habibti please

This week Nashwa spent time with the guys at The Insurgents. In this special crossover episode, Nashwa joins Jordan and Rob of The Insurgents. We discussed the escalating aggression toward Palestinians and the attacks on Gaza that have left over 250 dead. We are disgusted by the Biden administration’s continued support of Netanyahu’s further annexation of Gaza and the West Bank.

This is a crossover episode that was generously produced by Jordan and Rob of The Insurgents. You can also listen to the Insurgents on iTunes here, on Spotify here, and on Google Podcasts here. Find them elsewhere here. Please support the Palestinian Youth Movement here.

Last Friday MP Jack Harris the NDP has called for an emergency debate, thousands of Canadians have written elected officials also voicing our disagreement with our tax money and our government’s involvement in the occupation and violent dispossession of Palestinian people and Palestine. You can participate in a number of Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East’s campaigns here. Please also consider signing this House of Commons petition to stop foreign military recruitment on campus. 

We hope this episode pushes people to go beyond posting. Throughout Canada and the world, many actions are taking place. You can find a list of Canadian actions here. The Nakba never ended. Our solidarity with Palestinians and Palestine must also always continue.  

This is a free episode, if you want to support the creation of more content like this and unlock Habibti Please exclusives please consider becoming a patron on Patreon or a paid Substack subscriber. We are a small team and it costs a bit to make this happen. We are happy to contribute to this passion project but we are also *so* grateful to anyone who is able to support us in continuing to build content like this. 

Habibti Please is proud to be part of the Harbinger Media Network. We also collaborate with Canadian Dimension for episodes focused on different struggles in Canada and around the world. 

Production Credits:

Hosted by Rob Rousseau and Jordan Uhl featuring Nashwa Lina Khan 

Music by Johnny Zapras and postXamerica

Art for Habibti Please by postXamerica

Production by Nashwa Lina Khan and Johnny Zapras

Production Assistance by Raymond Khanano

Social Media & Support:

Follow us on Twitter @habibtiplease

Support us on Patreon

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit habibtiplease.substack.com/subscribe

Today marks the 73rd anniversary of the Nakba. At the same time, the Israeli occupation has once again increased their assault on Palestinian civilians in east Jerusalem and Gaza. We were honoured to be joined by guests from Palestinian youth Movement Toronto and some of the core organizers behind Palestine Resolution 2021 at the NDP Convention. 

As of Friday MP Jack Harris the NDP has called for an emergency debate, thousands of Canadians have written elected officials also voicing our disagreement with our tax money and our government’s involvement in the occupation and violent dispossession of Palestinian people and Palestine. You can participate in a number of Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East’s campaigns here. Please also consider signing this House of Commons petition to stop foreign military recruitment on campus. 

We hope this episode pushes people to go beyond posting. Throughout Canada and the world, many actions are taking place. You can find a list of Canadian actions here. The Nakba never ended. Our solidarity with Palestinians and Palestine must also always continue.  

This is a free episode, if you want to support the creation of more content like this and unlock Habibti Please exclusives please consider becoming a patron on Patreon or a paid Substack subscriber. We are a small team and it costs a bit to make this happen. We are happy to contribute to this passion project but we are also *so* grateful to anyone who is able to support us in continuing to build content like this. 

Habibti Please is proud to be part of the Harbinger Media Network. For episodes focused on different struggles in Canada and around the world, we are grateful to partner with Canadian Dimension.

Mutual Aid & Community Support:

Although this episode is not paywalled we would deeply appreciate it if people would share or give (if able to do so) to any of the causes or groups listed below. 

Support Palestinian Youth Organizing by donating to Palestinian Youth Movement.

Islamic Relief is helping to provide immediate medical assistance and vital aid to all those affected by the violence and most in need.

Eye on Palestine is providing media coverage that mainstream news never will, follow them but also support their work.

Movement to Safeguard Palestinian Communities, while homes and land continue to be stolen this group works on actionable advocacy.

Additional Resources:

Some resources that complement this episode: 

Joint Statement by Palestinians in North America on Nakba Day

Palestine Resolution 2021

Deadly Exchange

Resources from Palestinian Youth Movement of Sheikh Jarrah 

BDS Movement

The Nakba Demands Justice by Kaleem Hawa 

This Is Not Fine: Why Video of an Ultranationalist Frenzy in Jerusalem Is So Unsettling by Robert Mackey

Teshuvah: A Jewish Case for Palestinian Refugee Return by Peter Beinart

Guest Information 

From Palestinian youth Movement Toronto, we were joined by Rawan N. and Mohammed W. 

