Welcome to the ninth edition of Equality Today!, an electronic magazine published by Young People's Press (YPP) that deals with issues of multiculturalism and anti-racism and how they affect youth.
In the wake of 9/11 and the U.S.-led war in Afghanistan, there has been an increase in hate-related incidents directed at racial minorities in Canada. This underscores the fact that there is long way to go before racism and ethnocentricity will be totally eradicated.
But while intolerance is all around us, strong initiatives are being taken by the world's youth to promote multicultural societies that not only tolerate but also appreciate the rich diversity of the world we live in.
The World Conference Against Racism (WCAR) in Durban was a strong example of this. Youth delegates from around the world issued a statement to the United Nations to allow a youth body to take part in all racism-related conferences, statements and projects.
As well, the United Nations Special Session on Children brought together 400 youth from across the globe this past May to discuss issues that affect the world's children.
These events not only help us move toward the goal of equality for all, they remind us that regardless of race, religion, ethnicity or cultural backgrounds, youth from around the world are hurt and targeted by racism.
This edition of Equality Today! not only features stories of youth and their experiences with racism, it also explores the growing acceptance and appreciation of racial diversity.
Sydnia Yu looks at a group of young Canadians of Chinese decent who are exploring their cultural identity through the medium of fashion. Nicki Bahrampour profiles Toronto-based Hip Hop artist Maestro and his new multiculturalism campaign. You can also read details of the WCAR summit, which was covered by YPP correspondent Angely Pacis.
As Irshad Manji, a Toronto-based journalist, has said, "We need more than different faces and different experiences to combat racism. We need people - people of all backgrounds - with an anti-racist understanding and a commitment to being vocal about it."
We hope that by presenting a forum where young people can express their ideas and voice their stories a small step will be made toward this goal. So don't hesitate to get in touch with us. Tell us what you think of the e-zine and what you'd like to see in the future. And of course, send us your own contributions.
YPP wishes to thank the members of the Equality Today! Youth Advisory Committee: Kirk Moss, Odelia Bay, Ezra Houser, Akua Boakye, Afrodite Balogh-Tyszko, Frances Ciccia, Khawlah Mian, Kimberley Johnson and Joni Shawana.
Young People's Press (YPP) is a national news service for youth. Its mandate is to give young people a voice. YPP articles have appeared in more than 220 daily, weekly and monthly newspapers, including weekly sections in the Toronto Star and the Halifax Chronicle-Herald.
YPP also prints curriculum guides that are distributed to schools across Canada and publishes other electronic magazines on disabilities issues, health issues, domestic violence, voluntarism and responsible drinking.
We invite all young people, 14-24, to send articles or ideas for the next edition of Equality Today! to writeus@ypp.net.
This edition of Equality Today! e-zine was funded in part by the Canadian Race Relations Foundation. YPP is very grateful for the financial support as well as the encouragement and advice offered by the department's staff.
Exploring cultural identy through fashion
By Sydnia Yu, Young People's Press
What happens when you take the happy face, one of the world's most recognized icons, and give it slanted eyes?
Does it reinforce negative stereotypes Asians have battled for so long?
Kirby Szeto, mastermind of Toronto-based Yellow Fellow Clothing, says putting the image on a T-shirt gives young Chinese-Canadians the chance to reclaim their culture.
"We try to draw inspiration from both sides of the Pacific," says Szeto, 24. "Our logo is a happy face, but Yellow Fellow is taking the standard thing and putting an Asian spin on it."
Szeto says he and the other young Asian-Canadians who run the fledgling company take an ironic, self-reflexive approach in identifying themselves against the mainstream culture.
He acknowledges there's a fine line between playing with stereotypes and reinforcing them.
One Yellow Fellow mini-tee features a bowl of steamed rice with tiny wings alongside the word "flyrice." It refers to a Chinese character in Lethal Weapon 3 who says "flied lice" rather than fried rice.
"The idea is that Asians can't pronounce the letter R," Szeto explains.
"The direct translation is 'fay fan,' which is a compliment [in Cantonese it means extraordinary]. So we're putting a positive spin on a stereotype."
It's a way of reinterpreting and re-appropriating terms and images that historically were used in a pejorative way - just as other marginalized groups have done in establishing their identity.
"We're not taking something and mocking it, but we're trying to question the stereotypes we do see," Szeto says.
This approach is what separates Yellow Fellow from companies such as Abercrombie and Fitch, he says.
In April, the American company pulled a controversial line of Chinese-themed T-shirts after Asian-Americans protested that they were derogatory and demeaning.
