One Hot Press

Isabel Garcia describes herself as “a very out person.”  

The forty-three-year old Pilsen resident has short, wavy black hair that she wares slicked closely to her head.  She is small and slightly stocky.  She is wearing a button-down collared shirt.  

“I don’t have any qualms being out,” she said.  “But I would probably be very fearful of being out [in Mexico].”  

Although she didn’t personally experience any violence in her home-town of San Luis Potosi, Mexico, she said she has heard stories of gay men and women being beaten and attacked because of their sexual orientation.

Attitudes towards homosexuality are slowly improving in Mexico.  But despite last summer’s 30th gay pride parade in Mexico City – just 8-years younger than Chicago’s – Mexicans are still weary of “coming out.”

“Gay communities exist [in Mexico], but they’re not visible, said Tania Unzueta, 24.

Unzueta works at Radio Arte 90.5 FM, a Spanish and English-speaking radio station.  She helps with a radio program called Homofrecuencia, a show that gives young Latinos in the LGBT community a voice.

The reason why Mexico’s LGBT community is not visible is more complex.  Age, cultural norms and gender roles play a part in Mexico’s attitudes towards the LGBT community.

Some families would be embarrassed to have a gay son or daughter and wouldn’t want their community to know, said Guadalupe Medina, 17, whose family is from Durango, Mexico.

“They might tell other people that they were dead or moved away,” said Medina.

Other families might find a girl for a gay son to spend time with in attempts to cover up their homosexuality, said Zu Zu Rosario, 15.  Rosario is a member of the Gay Straight Alliance at Benito Juarez High School in Pilsen.  

“It would be a tragedy” if I found out my dad or brother were gay, said 19-year-old Salvador Hernandez, also of Pilsen.  

Hernandez said that it in Mexico, society sees it as “worse” for a man to be gay than for a woman.  

Men are supposed to act manly, said Rosario.

Adding that “the father would probably beat the son if he was gay.”

Age also has to do with one’s level of tolerance.

“Younger generations are a lot more accepting [while] older generations are still against being gay,” said Unzueta.

Garcia remembers going home with her mother in 1999 and it was the first time in twelve years that some of her family members had seen her.  She said her mother didn’t know how to explain Garcia’s shaved head and new identity.  

“With some of my closer relatives – aunts, uncles – [being gay] was ok.  But with my grandfather’s brothers and sisters, it was not ok,” she said.  

“They thought I was my little brother.  I looked very different.”

Unzueta said she hasn’t been back to her home in Mexico City for some time and that her grandparents probably don’t know she’s a lesbian.  That’s assuming her parents, who are also in Chicago and maintain close ties to Unzueta, haven’t told them.    

But “it’s not just age,” said Garcia.  Among Mexicans “there’s the whole expectation that you should be married and have children.”

Unzueta added that “the power of the church doesn’t help” either – even though there are more and more progressive ones.

“Of course the church has a problem with it,” said Rosario.

“Because [the church] says that God made the woman for the man, not man for man.  That’s how it is.”   

But things are changing.

More and more people are coming out and there’s going to be more, said Hernandez.

Change will take more time in Mexico, more time than here, said Rosario and Medina.  

“All change is so slow, but there has been change,” said Unzueta.

On a dark October night in 1992, six-year-old Bishnu Khatiwada and his family arrived to their new home: a Nepalese refugee camp.  The lack of electricity at the newly established compound made the Himalayan night that much darker.

He remembers the eight-hour bus ride through India and upon their arrival, the sight of a singular gas-burning lamp shining in the blackness.  Except for that light, he couldn’t see anything around him – not the tall, scrubby trees surrounding the camp or the snowy peaks in the distance.  

Too young to remember his native Bhutan or the tiny country’s sudden shift towards nationalism and the violence that followed, Khatiwada has only distant memories of the day his parents told him it was time to leave home.  They didn’t tell him why or where they were going.

“It was like going on an adventure,” remembers the now 22-year-old, his thick accent masking his perfect English.

Khatiwada was the first of his family to arrive to Chicago in March.  His parents, younger brother and sister followed in July. They are among the 60,000 Bhutanese refugees the United States is offering to resettle within its borders, according to the United Nations High Commissioner of Refugees.  Australia, the Netherlands, Canada and Norway are among the other countries accepting Bhutanese refugees.