From Palestine Resolution 2021 at the NDP Convention, we were joined by Amy Kishek, Sam Hersh, Geneviève Joëlle, and Omar Burgan.

Production Credits:

Hosted by Nashwa Lina Khan 

Show Music by Johnny Zapras and postXamerica

Art for Habibti Please by postXamerica

Production by Candian Dimension

Production Assistance by Canadian Dimension and Ryan Deshpande

Social Media & Support:

Follow us on Twitter @habibtiplease

Support us on Patreon

Subscribe to us on Substack

Habibti Please is proud to be part of the Harbinger Media Network

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit habibtiplease.substack.com/subscribe

This week’s Eid episode is a double feature! In the first half of this episode, Nashwa sits down with Priya Prabhakar to discuss the ongoing Farmers’ protests in India that began in November 2020. In June of 2020, three ordinances were introduced and eventually passed as acts by Modi and his right-wing government. These bills translate into the mass deregulation and neo-liberalization of the agricultural market. Farmers continue to protest these three farm acts that were subsequently passed by the Indian government in September 2020. The protests are largely set in Delhi. We hope this episode helps people understand the larger context and the righteousness of farmer anger right now. 

The farmers’ protests are critical and we hope this episode provides a nuanced and accessible explainer on why these protests matter and what is happening in India. In India, neither farmer protests nor farmer suicides are uncommon and have been occurring for decades.

The first half of this episode was recorded shortly before India became the epicenter of the COVID pandemic. The second half of this episode highlights how the devastating pandemic has also interacted with the strikes. In the second half of this episode, Priya and Nashwa sit down with Vijay Prashad to discuss how COVID is ravaging India, as well as how the Modi government has been failing the Indian people. Some highlights of this episode include Vijay’s insights on vaccine apartheid and America allegedly withdrawing troops from Afghanistan. 

This is a free episode, if you want to support the creation of more content like this and unlock Habibti Please exclusives please consider becoming a patron on Patreon or a paid Substack subscriber. We are a small team and it costs a bit to make this happen. We are happy to contribute to this passion project but we are also *so* grateful to anyone who is able to support us in continuing to build content like this. 

Habibti Please is proud to be part of the Harbinger Media Network. For episodes focused on different struggles in Canada and around the world, we are grateful to partner with Canadian Dimension.

Mutual Aid & Community Support:

Although this episode is not paywalled we would deeply appreciate it if people would share or give (if able to do so) to any of the causes or groups listed below. 

* Mutual Aid India - this is a curated list of Covid response efforts in India. 

* Khalsa Aid - Khalsa Aid is an international NGO with the aim to provide humanitarian aid in disaster areas and civil conflict zones around the world.

* Internet Freedom Foundation - The Internet Freedom Foundation defends online freedom, privacy, and innovation in India.

* NewsClick - An independent media organization dedicated to covering news from India and elsewhere with a focus on progressive movements.

* The People’s Forum - Syringes for Cuba Campaign

Additional Resources:

Some resources that complement this episode: 

* Harvest of Dissent by Sharanya Deepak

* Long Live Farmer-Laborer Unity by Veena Dubal and Navyug Gill 

* Leading from the front: The role of women in Farmers’ movement

* In Kerala, the Present Is Dominated by the Future: The Eighteenth Newsletter (2021) from Vijay Prashad

* Waiting for Catastrophes by Vijay Prashad

* ‘We are witnessing a crime against humanity’: Arundhati Roy on India’s Covid catastrophe by Arundhati Roy

* Here’s Why Farmers Are Protesting the 3 New Agriculture Ordinances by Aibhav Palnitkar

* Punjabi Dalit Women Fight Multiple Battles Rolled into One at Farmers Protest by Shreya Sharma

* People’s Leader: A Dalit Woman Becomes The Voice of Farmers In India by  Sania Farooqui

* Burdened by debt and unable to eke out a living, many farmers in India turn to suicide by Salimah Shivji 

* Elite Despair About “Farmers’ Lack of Discipline” is Comical, Though Not Innocent by Subin Dennis

* Government Should Fight Corona, not Farmers and Labourers: SKM by Sabrang India 

* All India Kissan Sabha

* NewsClick

Guest Information 

Guests of the Week: Priya Prabhakar and Vijay Prashad

Priya Prabhakar is an organizer, filmmaker, and researcher currently based out of Oakland, California, and hails from Chennai, India. You can find her online on instagram and twitter.