One of the shirts depicted a caricature of two Chinese men, with slanted eyes and conical hats, accompanied by the text, "Wong Brother's laundry service -- Two Wongs can make it white."
In an official apology, Abercrombie and Fitch said it created the shirts to tap into the Asian market, not to offend.
"They have to be more culturally sensitive," says Szeto. "A laundromat is almost equivalent to picking cotton."
Yellow Fellow's accountant, Ronald Chan, is baffled that some people compared Yellow Fellow to Abercrombie and Fitch.
"We're not trying to cash in on our identity," says Chan, 25. He points out that they are not a large, upscale company indiscriminately using Asian motifs simply to sell a product.
"There's a message behind Yellow Fellow and people can relate the name to the message."
In fact, it was the lack of knowledge and representation of Asian culture in North America that led to Yellow Fellow's creation four years ago.
Idly doodling at work one day, Szeto had an idea to put the image on a shirt. So he gathered a handful of his cash-strapped university friends to make some money and hopefully make a difference.
"We were looking at the [clothing] market and we didn't like what we saw," says Szeto. "Abercrombie and Fitch and Le Chateau are using Asian patterns, letters and motifs. But they weren't giving it any significance because it's just a graphic for them."
"But it's our language. It's still part of who we are. It's not right to devalue it into a fad."
While the five part-time staff that run Yellow Fellow are all of Asian descent, they don't want to be pigeonholed as an Asian company.
"There's a vast group that doesn't identify with anyone," says Szeto. "We're not Chinese, we're not Canadian. What are we?"
"Yellow Fellow helps people to identify themselves as unique, as well as a hybrid of different ideas."
Operations manager Cedric Wang, 25, says the Asian community needs a way to explore its identity, and fashion is one of the best ways to do this.
"Is there an Asian identity?" he asks. "Not unless you're talking about high-end clothing, like Vera Wang, [but] no one can afford it."
"We need something for youth, something they can call their own." He adds that while the first T-shirts featured Chinese symbols, the newest line, which just shipped last week, draws on Korean and Japanese themes.
So far, the response has been positive.
Ryan Lee, 17, heard about Yellow Fellow from someone in his kung fu class. He immediately liked the concept behind the shirts.
"It shows who I am," says Lee, who owns a couple of Yellow Fellow T-shirts. "If Black people can have FUBU, Asians should have their own type of clothing to show their pride."
And as with FUBU - an African-American run clothing company that derives its name from the expression, For Us, By Us - Yellow Fellow clothes have a wide appeal that crosses cultures.
Zafar Khan, a purchaser for trendy clothing retailer Tripp, says he stocked his shelves with the Yellow Fellow T-shirt line because he liked the company's ideas and knows what club goers like to wear.
"The line is selling well," he says. "The customers seem to like it."
Jason Lam, 25, also with Yellow Fellow, says the younger crowd is more open to new ideas about different cultures.
"Downtown stores cater more to a range of people with different backgrounds," he says. "We're not just targeting Asians, but anyone interested about Asian culture."
The company's Web site, yellowfellow.com, aims to educate people about Chinese culture as well as sell clothes, says Szeto.
"There's only so much you can say on a shirt," he says, adding that the Web site does not explain the shirts' images and designs but elaborates on underlying themes.
"It's more of a personal reflection on what it's like to be Asian North American. People don't talk about it enough."
Yellow Fellow also uses the Web site to promote young Asian artists, from photographers to DJs.
"We hear a lot about Asian-American artists, but we don't hear about Asian [artists] in Canada," says Kimberly Pao, 24, content developer for the Web site.
The young company is still growing and hopes to expand its product line to a range of fashion items. To date, they have doubled last year's production output, from 1,000 to 2,000 T-shirts. And next spring, they are coming out with accessories such as hats and wristbands.
Chan says they're inspired by the FUBU success story. The sportswear company that today sells everything from footwear to tuxedos started by making hats in one of the founder's homes in Queens, N.Y.
"We want to expand across Canada [and to] Europe, maybe go to China. But we're taking one step at a time," says Chan. "We're looking to create more items, we want a complete line, but it's tough because most of us work full-time."
Yellow Fellow has experienced a few bumps along the way but they're not complaining, says Chan, because they see value in every experience.
The company lost clothes once when a store filed for bankruptcy and didn't return the merchandise. And on another occasion items were stolen while doing a club promotion.
Wang says it's funny now, but at the time he couldn't understand why someone would steal their stuff.
"But I'm glad they did," he says with a snicker. "Because if they're willing to steal it, it means it has some sort of value."