But for 16 years Khatiwada and his family lived in Beldagi II, one of Nepal’s seven refugee camps.  There are about 16 million refugees worldwide, according to the UNHCR.  And more than 107,000 Bhutanese refugees in Nepal. 

“The government virtually expelled the Nepali-speaking Bhutanese,” said Merrill Smith, director of government relations at the U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants.

“There was mob violence and family’s homes were burned down,” Smith added.

Landlocked between China and India, Bhutan is a predominantly Buddhist country.  In the late 1980s, the government took away the citizenship of the rising Hindu minority - the Lhotshampas - in the south of Bhutan.

Khatiwada and his family, like other Lhotshampas, are of Nepali descent and were prohibited from practicing their traditional customs, speaking their native languages and attending schools.  In the early 1990s, amidst the arbitrary imprisonment and torture of protestors, thousands of Bhutanese fled to Nepal.    

“I think it is really terrible,” said Khatiwada, whose family lived in southern Bhutan.  “Government must respect ethnicity and must respect culture.  Everyone has a love for their ethnicity and culture.”

Sitting cross-legged in his family’s drafty Roger’s Park living room, Khatiwada wears jeans, a gray longsleeve and a black puffy coat.  He chuckles when he says that American students call him “westernized.”  He met with high school students recently to talk about Bhutanese culture.

He pulls a black cell phone from his coat pocket and checks it.

Bhima Khatiwada, Khatiwada’s mom, enters with a tray of creamy and sweet, spiced tea.  She wears a white-knit winter hat and has a large, golden stud in her thin nose.  

Khatiwada and his dad, Tara, comment on the increased amount of coffee they now drink.  The loud conversation of the next-door neighbors is audible through the bare, white walls.

“I don’t like Starbucks coffee,” he says, with a wince and a quick head shake.  His shiny, black hair falling in wisps over his forehead.

“It’s too bitter.  That’s why I drink Dunkin’ Donuts.  But [Starbucks] hot chocolate,” he says, “it is so good.”

Despite Khatiwada’s identity as a refugee, he’s like most 22-year-olds.  He surfs the web, considers getting his bachelor's degree, likes to play guitar – especially Bad Company and Brian Adams - and has a job setting up banquet rooms at the Peninsula Hotel.

“He was the quickest [refugee] to find employment,” said Joe Carroll, job developer at Interfaith Refugee and Immigration Ministries.  The Uptown center is helping the Khatiwada family resettle.

On average, said Carroll, it takes about three to four months for refugees to find employment.  But Khatiwada got his after about a month.  Carroll attributes Khatiwada’s high English proficiency as “the main factor” in his speedy placement.

“He was already fluent and had the look, he’s young, good looking, friendly – they liked him,” said Carroll.

But the transition from his home at the refugee camp to Chicago wasn’t easy.

“When he came first here,” said his father Tara, in a soft-spoken voice, “I heard that he was scared…‘when you are coming?’ he was asking me.”

Before they left the camp, Tara Khatiwada said his son spent much of his time at home.

Even though he had friends “he stayed with the family, he never went out,” he said.  Adding that even now, on his days off, Khatiwada stays home with the family.

“I’m sure it was a bit daunting for him,” said Carroll.  He met Khatiwada at the airport the day he arrived.

Interfaith assists refugees in the resettlement process by finding affordable apartments and filling them with basic furniture and food.  But more importantly, they serve as a friendly face for refugees who arrive on their own.

“He was very quiet at first,” said Carroll.  “He used to come to the office everyday and hang out… he didn’t have the community he was used to.  He was the only Bhutanese we had.”

The family decided together that Khatiwada would come to Chicago on his own while the rest of them finalized paperwork in Nepal, said Tara Khatiwada.  They decided Khatiwada’s brother, Durga, 20, and his sister Pabrita, 17, were too young.

He knew he had to get a job right away, said Carroll.  He was “very good about thinking about responsibility…he knew he had to be the bread winner.”

After getting the job at the Peninsula, Khatiwada applied and interviewed for a job at Target – entirely on his own.  He got the job and wanted to work both, but because of scheduling conflicts, decided to just work at the hotel – it pays better.

“Being a refugee is not good,” said Khatiwada.  But, he said, with his straight, white teeth beaming, “I’m grateful for the opportunity to start a new life in my new home.”

