My friend Mathew is an accomplished web designer and I wanted to profile some of his work here.
He's specialised in interaction design and user experience, doing courses in userbility and projects on webpages for visually impaired people.
His website www.wiebedesign.com shows examples of some of the stuff he does.
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Becoming human
Becoming human, of course, is the title of a book by Jean Vanier, the founder of L'Arche homes for the disabled. But it is also a humble cry to remember that for most of our lives, we ourselves in fact embody that vulnerable other, dependant on others to provide for our needs.
I couldn't help but reflect on this today. Today is an age where we throw away people, satisfied to blame those who land on the streets or in shelters with "bad lifestyle choices" and haughtily assume that we, the deserving, will never fall to that level.
I'll never forget what one of my sociology teachers said quietly once, after a heated discussion about poverty:
"We're all just one paycheque away from poverty."
One day you or I could get an accident, become disabled, and never work again.
We could lose our job in a recession, and be caught between mortgage and car payments.
We are all just one paycheque away from poverty.
And yet, for some reason, we are happy to blame the other when personal strength and ability fail.
"If he would just get his act together, he could make it" we say.
"If only she had got an education, she wouldn't be struggling like this" we say, blaming the individual for the cruel forces of a society unwilling to take care of its vulnerable and weak.
Becoming human means remembering those times when we too, were unable to care for ourselves. When we were young. When we get old and frail. And when, for whatever reason, our paycheques fall through the cracks or just can't keep up with the most essential things of life; rent and food.
I couldn't help but reflect on this today. Today is an age where we throw away people, satisfied to blame those who land on the streets or in shelters with "bad lifestyle choices" and haughtily assume that we, the deserving, will never fall to that level.
I'll never forget what one of my sociology teachers said quietly once, after a heated discussion about poverty:
"We're all just one paycheque away from poverty."
One day you or I could get an accident, become disabled, and never work again.
We could lose our job in a recession, and be caught between mortgage and car payments.
We are all just one paycheque away from poverty.
And yet, for some reason, we are happy to blame the other when personal strength and ability fail.
"If he would just get his act together, he could make it" we say.
"If only she had got an education, she wouldn't be struggling like this" we say, blaming the individual for the cruel forces of a society unwilling to take care of its vulnerable and weak.
Becoming human means remembering those times when we too, were unable to care for ourselves. When we were young. When we get old and frail. And when, for whatever reason, our paycheques fall through the cracks or just can't keep up with the most essential things of life; rent and food.
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Religion and HIV/AIDS
It was my first time in a church in South Africa. I didn't know what to expect.
A trangendered woman stepped up to the pulpit and read an opening scripture from the Bible.
The worship leader walked to the front and said "If you're a lesbian,if you're gay, if you're bisexual, if you're transgender, you're welcome here! If you have HIV or AIDS you are welcome here! Everyone is welcome here."
That was when I began to start feeling like I could make this my home church.
I've already illustrated the damage that extremist and right-wing Christianity can do to when highly funded (and often foreign) religious groups attempt to influence state policies. But the fact remains that in the Majority world, religion-- whether Christianity, Islam, or Buddhism-- is adhered to at least in name by the majority of the population. In other words, interventions to combat HIV/AIDS will not be succesful if they are running contrary to widely held and respected religious norms of the country in which they are operating.
In fact, in the majority world it may well be that the broad-based popularity of religious institutions, the social and physical infrastructure, and the capability for both mass education and mass health outreaches make religious institutions uniquely capable of comnatting HIV/AIDS in locations where the road ends and hospitals, clinics, and educated social workers don't exist.
Examples of such alliances do exist. In Papua New Guinea, non profit initiatives educate and work with pastors and other church leaders to spread the word on HIV prevention through the social networks that only the church has. And they have been succesful in spreading accurate information and stemming the spread of the virus through this method. While unusual, this example may be one that can pave the road for using the extensive networks that religion have in order to combat the spread of HIV/AIDS.
I found in my time at Metro Evangelical Services in Johannesburg that religion is capable of expanding into non-traditional roles to help prevent HIV. M.E.S. might be one of the only organisations I know of where you can get preached to on the street about Christianity on one hand, and about the importance of wearing condoms on the other-- and all under the umbrella of one organisation, M.E.S. The pastors that were sent to buildings and networks in churches knew where they could refer people who were concerned about their status and to get accurate information.