Sydnia Yu, 22, is a journalism student at Carleton University. She is going to Taipei in September as part of a student exchange program.
Stick to your vision
By Nicki Bahrampour, Young People's Press
The buzz emerged. Maestro was in the house.
This was not just a regular assembly for Northview Heights Secondary School's
several hundred students. As the Canadian rap artist walked on stage with
a slight, yet purposeful hip-hop limp, a deafening burst of screams erupted.
With a black fedora covering his eyes, Maestro launched into his motivational
speech.
Curious eyes hung on his every word. "It's all about perseverance, and
believing in yourself," says the charismatic Maestro. He took off his
black and red hockey jacket. He was just getting warmed up.
"In life, you are going to come across all kinds of negativity but you've
got to stay focused...and most of all stick to your vision."
This was one of the stops on Maestro's new project, to speak to youth in Canadian high schools. Three years ago, the hip-hop icon began to mix his touring schedule with speaking engagements to talk about issues that young people today face.
For Maestro, speaking directly to youth is a logical extension of one of
his biggest hits, Stick to Your Vision.
"It speaks about what I've been through, talks about perseverance, and
it's universally applicable. Those four words are applicable to anybody."
Maestro has grand plans to involve the hip hop community in his Stick To Your Vision campaign. He has successfully sought the endorsement of the federal government's Multiculturalism Program and plans to make anti-racism one of the campaign's central messages.
Maestro relates one of his own experiences with racism that motivated him
to start the Stick to Your Vision campaign. "I remember one time, I think
it was in kindergarten. The teacher said to draw a picture of what you want
to be when you grow up. So I drew a picture of Bobby Orr, but I made him black.
I had my brown Crayola and I gave him an Afro."
To Maestro's surprise, his picture didn't go over well. "The kids said
you can't play hockey, you're black. They jumped on me and beat me up."
Maestro pauses.
"I'll never forget that...I'll never forget that."
It made him stronger.
"I'm Canadian but at the same time, if someone asked me I'm Guyanese
too. In Canada, based on what we talk about all the time, multiculturalism
[means] respect. I think that's a benefit."
The students at Northview reacted enthusiastically to his half-hour talk and
asked him questions about how he got started and managed to stay focused on
developing his talents.
So far Maestro has visited high schools in Vancouver and Toronto, but he
plans to make these visits a regular feature of all his Canadian concert stops.
"I talk about growing up," he says. "I talk about how I felt
making my first record, the obstacles I had to go through to get to that level,
to get a record deal, all those things. I show them all the stumbling blocks
that happen along the way, that I could have just turned away, but I didn't.
I stayed focused and it turned into something big."
Maestro attributes his strong will and confidence to his parents who immigrated to Toronto from Guyana in the 1960s. "They took a BWIA airline and came all the way over here to try and make a better life for their kids," says Maestro to the students listening intently to his every word.
Maestro, then known as Maestro Fresh Wes, got his first big break in 1989,
the second time he performed at Much Music's Electric Circus. "My manager
at the time said, you know what, let's do it one more time. The label from
New York City, LMR records ended up signing me on. It just so happened they
were there at the performance."
His debut album, Symphony In Effect sold more than 200,000 copies across Canada
in 1989 and his first single, "Let Your Backbone Slide," was a huge
hit.
Maestro doesn't want to be just another celebrity. "I want to have songs
that last forever," he says. "I don't care if I make records, I'm
trying to make history, a positive history."
Nicki Bahrampour, 18, is a contributor to Young People's Press.
Sharing his world, challenging racism
By Julie C. Trubkin, Young People's Press
Resembling a mug shot, the photograph waits for the commentary of passers-by. Posted in the dark alleyways of Toronto and Montreal, at bus stops, on streetlights and walls, it threatens by its mere presence and forces people to respond.
Purposely playing up the misconception that the black male is a criminal, Toronto photographer and artist Wayne Dunkley posted roughly 260 photos of his face over the span of three years. Then he documented the responses for his web site sharemyworld.com.
From stereotypical comments like 'criminal', 'rape hound', and 'Nigger' to ironic ones like 'anti-Christ' and 'diddler,' Dunkley's face served as an outlet for the invective and hushed racist undertones of Canadians. According to Dunkley, the intent was to provoke thought on the, "subtle and not-so-subtle ways in which the black male is acknowledged or ignored."
At the bottom of each poster, he left the articles 'the/a', followed by a simple blank line. The line allowed passerby's to write what they wanted. Their comments revealed attitudes most Canadians ignore and/or deny.
