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Better to light a candle than to curse the darkness. Or to paraphrase Margaret Mead, no significant changes in any society have ever occured without the dedicated work of a small group of dedicated individuals. In fact, that is usually the only way that change comes about. Whether we live in Canada, Costa Rica, Paraguay or Nicaragua, change can and will come, but it begins with each one of us.
Very good replies so far… as to a small percentage of homeless people not wanting help, I would prefer to hear their own story before I make this kind of judgment. As for no one freezing to death on the street in Costa Rica, this is likely true. However, lacking a home also creates other kinds of problems and is one of the most fundamental destabilizing experiences one can endure…been there, done that. Does anyone have any links available for me about affordable housing in Costa Rica. Does this sort of thing exist here. Are there huge waiting lists. What is the welfare system like. Is help equally available to all Ticos who need it. Can they survive on government assistance. What is available as well in the way of mental health supports, employment and vocational training. And treatment for addictions.
As for the situation in Vancouver, yes our homelessness is egregious. This only became a problem during the nineties and onward as neo’liberal economic policies became the global norm. In order to accommodate the demands of the World Bank and the IMF our own government in Canada, as has happened elsewhere, slashed spending on education, health, and social services programs, virtually turning thousands out onto the streets. I experienced homelessness myself for a while in the late ´90´s because of these changes, and fortunately I´m back on my feet again and working in the mental health field. I also put in close to two years recently working in a homeless shelter and in meal programs for homeless adults and youth in Vancouver, so you could say I have frontline experience here.Hmmm… I’m reminded here of the 4 young men involved with the Catholic Worker who were abducted in Iraq back in 2005 or so. One of them was killed by his captor. The others were freed by American soldiers with guns. While James Lomie, one of the Catholic Workers was grateful for his rescue he also stated that he did not endorse the use of guns or violence as the conditions of his rescue. Do with that as you will, I’m only presenting the facts as I recall them.
Speaking of gun owndership, there have also been several suggestions that another reason that violent crime has been on the decrease in Canada (and I suspect in the US as well) may have squat to do with gun owndership and a lot more with the fact that the population in both countries has been aging since the eighties, and therefore are less likely to engage in violent crime. I have also heard, for that matter, that the part of the brains in young men that are the last to fully develop are certain frontal lobes that govern rational behaviour.
I don’t like guns. I don’t like violence, and I refuse to participate in this dance of fear and paranoia that would oblige me either to take sides in this silly debate about gun-ownersip or to own a gun myself. I would prefer not to live in fear, and for me, not living in fear involves not troubling to carry a lethal weapon on my person for self-defense. Does this imply risk? Of course it does. Risk is part of life. But I am going to continue to engage with others from a position of peace and friendship, whether they are carrying bouquets of daisies or whether they are armed to the teeth, or both. Yeah, go ahead and dismiss me as a naive and coddled Canadian but I live in low-income housing in a rough area of town and I have never been afraid because I try to view each person I see as someone with worth and human dignity. I also happen to be a Christian. Has it always gone well for me? No. In Amsterdam I was robbed at knife point, in other situations at times I have been threatened or stalked. Does this prevent me from moving forward? No, I will not permit it to. My positive experiences with people, here at home, and wherever I have travelled have been largely and overwhelmingly positive, because I try to treat everyone I meet as an icon of Christ. I would say that rather than snarl ourselves in silly debates, perhaps we can all explore ways in which we can become the change that we seek in others and in our societies, including finding ways of teaching our children, particularly our sons, constructive and life-affirming alternatives to violence, to learn how to resolve conflict peacefully and constructively, and even to learn respectfully how to agree to disagree and still find in one another common ground for friendship and mutual cooperation. (eh, Scott?)So, Jenny, what is the name of this church you’ve been attending in Grecia. I might drop by in August.
It’s good news, but I don’t think it’s relevant to this forum. But it’s good news. I’m sure many of the American ex-pats in Costa Rica will be pleased (some won’t). But it’s good news. Oh, and did I say that it’s good news? Pura vida!!
I totally agree with grb1063. Any land used to produce bio-fuel is food stolen from the poor. If they are going to use ethanol then bio-waste is the only way to go.
(YAWN!) When I visit Costa Rica in a few months I’m going to see if I can leave my Canadian baggage behind for 3-4 weeks. If I’m successful, I might try again for a longer visit. If I can stay for two or three months baggage-free, then who knows, I might be ready to live there. (over and out…zzzzzzz….)
I agree with you ssure on more or less everything you have to say here. I work in mental health and some of my clients have concurrent (addiction and mental health) disorders. It seems that here in Vancouver we have gone overboard on harm reduction while doing squat about education, enforcement and treatment. I have some freedom to speak out and I do whereever possible. I have recently done some writing on homelessness for the Pivot Legal Society and, if you’re interested, as soon as it’s printed I can forward the information to you through Scott if he would be so willing. Cheers.