There is much to learn about religious-health alliances. But without using the networks that already exist in countries to combat HIV/AIDS, and assuming their moral authority, it will be much more costly, expensive, and ineffective to try and combat HIV/AIDS.
A trangendered woman stepped up to the pulpit and read an opening scripture from the Bible.
The worship leader walked to the front and said "If you're a lesbian,if you're gay, if you're bisexual, if you're transgender, you're welcome here! If you have HIV or AIDS you are welcome here! Everyone is welcome here."
That was when I began to start feeling like I could make this my home church.
I've already illustrated the damage that extremist and right-wing Christianity can do to when highly funded (and often foreign) religious groups attempt to influence state policies. But the fact remains that in the Majority world, religion-- whether Christianity, Islam, or Buddhism-- is adhered to at least in name by the majority of the population. In other words, interventions to combat HIV/AIDS will not be succesful if they are running contrary to widely held and respected religious norms of the country in which they are operating.
In fact, in the majority world it may well be that the broad-based popularity of religious institutions, the social and physical infrastructure, and the capability for both mass education and mass health outreaches make religious institutions uniquely capable of comnatting HIV/AIDS in locations where the road ends and hospitals, clinics, and educated social workers don't exist.
Examples of such alliances do exist. In Papua New Guinea, non profit initiatives educate and work with pastors and other church leaders to spread the word on HIV prevention through the social networks that only the church has. And they have been succesful in spreading accurate information and stemming the spread of the virus through this method. While unusual, this example may be one that can pave the road for using the extensive networks that religion have in order to combat the spread of HIV/AIDS.
I found in my time at Metro Evangelical Services in Johannesburg that religion is capable of expanding into non-traditional roles to help prevent HIV. M.E.S. might be one of the only organisations I know of where you can get preached to on the street about Christianity on one hand, and about the importance of wearing condoms on the other-- and all under the umbrella of one organisation, M.E.S. The pastors that were sent to buildings and networks in churches knew where they could refer people who were concerned about their status and to get accurate information.
There is much to learn about religious-health alliances. But without using the networks that already exist in countries to combat HIV/AIDS, and assuming their moral authority, it will be much more costly, expensive, and ineffective to try and combat HIV/AIDS.
Saturday, November 28, 2009
Teen girl slang
That's right; I'm publically admitting of having been one of "those" teen girls. One of those teen girls who loves to talk. One of those teen girls who loves to say "like" a lot.
This has led me to believe that when it comes to simplifying content to be more easily understandable and versatile, teenage girls are actually geniuses.
Consider the many different meanings and connotations teen girls have managed to pack into the single, simple and efficient word "like"...
"I like to dance" Synonym: enjoy.
"It was like he wanted to get hit". Synonym: "as though"
"It was like a two-year olds day dream" Synonym: "Similar to"
"Like, what's with that?" Synonym: "I mean"
"And I was like, what the hell?" Synonym: "was thinking and also giving the impression that I/you/ze was thinking"
"Is he like, an idiot or something?" Synonym: well actually in this case you don't really need the word at all. BUT... it gives the impression that the speaker is putting into question the statement that she is making so as to leave room for differing opinions... how very cosmopolitan and open-minded of you, teen girls....
(Another example of this)
"He's like an imbecile, eh?"
People tried to reform my teenage girl oattern of speach, telling me I sounded unintelligent. But who decides what intelligence is anyway? I sounded like what I was; a teenage girl. And how that became synonymous with unintelligent is another post all together.
This has led me to believe that when it comes to simplifying content to be more easily understandable and versatile, teenage girls are actually geniuses.
Consider the many different meanings and connotations teen girls have managed to pack into the single, simple and efficient word "like"...
"I like to dance" Synonym: enjoy.