"It is not so much the really overtly racist stuff, [that] you just sort of shrug off and say 'oh the person is ignorant,'" Dunkley says. "It is the day-to-day little things that build up over a lifetime that wear you down and make you feel like you are really not a part of the society. More often than not it seemed that people were going through their own things in their mind, and the poster evoked something in their own story that they then responded to on the page."
For Dunkley, the notion of plastering his face around the city was quite humbling, but "after the first hundred or so... [it became] more representative of the person, more than simply about me, because really in some ways it doesn't look like me." In person, his welcoming smile and passionate eyes behind his black, dark-rimmed glasses are not at all threatening.
Racism is a common experience and Dunkley's goal was to share just how common it truly is, "so that people will really sort of wake up and realize that it's an every day [reality] for most people."
Dunkley wanted his poetic vision to challenge people and make them talk. He wanted to encourage different people to say, 'I feel oppressed sometimes too.' Discovering this common ground awakens discussion and in turn, solutions.
When asked what he himself would put on the blank line, Dunkley was stumped . . . but not for long. He confidently responded, "I would put 'the seeker, the questioner.'"
Julie C. Trubkin, 19, writes for Young People's Press.
Durban Diary
By Angely Pacis, Young People's Press
Young People's Press had a correspondent reporting from the UN World Conference Against Racism Conference in Durban, South Africa. This is her story.
DAY ONE:
I'm in South Africa, almost safe and somewhat sound. I arrived in Durban yesterday,
just before noon, took the shuttle bus and was dropped off right in front
of my hostel. The hostel is a bit shoddy and pungent with the smells of maleness.
And though it is located close to where the UN World Conference Against Racism
(WCAR) and Youth Summit will take place, it is not situated in a particularly
safe area.
I read an article defining "race" published in a local paper, The Mercury. Included were ridiculous pictures, depicting the nine "geographical races." The Mercury's view of the "typical" representatives for each race included fierce looking Pigmies for the Australian race, Tibetan monks for the Asian race, some guy who looked Indonesian with a hand painted on his face for the Aboriginal race and - get this - Claudia Schiffer, German supermodel extraordinaire for the European race. Funny.
DAY TWO:
With earnest feeling, South Africans of Colour tell me that when in the face
of a White person, they instantly assume their diminution. Their sense of
Self shirks and shrinks. They become very small. But, like a twirl on one
foot, as not to dwell on darker times, they change the subject and speak about
"living altogether" and how "we are now free to live anywhere
we choose."
There are signs to welcome the delegates. One billboard has the words, "You're not a Racist...Right?" written in a slender, grey type...non-obtrusive at first glance but in effect, piquing. Each backpacker I spoke to, who saw the sign on the way into town remembered it. I wonder who else did.
DAY THREE:
The shutters were clicking and the flashes popping when Clayton Peters, the
Communications Manager of the WCAR Youth Summit, made his announcement. "The
International Jewish Student delegation...have boycotted the Youth Summit,
claiming it is a farce, anti-Zionist and anti-Semitist."
The Youth Summit was about talking amongst ourselves. Youth to youth, young person to young person. We are malleable and can still muster the effort to see ourselves as human. Our ability to do this was one of the principal reasons why we were included.
Having the conviction of "being right," coupled with refusing to see any other viewpoint, has shown itself to be the greatest danger threatening our existence.
DAY FOUR:
Youth delegates are asking whether the UN is committed to officially recognizing
the participation of young people when the World Conference is over. Youth
members dissatisfied with the leadership of the IYC are planning to release
a statement requesting the UN to form a Youth Body. The youth representatives
want to push this demand...to ensure their continued participation in future
intergovernmental processes and as a means to establish an International Youth
Network that will be set-up as a post-WCAR program to combat racism.
DAY FIVE:
Dr. Hedy Fry, Secretary of State for Multiculturalism and Status of Women,
spearheaded the Youth Summit at the WCAR and ensured that Canadian youth played
a significant role in it.
I asked her what the government's next step to ensure youth continues to be part of governmental processes will be. "I think one of the things I would like to do is bring youth who are here (at the WCAR) together and do a debrief," she said. "Talk about what happened, what were the resolutions, what were the strategies. We feel that youth should be the most important people in the March 21st (International Day for the Elimination of Racism) initiative because they have the ability to make the changes that we need. And many of our people raising awareness and who are in education are wearing old hats. The need for youth at present and to build the future is very, very important."