AaronI also live in Vancouver. No, the local drug scene is not at all pretty, and harm-reduction (which I basically agree with) has its limits like any other approach. It would be nice to see the other three of the four pillars that harm reduction is a part of, namely, education, enforcement and treatment, being given equal play. I would say, especially treatment. Whether we tackle this through harm-reduction or through stricter drug laws, the outcome is still going to be imperfect and messy, because life and the world we live in is imperfect and messy. As for blaming immigrants, well, it seems that we all have our scapegoats. It seems to me that both Canada and the U.S. are countries made up primarily of immigrants and their recent descendants. As for many of the people using the needle exchange and safe-injection services, a lot of them are first-nations people (aka aboriginals or “Indians”), and they are the walking wounded of nearly everything that has been done to make Canada what it is today, cultural and ethnic genocide included. I would suggest to anyone who wishes to pass judgment onto a lot of the people here whose lives have been wasted by addictions and HIV and hepatitis, to be very careful not to pass judgment on someone until you have walked for a while in their shoes. Or at least take some time to hear their stories. I would also like to recommend Gabor Mate’s latest book, “In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts.” Dr. Mate is a Vancouver physician whose practice is fulltime in our downtown eastside among addicts, homeless and other marginalized people.
I’m enjoying this discussion. Whether the 40% figure of expats returning home within a year, and whether they are all Americans or not is immaterial to me. What these posts show me is how important it is to make sure that you know what you’re getting into and why before making this kind of move. I think a lot of people fail to realize that the country, that any country, is at least as much the people who live there as it is a collection of climate and natural features. I just personally hit a roadblock while negotiating online with a Tica who owns a bed and breakfast where supposedly I would be staying for a month while doing some art for her establishment. For some reason she appeared to take offense with me when I became more specific about what I would need if I was going to stay in her place for a month (a contract, privacy, peace and quiet and a decent room with a private bath, etc.) Perhaps I came across as a spoiled Canadian with a sense of entitlement, but for me these are basic considerations that I need to have in place if I’m going to provide decently crafted paintings and not turn into a nervous wreck. We were going to be trading my art (about $3500 Cdn worth of paintings) for free lodgings, which meant she would be getting a discount of perhaps two-thirds (This I also told her). Now, I understand that most Ticos hate confrontation and in stead of telling you to f*** off they will simply ignore you till you go away. After several weeks of this treatment, I cancelled.
Now, several questions come to mind here: was she going to try to get as much as she could out of me, assuming that all NOrth Americans have diamonds dripping out of their rear ends (well, this one doesn’t. I’m working poor.) Did she feel that I was demanding too much? Did she take offense when I reminded her (only once, mind you) of what a deal she would be getting? Did she assume that I was after her for marriage or whatever? (I certainly am not, btw) Did she take offense upon clueing in that that is not in the cards? Who knows? And I’m not worrying about it, but I am taking from this salutary episode a hint that when you are dealing with a different culture even the best intentions can fall flat. Fortunately my Spanish is good so we managed to communicate well enough. But perhaps my use of Spanish carried a tone (unbeknownst to me) that she found a little bit imperious or insulting? I will likely never know until I have made the same mistake a few times over I suppose. But this is one of many examples of the kind of patience, and self-examination that is required if you are going to live in a different country.
As to whether I will ever live in CR or not the jury is still out, but I still plan to visit, a few times if possible. Right now I rather like where I live, Vancouver, which in many ways is going through a similar kind of transition as Costa Rica as we are accommodating thousands of new residents from different countries, and guess what? They all love us for our natural beauty. And real estate has hit the stratosphere. I could go on… Pura Vida!I was using this as a figure of speech. It isn’t any of my business if you or anyone else on this forum wish to personalize it. However, you are American, I am Canadian, and our cultures, and our way of seeing the world are going to be rather different. Cuba doesn’t interest me. I do not endorse a state that has such a flagrant record of human rights abuses and still tries to cover them. (I don’t think our own respective countries can really boast either, but at least we still enjoy some freedoms) Amnesty International has been barred from Cuba since 1988, and this to me particularly damages the credibility of the Cuban Revolution. There are also good things about Cuba and the Revolution which I do not have time to go into here, but if you do a little research you can find out these things for yourself. I don’t know why you seem to need to make personal abusive comments by the way as this reflects more on you than it does on me. And “whining”? What do you mean by “Whining”?
As for school, I was one of the cool people. Anhyway, I’m not interested in hearing from you any more drwaltz. You bore me.my dear happygirl:
1. This Canadian taxpayer hasn’t been taken for a ride by anyone. Maher Arar as we all know is the innocent Syrian Canadian who was whisked away by your own CIA agents with the complicity of some of our own nincompoops for a little “Rest Cure” in his native Syria, which included the full range of torture and other abuses that your darling GWB and his peurile administration have been endorsing, on fabricated charges.
2. It is not for you to dictate to me what I can and what I cannot discuss on this forum.
3. There is a wise old saying: never wrestle with a pig. You’ll both end up getting dirty, and besides, the pig enjoys it. So, I think I’m going to save my pearls for worthier swine and if you really need to get in the last word here go right ahead.
4. Judging by the tone of your commentary: why ever did you give yourself the moniker “happygirl.” Wishful thinking, perhaps?
ta-ta.