"It was like he wanted to get hit". Synonym: "as though"
"It was like a two-year olds day dream" Synonym: "Similar to"
"Like, what's with that?" Synonym: "I mean"
"And I was like, what the hell?" Synonym: "was thinking and also giving the impression that I/you/ze was thinking"
"Is he like, an idiot or something?" Synonym: well actually in this case you don't really need the word at all. BUT... it gives the impression that the speaker is putting into question the statement that she is making so as to leave room for differing opinions... how very cosmopolitan and open-minded of you, teen girls....
(Another example of this)
"He's like an imbecile, eh?"
People tried to reform my teenage girl oattern of speach, telling me I sounded unintelligent. But who decides what intelligence is anyway? I sounded like what I was; a teenage girl. And how that became synonymous with unintelligent is another post all together.
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Bella gets older, gains spine
I'm sure you have all at least heard of the Twilight series books and movies coming out. You know the deal: girl falls in love with vampire, he falls in love with her, chaos ensues.
Reading the books I was struck by how abusive many of the relationships are.
Apparently we are supposed to quietly smile and accept it when author Stephanie Meyers writes that the werewolf's girlfriend Emily is permanently scarred from her fiance, who lost control just once.... And he feels really bad about it and anyway she loves him so it's ok, right?
Or what about Jacob, Bella's best friend, who tells her that Bella should kiss him like she means it or else he'll kill himself?
This classic case of emotional abuse ends not in Bella telling Jacob exactly where to shove it, but in her kissing him and realising just how much she really loves him.
In my books, this is not the way that story would end.
Bella would tell Jacob that if he wants to be emotionally abusive, she will not have any part in it.
Vampire boyfriend who seems ready to off himself at the slightest sign that Bella isn't doing well would also be history.
Sure, it would be painful.
Bella might even cry a few tears.
But in the end she would know that despite the pain, having a full and abuse-free life is well worth it.
After all, teenage angst can only last for so long.
Reading the books I was struck by how abusive many of the relationships are.
Apparently we are supposed to quietly smile and accept it when author Stephanie Meyers writes that the werewolf's girlfriend Emily is permanently scarred from her fiance, who lost control just once.... And he feels really bad about it and anyway she loves him so it's ok, right?
Or what about Jacob, Bella's best friend, who tells her that Bella should kiss him like she means it or else he'll kill himself?
This classic case of emotional abuse ends not in Bella telling Jacob exactly where to shove it, but in her kissing him and realising just how much she really loves him.
In my books, this is not the way that story would end.
Bella would tell Jacob that if he wants to be emotionally abusive, she will not have any part in it.
Vampire boyfriend who seems ready to off himself at the slightest sign that Bella isn't doing well would also be history.
Sure, it would be painful.
Bella might even cry a few tears.
But in the end she would know that despite the pain, having a full and abuse-free life is well worth it.
After all, teenage angst can only last for so long.
Monday, November 23, 2009
Choices choices?
"HIV/AIDS can be prevented with the proper lifestyle"
"If you are faithful or abstinent, you won't get HIV"
Do these messages sound familiar? Pop culture-- funded and abetted by USAID's so called ABC funding criteria that only gives money to organisations that encourage Abstinence, Being faithful and Condoms (in that order)-- puppet these sayings again and again as if they have legitimacy for women's lives across incredeibly diverse cultures and countries all over the world.
When I heard Dr. Carr asking us at the OHTN conference if people from various cultures really have the choices this kind of message implies, I immediately thought of some of my friends in South Africa. My friend "Karabo," as we'll call her, confided in me that she wasn't certain if her fiance was being faithful to her.
"Karabo!" I said, immediately concerned, "If you're not sure that he's being faithful to you, you have to use condoms."
"Girl," she sighed, "I can't. I've dated him since we were both in high school. If I start asking him to use condoms now he will wonder why. He'll think I'm not being faithful."
This kind of situation is exactly what Dr. Carr is referring to.
The spread of the HIV/AIDS virus is more than a series of bad "lifestyle choices" by people across the globe. Rather, HIV/AIDS reveals people's vulnerability and their lack of power much more than it does their personal choices.
Take the example of the countless women who are victims of rape in conflict zones. HIV/AIDS in this situation can hardly be seen as a consequence of lifestyle. Instead, it shows the lack of respect for women's rights that soldiers and indeed the entire institution of revolutionary groups have. The spread of HIV/AIDS through rape also highlights the vulnerability of certain women more than others; those women that can not escape conflict zones when war breaks out often have less money, and most certainly lack the protection of a strong state system that could protect them.