For Nicholas Axas and his husband, Mason Byrne, emigrating to Canada was always a running joke.

But when President Bush won a second term in 2004, the same-sex couple decided it was time to not just leave their home in Denver, CO., but their country as well.

“We started the [immigration] application the day after the election,” said Axas, who now lives with Byrne in Toronto, Ontario.  They moved to Canada in 2006 and were married in May of this year.

With its tolerant views, cultural similarities and close proximity to the U.S., Canada has been experiencing an increase in American immigrants, according to a 2005 report from the Association for Canadian Studies.  And for some same-sex couples seeking marriage rights equal to their heterosexual counterparts, Canada is an even more attractive option.

“There has been a major increase in both same-sex and heterosexual couples” seeking our legal advice, said Alice Daghavarian, director of the immigration department at Robinson Sheppard and Shapiro, a Canadian law firm offering legal services to same-sex couples moving to Canada.

“Our numbers have doubled in the past year,” she said.  “Canada is more open to same-sex marriages…and people are deciding Canada is better.”

In 2005, the Canadian government guaranteed full marriage rights to same-sex couples.  Belgium, the Netherlands, Spain and South Africa are the only other countries where gay marriage is legal. Except for the states of Massachusetts and California, the U.S. government does not recognize same-sex marriages – nor can immigrants receive protection or citizenship if involved in a same-sex relationship with an American.

But gay or straight, Canada’s immigration process for couples is the same.

Most couples apply under the “skilled worker” category and entrance is decided on a points system.  Applicants earn a certain number or points based on an their age, education level, work experience and other factors. The minimum number of points required for entrance is sixty-seven.  Each spouse must qualify and follow the same procedure.   

“There are a lot of people who can’t meet the requirements,” said Chris Morrissey, co-founder of LEGIT, a Canadian-based immigration advocacy group for the LGBT community.

More points are given to those aged twenty-one to forty-nine and those who have a Master’s Degree or higher.  The higher the score, the better.

“It’s virtually impossible [to get in] if you have no education, no occupation or you’re too old,” she said.

As a fifty-year-old former teacher, Morrissey said if she were to apply, she wouldn’t meet the criteria.  But even though she thinks the standards are stringent, she knows the policy is in the best interest of Canada.

“If nothing else changes, I would be fine [with the current policy],” she said.

Applicants must also pass a medical examination, clear a background check, prove profficiency in either French or English and pay a $550 processing fee per person and a $490 Right of Permanent Residence Fee once application is finalized.

“It’s a long, arduous process,” Axas said, who scored a seventy-two on his application.  “But we had no problems – it went pretty smoothly.”  It took them almost 2 years to complete the process and they did it all through the mail and without a lawyer.   

Axas and Mason are currently permanent residents of Canada.  They have almost the same rights as citizens and must pay taxes, however, they cannot vote or obtain certain jobs.  In order to become citizens, they must spend 3 out of 4 years in Canada.  
 
“In the U.S.,” said Axas, “I would wake up in the morning and wonder ‘how much in the closet do I have to be today?’”

“But [in Canada], you can just be yourself.  You don’t have to hide the gay part of you.”

Musician and Pilsen resident Demetrio Maguigad worries about friends doing human rights work back home in the Philippines.  He has already heard stories of murdered family friends.  

Human rights abuses like extrajudicial killings and disappearances are a part of everyday life in the country.  Yet despite improvements, some say lack of awareness and fatigue is stifling efforts.

“Some of us know personally people who have been killed in the Philppines,” said Maguigad, percussionist in the Chicago-based, all-Filipino band Bagwis.  The seven-member ensemble is a collective of musicians and activists using the arts to educate the larger Filipino community about human rights issues back home.  

Since President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo was ushered into office in 2001, there have been 910 extrajudicial killings – or killings committed by government agents outside the judicial system - according to a 2008 study conducted by Karapatan, an international alliance of human rights organizations.

“A lot of people [in the Philippines and in the U.S.] are numb, and naïve about these issues,” said Bagwis’ singer and Maguigad’s wife, Je Maguigad.  She moved to the U.S. ten years ago, when she was twenty.  

“For us, [Bagwis] is an opportunity to let people know what’s happening in the Philippines,” said Maguigad.  “It’s a story not being told.”