DAY SIX:
I surfed the National Post and Globe and Mail websites and was disappointed
with the inflammatory reporting. Until this morning, issues pertaining to
anti-Israeli, anti-Jewish sentiment on the ground were not as virulent or
as wide spread as the picture drawn in print by mainstream Canadian journalists.
Most briefings I have attended and the feedback I received from Canadian and
American NGO representatives show that delegates in general are sympathetic
to all of the victims who have suffered because of the fighting between Israelis
and Palestinians.
DAY SEVEN:
There are status quo interests that will be seriously, if not severely, threatened
once the Conference is over and once a UN Declaration and Plan of Action is
signed. When the document is finalized, people of the world who experience
discrimination/racism will have a legal framework - within which to seek redress
- should their own governments fail to recognize their plea. Can you imagine
what this means to governments who are currently implementing xenophobic legislation
against minorities in their countries?
DAY EIGHT:
My paranoia of the City Centre has dissipated. Meeting more locals and having
a chance to talk with them about their life and how they see themselves as
South African people of the post-apartheid era is making me see Coloured,
White and Black people as people rather than victims of racism. The impression
is, slowly, the crossing over of Whites, Blacks and Coloured people across
quarters that was once prescribed as forbidden is changing the face of the
City Centre.
I'm sitting on a sand dune on North Beach, Durban looking across the wide, heaving ocean. The North beach sits alongside Marine Parade Road, known for its tourist-friendly boardwalks and grand-styled hotels. I look around me, expecting to see a few White people taking an afternoon stroll, but there are only young Black children running around and other Coloured people sitting at the beachfront cafes, enjoying the fresh sea air.
Angely Pacis, 24, attended the UNWCAR as a youth journalist. More extensive versions of her daily reports can be read at www.ypp.net.
Charting new paths: South Asian women in J-school
By Khawlah Mian, Young People's Press
Canada may be a multicultural society, but its rich cultural diversity is not reflected in journalism schools - especially with respect to ethnic women.
The lack of representation of South Asian women in J-schools stems in part from the fact that journalism is not considered a conventional career in their culture. Many aspiring writers have been told that it is simply too risky, too time-consuming and too aggressive a profession to pursue.
But some South Asian women are going against the grain and charting new paths.
Fatima Najm, 26, a student at Ryerson School of Journalism in Toronto, is a Pakistani woman committed to writing and a career in journalism.
"I can't remember ever wanting to do anything but write," she says. "If I did not make writing my profession, then it would haunt me."
Though it led her to a divorce, she has followed her dream and is well on the way to making it a reality.
"I was married to someone who couldn't understand the merit of a career in journalism. You were either a doctor, lawyer, engineer or nothing," she says.
But this simple equation does not hold true, as her promising career trajectory proves. Fatima already had much success as a freelance writer when she entered the journalism program. For the past five years, she has worked as a foreign correspondent for Women's Own magazine in Karachi, Pakistan, and for the Arab News, based in Saudi Arabia.
Sabina Alli, 19, is also dedicated to writing and wants to be a journalist. She realizes that following this career path will require much time and persistence.
"It is very hands-on," she says of the journalism program. "They throw you into a newsroom setting with stressful deadlines and impossible assignments."
This time-consuming aspect of journalism can be daunting to women who share Sabina's Pakistani-Guyanese background and are traditionally expected to spend lots of time in the home.
Though she admits that journalism jobs are hard to find and have little security, she's ready to face the challenge.
"I can't see myself in any particular place five years from now, but that's the beauty of journalism - you never know where you'll end up."
Safia Alladina, 19, another young woman in Ryerson's journalism program, says journalists typically have to be pushy and outgoing, attributes South Asian women traditionally are not supposed to display.
"My mom said I was too nice to ever make it. To my parents, I was a very quiet girl who never asked questions."
Cultural values were also a consideration in Mary Nguyen's career choice. "Asian families usually push their kids into the sciences," says the 18-year-old of Vietnamese and Chinese descent.
"Getting a real job means becoming a doctor or dentist or lawyer - not a journalist."
And though it is a difficult career choice to make, there has never been a better time to pursue it. News organizations are aware that they must be more inclusive for socio-cultural and economic reasons. Quite simply, they need to adequately represent the views of community members and to position themselves in relation to new consuming publics.
For aspiring young journalists of Canada's ethnic minority communities, the motivation is even more straightforward. "There isn't enough being said about the multicultural mosaic that [Canada] is, and by choosing to get into journalism, I chose to represent the visible minority experience," Fatima says.
"If I can't be dealing out justice as a judge, or healing the sick as a doctor then at least I can be voice for the voiceless," she adds.