The issues surrounding HIV/AIDS are complex. It is not fair to blame people who have the virus with poor lifestyle choices. More relevant is to examine the factors that have created such a vulnerability to contracting the virus, and to work on destroying these disempowering structures.
"If you are faithful or abstinent, you won't get HIV"
Do these messages sound familiar? Pop culture-- funded and abetted by USAID's so called ABC funding criteria that only gives money to organisations that encourage Abstinence, Being faithful and Condoms (in that order)-- puppet these sayings again and again as if they have legitimacy for women's lives across incredeibly diverse cultures and countries all over the world.
When I heard Dr. Carr asking us at the OHTN conference if people from various cultures really have the choices this kind of message implies, I immediately thought of some of my friends in South Africa. My friend "Karabo," as we'll call her, confided in me that she wasn't certain if her fiance was being faithful to her.
"Karabo!" I said, immediately concerned, "If you're not sure that he's being faithful to you, you have to use condoms."
"Girl," she sighed, "I can't. I've dated him since we were both in high school. If I start asking him to use condoms now he will wonder why. He'll think I'm not being faithful."
This kind of situation is exactly what Dr. Carr is referring to.
The spread of the HIV/AIDS virus is more than a series of bad "lifestyle choices" by people across the globe. Rather, HIV/AIDS reveals people's vulnerability and their lack of power much more than it does their personal choices.
Take the example of the countless women who are victims of rape in conflict zones. HIV/AIDS in this situation can hardly be seen as a consequence of lifestyle. Instead, it shows the lack of respect for women's rights that soldiers and indeed the entire institution of revolutionary groups have. The spread of HIV/AIDS through rape also highlights the vulnerability of certain women more than others; those women that can not escape conflict zones when war breaks out often have less money, and most certainly lack the protection of a strong state system that could protect them.
The issues surrounding HIV/AIDS are complex. It is not fair to blame people who have the virus with poor lifestyle choices. More relevant is to examine the factors that have created such a vulnerability to contracting the virus, and to work on destroying these disempowering structures.
Saturday, November 21, 2009
Uganda's anti homosexuality bill
It's hard to describe to people who have never lived anywhere other than Canada what it means not to have human rights. It's hard to describe what it means when I say "I liked living in Africa, but I'm glad to be back in Canada because I really appreciate having rights as a woman." It's hard for others to understand what I mean when I say "the laws were there but the culture was against women's and LGBTQ rights."
Maybe it isn't fair to refer to these things as cultural. After all, lesbian woman in South Africa before colonisation used to be able to pay dowry and marry a woman, so long as they did so inside of certain specific cultural norms. It was assumed these marriages weren't sexual in nature-- but looking back can we really be sure of that?
Maybe instead of culture, I have to pin the blame on homophobia squarely on the history of colonisation and Christianity.
Living under a colonial dictatorship for more than a hundred years has given many places in the world a complex relationship to authority and power that is less apparent in Canadian society. When I asked one of my friends if South Africa would ever have a woman president he laughed and said,
“No. I can’t have a woman above me. No man in this country wants to have a woman above him!”
This viewpoint on power and relationships between people as essentially unequal- either you have it and I don't, or I have it and you don't- fuels the continuing lack of women's empowerment in countries suffering from a history of colonisation and dictatorship.
A more recent and stinging trend is taking place in the halls of religion, particularly Christianity. Right wing advocacy groups, having been discredited in Canada (less so in the United States) find themselves turning to other countries in the world to try and shape political policies. This, according to Dr. Robert Carr, are the highly funded powers behind Uganda's so called anti-homosexuality bill; not traditional cultures or beliefs, but powerful Christian groups from Canada and the United States.
This bill would imprison LGBTQ people for life, or kill them. It would send parents to prison for not reporting their children for three years; and the same to teachers. A landlord who gives housing to suspected LGBTQ people could face 7 years of imprisonment.
These are the laws that right wing groups from Canada and the United States have imposed on other soverign countries. While human rights are seen as a Western imposition on other cultures, in this case isn’t lack of human rights an imposition as well?