“There’s a lot of confusion as to what to do,” said Alex Felipe, a Philippine-born human rights blogger and freelance photographer based in Toronto, Canada.

The government has targeted members and supporters of the New People’s Army, the armed sector of the Communist Party of the Philippines.  The New People’s Army has been rebelling against the government and trying to overthrow it for nearly forty years.  Most of the victims are peasants.

Complicating the issue is a Muslim uprising in the south Philippines, said Sue Russell, professor of anthropology at Northern Illinois University.  Russell is also a faculty associate at the university’s Center for Southeast Asian Studies.

Muslims are a minority in the predominantly Catholic country and the Moros, a Muslim separatist group, have also been victimized by the government.

“People are very angry about the way things are,” said Felipe.  Adding that many Filipinos would like to see Macapagal-Arroyo impeached.

While there was a time when protests to overthrow officials worked, today the same efforts are failing.

“There is a popular fatigue for the same old protest,” said Felipe.  “It worked before, but only in the short term.”

Peaceful protests ousted the previous president, Joseph Estrada in 2001. Then Vice President Macapagal-Arroyo took over and was re-elected for another 6-year term in 2004.  However, eyewitness accounts and tape-recorded evidence of her tampering with the elections surfaced in 2005.  She publicly denied accusations.

Yet despite the president’s unpopularity, the killings and disappearances have slowed.

“There has been an improvement in the last year,” said Russell.  

Because of UN and international involvement, the numbers decreased from 210 killings in 2006 to 20 killings as of June 2008, according to Karapatan.  The study also reported 193 disappearances since 2001.  There were 78 disappearances in 2006 and only one as of June 2008.  

“I don’t think [the killings and disappearances] will stop,” said Maguigad.  “Not until she’s dethrowned.”

“And hopefully with what [Bagwis is] doing, people will start thinking and questioning and not just go along with what the government is saying,” said Je Maguigad.  

“There’s always hope,” said Felipe.

Bagwis’ music is played on the Filipino radio station WNUA Rock and they have a solid fan base in New York and California.

Oct. 2008

Before I came across the blog We Move to Canada and its author, Laura Kaminker, I really doubted blogs and questioned their relevancy and reliability.  Blogs are not held to any ethical standards and I thought they were just providing soapboxes for opinionated people.  But then I found We Move to Canada. 

The blog is written by an American who emigrated to Canada in 2004.  It began as a chronicle of the steps she and her partner took to get the appropriate papers and successfully move to a foreign country.  Her reasons for moving are fairly political - she doesn't agree with the war in Iraq, capital punishment, abortion and has lost faith in the government and the system as well.  Not that Canada is without its own issues, she felt that Canada's policies better reflected her personal ideals. 

The one aspect of blogging that she made me appreciate was blogging as a activism tool.  One of her main interests are war resisters living in Canada.  I had no idea there even was a population of soldiers who fled the U.S. in opposition of the war.  That is a story that, for obvious reasons, mainstream media is not publicizing.  I would never have learned about this topic if I hadn't looked at her blog.  I became, in effect, living proof of the importance and relevancy of blogs.  She has a large readership and her site has won a few blogger awards.  So she reaches many people, all over the world.  But one caveat she had was that there are many ignorant people out there blogging, so it's up to the reader to exercise their best judgment. 

How long have you been blogging?

Since 2004.  I wanted to update everyone and tell the story of why we decided to emigrate to Canada.  That’s how it happened – I never expected people to read it.  But once I found out that I did have a readership, it became very gratifying.  But the blog was very unexpected.  I didn’t plan it and just made it up as I went along.

Who is reading your blog?

From what I can tell by who is commenting, readers are mainly Canadian.  Many are teaching me about Canada and some were very interested in why people wanted to move to Canada.  Everyone my partner and I know here, not just in Toronto but in the rest of country, we met through my blog.  Over the years, the blog evolved and readership turned to Americans thinking of moving to Canada.  I’ve gotten hundreds of emails from Americans seeking advice.  Another subset were hard, right-winger Americans.  They left comments calling me a coward, traitor, liar – that the things I was saying about America weren’t true – good riddance, things like that.  They started telling me tons of lies about Canada, myths.  They provided a lot of humor.  They would tell me how horrible the health care system is here, that I’d have to wait for care, would get arrested if I insulted the Queen.  But once we moved, it stopped.  It was interesting that a person leaving would be a target. 