Like others interviewed for this story, she feels that despite the various factors that discourage minority women from pursuing careers in journalism, it is crucial that they make themselves heard.
"Its important for females to get involved because it enables women to be more seen and heard," says Mary.
And the gates are coming down, if ever so slowly. "This is as good a time as ever for minority women to become actively involved with the media," Sabina advises. "If you have that 'need to know' craving about life, then trust your instinct. It's a gut feeling."
The rewards are great, both for those who embarks on this career path and for the fabric of Canadian society in general.
"I believe in the idea that writing heals," says Safia. "We are a voice for the people. When no one else is willing to listen, we are."
Khawlah Mian, 20, is a second year Journalism student at Ryerson University in Toronto.
Coming out in the South Asian community
By Silence Genti, Young People's Press
Judy Persaud dawdled and dithered. Finally she gathered the courage to reveal her sexuality to her family. Her Indo-Caribbean mother was shocked that her daughter was lesbian and she couldn't do what her hurting child wanted most -show some affection.
"I just wanted her to hug me. That's all she needed to do," Judy says.
David (not his real name) also hoped he could count on the love and support of his Guyanese-Muslim family. But those hopes were shattered when his mother fainted after hearing of her son's sexual orientation.
Judy and David are two of the 10 youth featured in an audacious documentary called "Rewriting the Script: A Love Letter to Our Families." The film looks at sexuality in the South Asian community and is designed to help South Asian parents and families in their journey toward understanding and accepting their lesbian, gay and bisexual children.
The producers of the video say they wanted to come up with a resource tool to help communities and families deal with homosexuality in a more loving and constructive manner. The 45-minute production took three years to produce.
"They were coming to the whole process with a lot of love. They wanted
to do this primarily as a way of speaking to their families and drawing their
parents to them," says Mark Haslam, the director of Toronto's Planet
in Focus Film Festival, about the group of youngsters.
The film is an intimate journey into a world where hurt, pride and shame battle
with acceptance.
"In many (Asian) cultures it (homosexuality) is strongly related to faith and sin. There is a lot of strong cultural pressure that would make you feel shameful about coming out," Janice Dahl, a youth worker at a Toronto-based settlement agency, says.
"It's a huge challenge," she says.
Within the South Asian community, a fear exists among many young homosexual people of losing their place within the delicate settings of family and social relations. "It is very difficult to open your mouth and say something that will jeopardize your support network," says Dahl.
Thankfully, in most major Canadian cities there are organizations that assist young people who are gay and lesbian. These groups help young people accept and understand their sexuality as well as deal with the social disapproval that may be attendant to it.
Yet, there is still a long way to go in making this community feel accepted.
In 1989, suicide was the leading cause of death among gay, lesbian, bisexual
and transgendered youth, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human
Services.
Luckily, Judy does not harbor any thoughts of suicide. Her family now accepts
who she is and her relationship with her mother is growing. Even though she
may face discrimination and ridicule in other places, every morning she goes
out knowing that her family is behind her and that makes a difference.
David's situation has not changed. A thick stands between him and the family
he loves. He longs for the day when his family can look beyond the barriers,
and give him what he needs and cherishes most - their love.
Silence Genti, 23, is a Toronto based freelance writer. For more information
on the video please call Bev at 416-924-2100 x 242.
South Asian culture: Cool or not?
Jayani Perera, Young People's Press
Recently, I went to Gerrard Street in Toronto with a batch of bridesmaids to find saris for an upcoming wedding that we're all attending. As we walked from store to store with the distinctive beat of Indian music trailing behind us, I noticed bindis of all shapes and sizes, reddish and black henna and of course the beautiful and exotic fabrics commonly used for saris.
As a South Asian, these sights and sounds are nothing new to me. But seeing them elsewhere is a bit of a surprise.
When I walk into Le Chateau, Costa Blanca or many other hip stores these days, I often see our fashions or hear our music. Suddenly saris, bindis and henna are the latest style, and popular songs, like Noreaga's 'Super Thug', have an obvious South Asian beat.
Since I was a child, I have seen my mother and aunts dress up in saris and
bindis and though I have been too fond of our music, I am familiar with the
sounds of the tabla beat and Hindi tunes.
The funny thing is that growing up in Canada, I did not once hear a classmate remark at how cool it was to decorate your forehead or wear a sari. As a matter of fact, these things were completely uncool, silly looking and something that only a ``Paki'' would wear.
Isn't it odd how I don't hear such things being murmured anymore when I see
girls of all different cultures walking by with their arms and ankles covered
in henna, wearing skirts and dresses made from Indian-influenced style?