People, if you feel the way I do about these proposals you will support the movement against these laws in Uganda.
.....
Contacts to protest... (from facebook group)
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=198541255168&v=info
Read the bill: http://wthrockmorton.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/anti-homosexuality-bill-2009.pdf
President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni
State House Nakasero
email: info@statehouse.go.ug
Prime Minister Apollo Nsibambi
email: ps@opm.go.ug
Speaker of the Parliament
Edward Ssekandi Kiwanuka
email: speaker@parliament.go.ug
Minister of Gender, Labour, and Social Affairs Honorable Opio Gabriel
email: ps@mglsd.go.ug
Chair of the Uganda Human Rights Commission
Med Kaggwa
email: uhrc@uhrc.ug
Directorate for Ethics and Integrity
email: info@dei.go.ug
Chair of the Uganda Diplomatic Human Rights Working Groups
Mathisen Gørild
email: gorild.mathisen@mfa.no
Please also send a copy to:
Ambassador to the Republic of Uganda Embassy of the United States of America
Jerry P. Lanier
email: kampalawebcontact@state.gov
Christian pastors in Uganda:
Martin Ssempa
ssempam@gmail.com
Stephen Langa
stephenlanga@yahoo.com
You may contact Watato Church (formerly Kampala Pentecostal Church and closely associated with both Ssempa and Langa) at connect@watotochurch.com.
Maybe it isn't fair to refer to these things as cultural. After all, lesbian woman in South Africa before colonisation used to be able to pay dowry and marry a woman, so long as they did so inside of certain specific cultural norms. It was assumed these marriages weren't sexual in nature-- but looking back can we really be sure of that?
Maybe instead of culture, I have to pin the blame on homophobia squarely on the history of colonisation and Christianity.
Living under a colonial dictatorship for more than a hundred years has given many places in the world a complex relationship to authority and power that is less apparent in Canadian society. When I asked one of my friends if South Africa would ever have a woman president he laughed and said,
“No. I can’t have a woman above me. No man in this country wants to have a woman above him!”
This viewpoint on power and relationships between people as essentially unequal- either you have it and I don't, or I have it and you don't- fuels the continuing lack of women's empowerment in countries suffering from a history of colonisation and dictatorship.
A more recent and stinging trend is taking place in the halls of religion, particularly Christianity. Right wing advocacy groups, having been discredited in Canada (less so in the United States) find themselves turning to other countries in the world to try and shape political policies. This, according to Dr. Robert Carr, are the highly funded powers behind Uganda's so called anti-homosexuality bill; not traditional cultures or beliefs, but powerful Christian groups from Canada and the United States.
This bill would imprison LGBTQ people for life, or kill them. It would send parents to prison for not reporting their children for three years; and the same to teachers. A landlord who gives housing to suspected LGBTQ people could face 7 years of imprisonment.
These are the laws that right wing groups from Canada and the United States have imposed on other soverign countries. While human rights are seen as a Western imposition on other cultures, in this case isn’t lack of human rights an imposition as well?
People, if you feel the way I do about these proposals you will support the movement against these laws in Uganda.
.....
Contacts to protest... (from facebook group)
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=198541255168&v=info
Read the bill: http://wthrockmorton.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/anti-homosexuality-bill-2009.pdf
President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni
State House Nakasero
email: info@statehouse.go.ug
Prime Minister Apollo Nsibambi
email: ps@opm.go.ug
Speaker of the Parliament
Edward Ssekandi Kiwanuka
email: speaker@parliament.go.ug
Minister of Gender, Labour, and Social Affairs Honorable Opio Gabriel
email: ps@mglsd.go.ug
Chair of the Uganda Human Rights Commission
Med Kaggwa
email: uhrc@uhrc.ug
Directorate for Ethics and Integrity
email: info@dei.go.ug
Chair of the Uganda Diplomatic Human Rights Working Groups
Mathisen Gørild
email: gorild.mathisen@mfa.no
Please also send a copy to:
Ambassador to the Republic of Uganda Embassy of the United States of America
Jerry P. Lanier
email: kampalawebcontact@state.gov
Christian pastors in Uganda:
Martin Ssempa
ssempam@gmail.com
Stephen Langa
stephenlanga@yahoo.com
You may contact Watato Church (formerly Kampala Pentecostal Church and closely associated with both Ssempa and Langa) at connect@watotochurch.com.