Do you feel an increased sense of responsibility since winning the progressive blogger awards?

Yes, yes I do.  As my readership builds, I feel like I need to be there blogging. But there’s other places for those people to get their information.  I’m not trying ot overinflate myself, but people come to me and I feel like I have to meet their need.  But it’s not burdensome, I feel like I can self-regulate. 

What are your thoughts on blogs vs mainstream media?  Which delivers more accurate, reliable information?

Both have a lot of potential and a lot of pitfalls.  It’s easy to go to a blog and see that it’s crap.  Some bloggers do so much work researching ideas, investigating, they do the job that mainstream media does not.  But it’s personal, it’s up to the reader to decide what’s worth reading.  If something is uneducated, than that blogger won’t have a readership. 

I think it’s a mistake for professional journalists to say they have a problem with blogs.  Blogs are here to stay.  There are pitfalls, but they also do great things.

But books, newspapers, blogs: they’re all tools.  It’s up to the reader and how much time you put in.  With blogs, there is a wider range of opinion and politics.  The blogosphere is giving you a much wider perspective than newspapers could.  There’s more commentary, you can see the same event told through different perspectives.    

Do you think blogs can change public opinion or policies?

Blogging is an activist tool.  It’s a great way of reaching people - there’s no other way to do that.  The alternative is putting up flyers and organizing meetings.  Blogs have completely revolutionized activism.  War resistance is a huge focus of my blog.  But reproductive rights, elections fraud, the U.S. war in Iraq, poverty issues, the environment – all are important to me.  I could make them into an essay and try to get them published, but that takes so much more work.  A lot of what I do is alerting people, ask questions and start soliciting reader opinion and start a discussion.  The blog is a part of my life and part of my activism.  People email me ideas so I keep doing it.  I thought I was going to end it because it was becoming a chore, but I decided to keep going.  With a blog, you never have to apologize for what you write.  If a reader doesn’t like it, they can just click and move on.  I should write about what I want to write about – my blog reflects what I’m thinking about.    

In your opinion, what’s the perception of bloggers among journalists?

Journalists don’t know what to make of it.  But they all link to bloggers. 

Do you think mainstream media depends on bloggers?

Ya, I would say that’s true.  

On October 14, Canadians will vote on who their new Members of Parliament will be.  The outcome of this election will also determine who takes over as Prime Minister.

 
The Canadian Parliament is similar to the U.S. Congress.  It is a bicameral legislature in that it has two bodies: the House of Commons and the Senate.  The House of Commons has 308 members who are elected democratically, typically every 4 years.  Major territories like Ontario and Quebec have more members where as Nunvat and the Yukon have fewer.  Each Member of Parliament represents a district in the territory.

The Conservative Party has the majority, followed by the Liberal Party, Bloc Quebecois and the Green Party.  The party that wins the majority in the House of Commons, determines who will be Prime Minister.  It is usually the party’s leader who takes the seat.  The current Prime Minister is Stephen Harper of the Conservative Party.

The Senate consists of 105 appointed members who serve until 75 years of age.  The Senate typically has less power, however in order for a bill to become law, it must pass both the House of Commons and the Senate.

Executive power is given to the Queen of England. She appoints a Governor General to watch over the country and they, in turn, appoint a Prime Minister.  The Prime Minister is the head of government and selects Ministers to form his Cabinet.  The Cabinet advises the Prime Minister and Governor General.  Ministers usually head a federal agency like the department of health or immigration. 

Many Canadians are blogging about the up-coming elections.  Small Dead Animals is from a blogger in Saskatchewan.  The author has links to articles and analysis of political mudslinging among campaigners.  Her site seems well-read.  An average of 20 people have left comments on her numerous postings.  The U.S. economy and elections as well as the environment are also issue on her site. 

Buckdog Politics is a citizen journalism blog covering the elections in Canada and in U.S. as well as other local and international issues.

My Canada Includes Justice writes critiques of Canadian government such as human rights violations, racism and police brutality.  She also talks about the importance of Americans immigrants and how they are positively impact Canadian culture and thought.  