I can't quite get over this fad, not because I don't want to share my culture with the rest of the world. South Asians have always been wearing the saris, the bindis, the sarong, and henna, but no one thought it was too cool at that time.
It is a well-known tale of embarrassment for South Asian kids to have their
mothers pick them up from school in full cultural costume. We've heard it
all before: ``Why is your mother wearing that?'' or ``Eww, what's that on
her forehead?''
I wasn't completely ashamed of being Sri Lankan when I was a child. Sure enough my parents dressed me up in little saris and, oh, wasn't I the cutest thing? But that was at home.
The pictures they took of me were never the ones I took to school for show-and-tell. After all, what would my little classmates have thought had they known the other side of my Canadian self that played dress-up in beautiful fabrics rather than dresses, and pranced around to South Asian music rather than pop singers like Madonna?
Even Madonna, however, has picked up the South Asian vibe. The video for her song ``Frozen'' shows Madonna, her hands adorned with henna, moving in ways similar to Indian dance. Also, the song itself is distinctly influenced by South Asian musical traditions.
And Madonna does not stand alone. Artists such as Tatyana Ali and Shania Twain have sported bindis and saris in their videos. Lauryn Hill's ``Killing Me Softly'' is yet another example of a popular song that draws freely on South Asian music.
When artists that are not South Asian use the culture to add flavour to either
their songs or videos, it now tends to be a seller, but South Asian artists
who
normally use traditional beats in their music are pretty much unknown.
Of course, Apache Indian came out with ``Arranged Marriage,'' a song that actually made it to hip radio stations. But I'm talking about artists such as Toronto's own Punjabi-by-Nature that have put a modern twist into Indian music.
South Asian people are not nearly as popular as their culture is becoming,
which is nothing new to me or my South Asian friends. We watch TV and read
magazines, and it is obvious to us that South Asian people are not well represented.
As a culture, we are pretty much invisible in the entertainment media.
For example, given that fashion mags are displaying the latest South Asian inspired fashions, isn't it ironic that there are never South Asians modeling this latest fad?
It's not that I see anything wrong with people of other cultures wearing our clothes, but I do wonder why South Asian people are not also shown displaying styles that are originally from our own culture.
And where does this leave us? While the brown kids are begging their mothers to put away their bindis, other kids are begging their moms to buy them some.
Well, that's what's hot for the moment. Fads come and go, but South Asian people will continue to wear their traditional styles, as they always have.
Though I wish I could say that people will now be more accepting of our culture since they have tried it on for size and liked it, I have my doubts.
The embarrassment of having Mom pick you up at school will continue for South Asian kids simply because the henna is covering brown skin and the bindis rest in the middle of an Indian woman's forehead.
Can anyone give me a justifiable answer as to why?
It is a question that neither my South Asian friends nor I could answer. In fact, I wanted to quote my South Asian friends on the subject but when I told them that their names would be used, they quickly refused.
They told me that it would be too embarrassing having their names associated with an article on South Asian culture.
It just isn't cool.
Jayani Perera, 19, is a former co-op student at YPP.
My changed world
By Khawlah Mian, Young People's Press
The world changed on September 11th. Especially my world.
As a young Muslim woman, I had always been aware that common misconceptions and stereotypes about Islam, apparent throughout the western world, could affect how others would treat me.
But I also knew that progress had been made. Over time, I realized that the political values of most Canadians included not only acceptance, but also appreciation of Canada's diversity.
Cosmopolitan cities around the world were becoming friendlier places. Overt racism was becoming less common. And communities that had been divided through centuries of conflict and tension were coming together, particularly in diasporic youth cultures in the West.
Toronto based media personality Irshad Manji puts it best: "Diversity is like oxygen. I only notice it when it's missing." Visible minorities in Toronto had slowly become a majority, outnumbering the previous one - "whites".
In Toronto, we see hijab (head covering worn by Muslim women) everywhere. Buses, shopping malls and schools are full of "veiled women." I, myself, had been wearing one since I was nine years old.
Like a turban, yarmulka, or even a bandana, my hijab used to be a token of self-expression. It was something I was immensely proud of. It was something that defined me as an independent, confident woman who wasn't afraid of the world.
My hijab made me feel liberated. It protected me from the sleazy gazes of the people around me. It was my security blanket. It was.
But on September 12th, the day after the tragic events in New York City, things changed within the blink of an eye. And they changed drastically.
