese drumming only, Pacific South Club, Mauritian and Egyptian crafts, Norwegian needlings, etc. Here is a short video that represents each club, so you will have an idea of what was offered. We had 4 sessions of 3 hours in total over the 40 days sailing. At the end of the program, we are showing our performance at the Exhibition Party.
See the activities offered on the Ship
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Yes, this is it. The one we couldn’t prepare in advance because some of us were from Northwest territories or Prince Edward Island and it’s kind of hard to meet. We prepared everything on the Ship, at night and I think we did a good job for the time we had together. 
Enjoy our National Presentation
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A great use of humour while trying to make it look like a TV show. The National Presentation of Norway made us laugh a lot.
See the National Presentation of Norway
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The National Presentation of Tonga was made of thousand dances (ok, I exagerate) but still: juggling dance, standing dance, war dance, song for the King, etc. The traditionnal costumes are also amazing.
Please enjoy the dances from TONGA by clicking here.
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We had the chance to visit Vanuatu twice for refuel and water supply during our 40 days sailing. The National Presentation was a great mix of stories, dance and videos.
See the National Presentation of Vanuatu.
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The Egyptian delegation was the one who paid the more attention to some important details like sending invitations to their presentation, having their own Valentine t-shirts (prepared in advance!) and some amazing business cards. Just as examples.
Here is a glimpse of the National Presentation.
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Written by
Nick
March 17, 2009
A few years ago, several legal-immigrant Canadians were innocently living their lives, raising families and working hard at their jobs. They had made a wise choice in migration to Canada years ago and now were enjoying their safe and healthy lifestyle, or so they thought.
Mahmoud Jaballah, Adil Charkaoui & Mohamed Harkat were all victimized by the CSIS in the early & mid 2000’s and handed security certificates and arrested, detained and locked up in jail without valid reason to the courts, the media or the entire public. These men were selected out of ”effected communities” and detained based on discrimination and prejudice. Their families were devasted, torn apart and in complete outrage.
Mahmoud Jaballah’s son, Ahmad, was traumatized as a child, by these events, as he had to act as a translator when CSIS officers would visit his family’s home and threaten Mr. Jaballah. Ahamd has publicly spoken several times about these stories and demands justice and the courts to deal with this matter, and the CSIS. His father has been falsely arrested twice (between 1999-2002), but was finally released on ”house arrest” in April 2007. In the past ten years, Mahmoud Jaballah spent over 6 years in prison, without CSIS providing evidence for his arrest to the courts.
Adil Charkaoui was arrested by CSIS officers in 2003 under suspicion and held in a prison cell for almost two full years. When he was released from his prison cell in Riviere-des-Prairies, under a $50,000 bail, he was still treated like an animal in a cage by authoritative officials and put under the most extreme house arrest, prohibitions and inhumane treatment. His case and arrest were never justified and he was never explained why he was arrested. CSIS has arrested legal-immigrants in the past without just cause and have refused to answer to courts, the media or the families of their arrests. Adil, who’s name translates for ‘justice’ (ironically enough) has spoke about his times in prison and his arrest back in 2003 and is fighting (theoretically) to have CSIS be taken under investigation and have all men and women who have been arrested by this organization without just cause released. In 2005 & 2007, Adil took the officials of CSIS to court and won under certain conditions and started to open the eyes of government officials the extreme wrongdoings of this organization.
Mohamed Harkat, an Algerian, whose name translates for ‘praise’ & ‘movement’ was another victim of CSIS and was behind bars for close to four years. He was apparently arrested by suspicion of CSIS officials for unknown reasons that were never revealed. His wife, Sophie, received a phone call back in 2002 that informed her of her husband’s arrest and burst into tears and anger. She has led many public protests, speeches and demonstrations against the CSIS and for the detaining of her husband. Mohammed was released on a $100,000 bail (most of which was raised by donations & demonstrations) and placed under house arrest and was followed and surveilled by several members of CSIS for almost two years following his release. It was not until September 2008 that a judge ordered the surveillance and stalking of Mr. Harkat and his family to end, putting this horrible story to a bitter sweet ending.
These three men, and their families, are not the only ones to have been victimized by the CSIS. There are numerous others that have had been abused and mistreated and held without reason. An international movement called ”No One is Illegal Day” is a celebrated nation-wide march that demonstrates and supports the fight against CSIS and this atrocity. Help raise awareness and support for this great cause and set these innocent men and women free from their unjust shackles.
For more information, please check out the CITIZENShift dossier on Measuring Security Measures for a host of fascinating media on the topic of No One is Illegal Day and a wide range of discussions, speeches and videos of victims of the CSIS.
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Category : Where Are They Now?
Crossing the Equator doesn’t only mean crossing an invisible line in the Pacific…
To us, it meant a lot. It meant that going south is getting us warmer and warmer (up to 25 degrees) and feeling less seasickness because the sea is not so rough after we cross the Equator.
We had to dress in blue (?) and be ready to jump the line.
Click here to see us celebrating the event
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