Girl on the Right is a conservative, somewhat feminist blog.  The author covers some human rights cases and other judical issues.  Quebec Blog is a pro-Quebec blog.  An important issue in Quebec is sovergnty.  In 1995, Quebec residents voted weather or not they wanted Quebec to be separate from the rest of Canada.  The vote was extremely close: 50.58 percent voted “no” while 49.42 percent voted “yes.”  Quebec has a strong francophone identity while the rest of the country is predominantly Anglophone.  English and French are the official languages. 

As for blogs that reflect Canadian culture and popular thought, We Move to Canada and Alex Felipe are good representations.  WMTC is written by an American living in Canada.  She chronicles the moving processes and her experiences.  Two issues she also addresses is abortion, which has been decriminalized but still debated, and Free Robin Long – the first U.S. war resister to forced to leave Canada since the Vietnam War. He is in a military in San Diego.

Alex Felipe is a photojournalist and human rights blogger.  He focus is on the Philippines and Canadian interests in the country.  He also has an arts and entertainment section.

Alice in Canada compares U.S. and Canadian politics, arts and culture.

Recent news in Canada has focused on both the elections there and the economy and elections in the U.S.  It was ranked as the most important issue Canadians were considering during the elections.  The Canadian newspaper, Macleans, posted this survey on their blog.  It links to analysis and coverage of the elections via reporter’s blogs.

Non-partisan Canadians

Instead of celebrating el grito, or the day Mexico declared independence from Spain, last weekend Mexicans were dressing the wounded and burying victims of a bombing in Morelia.  Officials blame drug-related organized crime for detonating two grenades among the crowds of people gathered for the parade.  Last week, 2-dozen decapitated bodies found near Mexico City is being called one of the largest mass killings in Mexico’s recent history.  Go back just a few more days and the trail of crime-related headlines continues.  Once again, Mexico is in the news for brutal violence, drugs and crime.    

But even in Mexico, violence makes headlines and is often sensationalized.  I’ve been to Mexico 3 times – Oaxaca, Guadalajara and the Riviera Maya – and in each place I was struck how graphic images of bloodied, beaten, and often dead, victims made front page photos.  Not even rape victims, body-less limbs or children were spared from the public eye.

Sure Mexico is, just like every other place in the world, prone to violence and crime. 

But what about the other Mexico?  Depending on where you live in the U.S., Mexico is only a 2- to 3-hour flight away.  Why don’t we know more about our neighbors who brought us the taco, tequila and Javier Bardem?

Did you know that in June Mexico City held its 30th gay pride parade?  That’s only a few years younger than Chicago’s.

And if you are a woman in Mexico City, it’s now legal to have an abortion in the first trimester of pregnancy?

Violence is a part of any society and citizens do need to know.  But it’s important to remember the other stories that are just as important and reflective of a culture.  Like female wrestlers…    

Mexico Insight

 

Foreign Policy Association

 

Mexico Premiere Blog

Incompleted Border Fense

Reading about Human Rights issues in the Philippines reminds me of 1970s Argentina and the "disappeared."  The disappeared are people who were kidnapped and never seen or heard from again - they were presumably tortured and murdered.  Most were young people, activists or academics stirring the pot.  But in the Philippines, this is not something for the history books.  These "disappearances" are happening today. 

Alex Felipe is a Canadian photojournalist of Filipino decent.  He keeps a photoblog as well as blogs on human rights issues, current events and immigration issues in the Philippines.  The site also serves as a platform for him to discover his own identity and what it means to be a Filipino - an issue that I think non-minorities overlook.  When talking and thinking about human rights issues, having a photo of a person makes a stronger impact than trying to imagine in your mind what is happening to someone.  This was by far the most photo-rich blog I found. 

Slaughter of the Innocents is a blog dedicated to the "arbitrary deprivation of human lives" in the Philippines.  They define various types of undocumented killings regardless of whether they were an armed civilian, gang-banger or a suspicious person.  One related issue is about how witnesses to killings are not being protected by police or the courts. 

Boys Kidnapped is from the Human Rights Blog and as the name implies, is a blog about human rights issues around the world.  There is a serchable archive and this particular link is to an incident of young teenage boys kidnapped by a cult in a region of the Philippines that was experienceing a surge in disappearances.  Interestingly, a cult was blamed.

 

All three blogs touch on the issue of disappearances and point the finger at the President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.