While sitting on the subway on my way to university, I realized that while people usually fought for seats, pushing, shoving and even yelling, today was different. The seats on either side of me were empty.
"Must have beat the rush," I thought to myself, but then looked up from my newspaper only to see the usual crowd reaching out for handrails and poles, waiting for an empty seat.
All of a sudden I was reduced to nothing more than a diseased rat that no one wanted to get too close to. I felt like I had a sign posted to my forehead that only I couldn't see. A sign reading "Danger: Stay Away."
As my stop approached and I stood up, people automatically moved out of my way to let me out. Almost like VIP treatment, I thought, except that it was accompanied by frowns and angry faces.
Toronto media was quickly bombarded with stories about "Islamic terrorism," and "Islamic fundamentalism." Unfortunately the two terms were used interchangeably.
For me, this meant that my hijab was no longer a form of security. Rather it became a hazard.
Hijab, a form of fundamentalism, was now something that defined me as a "terrorist."
Within a matter of weeks the world returned to its state of intolerance. Decades of hard work and education for a world of harmony were destroyed and we returned to our ethnocentric ways of the past.
Racism was abundant, and hijab was not. Today, I don't wear it. Today I am afraid to wear it.
But this too will change. And this change will begin with me. I've realized that more than intolerance, racism breeds fear. I will not let it defeat me. I will not let the world move backwards.
I Am Free
By Audrey Gordon, Young People's Press
To me, Black History signifies growth.
We learn from and become hardened by the things we suffer.
We learn to forgive people's wrongs as God did ours.
We are not slaves anymore, unless it is mental slavery, which is rather worse.
I believe Jesus came and gave us that right to freedom, but our minds need
to overcome the past.
Black History Month is not a time for bitterness, hate and segregation, but
a time to move forward with forgiveness. A time to reflect on the goodness
and mercies of God.
He has brought us a mighty long way.
I Am Free
A wey you come from?
Cross Africa, Panama and all through Amsterdam?
Naked bodies , black like tar
Fastened with chains, dem now full up a scar
Dem back to back , toe to toe
Everyone sitting neatly in a row
Pon banana boat full to the brim
Look like dem slave master never give dem a trim
Pushed against the blazing heat of the sun
The Blackman slave master keep putting him down.
And under pressure the blackman cry out…
Sing:
" We shall overcome, we shall overcome, we shall overcome one day"
(in the midst of the song, slapped in his face by his slave master).
Talk:
Slave master hear it, him couldn't bear it.
But Still the blackman kept on singing
Even when it seems like God was not listening.
And he chanted "One day blackman will be free"
Yet while in another place
There was tribal war and strife of said-like race
When the news reach me dat dem heng Nanny and Paul Bogle pon tree.
Me say mi loose mi cool, mi spectacle
and me fly off a de handle.
Say wha?
Say dem heng Nanny, Bogle and Bustamante?
But dem never heng Bustamante (questioningly)
Nevertheless me see red
Even though me was a natty dread.
And dat deh day.
Sings:
Mi say mi loss it down a Halfway Tree Road (pon mi own)
Me say me rumble and me run fi one stone
Me say me grab fi one brick
Me Granny she come wid a piece a stick
Because we just did waan give dem one lick
Talk:
But Babylon was there
So Granny and I soon had to disappear.
Up Hagley Park Road, Rema and all through Jungle
Wid foot ina we hand
A jump over garbage pan
Through Missa John banana walk
And mash down di man nice crop,
Dem granny drop
But I didn't know, so I didn't stop.
Sing:
And me say exodus
Movements of black people.
Talk:
Now me granny dead
And me alone is left fi fend fi my bread
All because of what?
No war.
Sing:
And until our philosophy teaches human rights and dignity there will be war
Until all creation, comes to know that God almighty alone is eternal, there
will be war.
War up north, war in the heart
War in the east, war it no sweet, me say war.
Talk:
But years later I returned and learned that the black man did not know how
to fight war.
Confused, frustrated, he returns defeated and marred with scars.
Because he too, had yet to learn that his slave master was also bound
Since in him love and unity was not found.
And that he too was only a victim
Satan having embittered him.
But you see,
One day the war was won
When God gave his only Son.
Now all Blackman, all white man
Albino, Malletto
And all Jamaicans can sing
Sing:
I am free, praise the Lord, I'm free
I'm no longer bound
No more chains holding me
My soul is resting
It's such a blessing
Praise the Lord, hallelujah, I'm free (repeat)
Audrey Gordon is a singer/songwriter from Toronto. She wrote I Am Free
in June 2001 to celebrate Black history at her church.