OHTN conference 2009
The Ontario HIV Treatment Network conference on "research at the front lines" served up more new possibilities for moving forward and hope against the many interrelated oppressions surrounding the virus than I had imagined. I don't know if I can quite properly describe the feeling of seeing a man dressed in a suit, introduced as a PhD, presenting a plenary piece on the latest research in HIV/AIDS and referring to the gay community as "we" and "ours". It was one of those moments that sends a beautiful wave of shock through your body, as you realise that suddenly the margins aren't quite as marginalised as you always deeply felt.
That was Dr. Ron Stall, and his work was a beautiful breakthrough into the interconnected psycho-social health issues gay men face. His research outlined how childhood abuse, depression, substance abuse, and intimate partner violence all increase the likelihood of acquiring HIV. More, if one of those problems is present in a man's life, there is a greater chance that any of the other problems will also occur; which is common sense when you think about it. Basically it means if you've been abused as a child you may end up in an abusive relationship; and an abusive partner is not one who is willing to be faithful and wear condoms if you ask him to. Sorting out exactly why each of these connections occur is complex; but each vulnerability factor serves to increase the likelihood that at least one other will be present.
Listening to Dr. Stall was one of those light-bulb moments for me. Not only because he tied together the deep wounds of homophobia so many of us have experienced as children, but also because it inspired me in what I want to do for my master's thesis. I had been interested in looking at refugee women from conflict zones, how service providers are treating them for trauma (or not), and intimate partner violence. Now I realise it is obvious I have to add HIV to that and see what connections arise. Many presenters at the conference illustrated that immigrants tend to seroconvert after arriving in Canada; I want to know if the same trend exists for refugees, and what role conflict and violence play into HIV. More importantly, I want to emphasise what service providers can do to meet refugees' needs, and how to prevent intimate partner violence and HIV acquisition.
I had to book two days off work to go to the conference, and I did so over the phone. My Mom, sitting next to me overheard me as I explained to my employer that I was going to a conference on HIV.
"They might think you have it, Mary Ann" my Mom worried.
"Then I just made one small step towards destroying that stigma" I replied.
And indeed, the research and the community surrounding this conference proved to do that in more ways than just my own small and inadvertent action.
That was Dr. Ron Stall, and his work was a beautiful breakthrough into the interconnected psycho-social health issues gay men face. His research outlined how childhood abuse, depression, substance abuse, and intimate partner violence all increase the likelihood of acquiring HIV. More, if one of those problems is present in a man's life, there is a greater chance that any of the other problems will also occur; which is common sense when you think about it. Basically it means if you've been abused as a child you may end up in an abusive relationship; and an abusive partner is not one who is willing to be faithful and wear condoms if you ask him to. Sorting out exactly why each of these connections occur is complex; but each vulnerability factor serves to increase the likelihood that at least one other will be present.
Listening to Dr. Stall was one of those light-bulb moments for me. Not only because he tied together the deep wounds of homophobia so many of us have experienced as children, but also because it inspired me in what I want to do for my master's thesis. I had been interested in looking at refugee women from conflict zones, how service providers are treating them for trauma (or not), and intimate partner violence. Now I realise it is obvious I have to add HIV to that and see what connections arise. Many presenters at the conference illustrated that immigrants tend to seroconvert after arriving in Canada; I want to know if the same trend exists for refugees, and what role conflict and violence play into HIV. More importantly, I want to emphasise what service providers can do to meet refugees' needs, and how to prevent intimate partner violence and HIV acquisition.
I had to book two days off work to go to the conference, and I did so over the phone. My Mom, sitting next to me overheard me as I explained to my employer that I was going to a conference on HIV.
"They might think you have it, Mary Ann" my Mom worried.
"Then I just made one small step towards destroying that stigma" I replied.
And indeed, the research and the community surrounding this conference proved to do that in more ways than just my own small and inadvertent action.
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