Vijay Prashad is an Indian historian and journalist. Prashad is a Marxist commentator and the author of thirty books, including Washington Bullets, Red Star Over the Third World, The Darker Nations: A People's History of the Third World, and The Poorer Nations: A Possible History of the Global South. He is the Chief Correspondent for Globetrotter and a Columnist for Frontline (India). He is the Chief Editor of LeftWord Books (New Delhi). He has appeared in two films – Shadow World (2016) and Two Meetings (2017). He is currently the director of Tricontinental. You can buy his newest book here.

Production Credits:

Hosted by Nashwa Lina Khan 

Show Music by Johnny Zapras and postXamerica

Art for Habibti Please by postXamerica

Production by Canadian Dimension

Production Assistance by Canadian Dimension and Priya Prabhakar 

Social Media & Support:

Follow us on Twitter @habibtiplease

Support us on Patreon

Subscribe to us on Substack

Habibti Please is proud to be part of the Harbinger Media Network

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit habibtiplease.substack.com/subscribe

In this May Day double feature, Nashwa and Ryan sit down with Patricio Dávila and Phil Zigman of  RenovtictionsTO and Cole Webber of Parkdale Organize. In this May Day double feature, we discuss the state of renovictions in Ontario as well as how people are resisting. Tenant organizers have been working together to resist and fight back. One example is West Lodge Tenants organizing a food bank and winning space from their massive corporate landlord to host it out of. We also have witnessed rent strikes in the city.

We recommend people also check out and support Keep Your Rent and People’s Defence Toronto, both groups are mentioned on the show and doing amazing work. We also suggest people use and share the Toronto Covid Evictions Tracker if they or their comrades are facing evictions. Anti-eviction action and organizing has an important history. In the second year of the Great Depression, it was so intense that evictions effectively stopped in New York, Detroit, and Chicago. Solidarity to those fighting evictions, upcoming episodes looking at the Farmer’s protests, and COVID-19 in India.

If you want to support the creation of more content like this and and unlock Habibti Please exclusives please consider becoming a patron on Patreon or a paid Substack subscriber. We are a small team and it costs a bit to make this happen. We are happy to contribute to this passion project but we are also *so* grateful to anyone who is able to support us in continuing to build content like this. 

Mutual Aid & Community Support:

Although this episode is not paywalled we would deeply appreciate it if people would share or give (if able to do so) to the fundraiser for The East York 50: this fundraiser was set up to help support a group of 50 immigrant families slated to be evicted.

Additionally, here are further resources for communities from Toronto and the Greater Toronto Area  facing the results of increased austerity:

* Encampment Support Network (ESN) is an ad-hoc, volunteer-run network supporting people living in encampments in 6 locations throughout Toronto. This includes ESN Parkdale, ESN Trinity Bellwoods, ESN Scadding Court, ESN Moss Park, ESN LNP and ESN Cherry Beach.

* RenovictionsTO is a volunteer-run organization that gives tenants the tools they need to organize and fight back against their landlords who are partaking in a renoviction. 

* Keep Your Rent is another vital organization that offers Toronto residents a litany of resources to combat rent evictions.

* Evictions Ontario is yet another great resource for evictions—it also specifically offers a tracker to see where evictions are taking place across the province.

* Disability Justice Network of Ontario is a collective that aims to build a just and accessible Ontario through the dissemination of knowledge regarding issues that people with disabilities face—they promote change through legislative action; also, they support community members through a community caremongering program.

Additional Resources:

Some resources that complement this episode : 

* Doug Ford is Using the Pandemic to Criminalize Tenant Organizing by Cole Webber 

* Ontario is Mass Evicting Tenants, In as Little as 60 Seconds by Cole Webber 

* Above Guideline Rent Increases in the Age of Financialization by Philip Zigman and Martine August

* Anti-eviction mapping project 

* Tenants Rise Up! Fighting for Housing Justice in the Bay Area (short documentary) 

* Online Activism During COVID-19: A Case Study in Rent Strikes by Cierra Bettens 

* Doug Ford is Consolidating the Power of Landlords During a Time of Crisis by Shehnoor Khurram and Ryan Kelpin

* Toronto Tenants Seek Leverage on COVID Relief with Rent Strike by Morgan Sharp

* Parkdale Tenants Rally Against Goliath Corporate Landlords by Shannon Carranco

* Toronto Residents Get Their Massive Landlord to Donate An Apartment to Help Feed Tenants by Olivia Little 

* Why Fighting ‘Renoviction’ is so Hard

Guest Information 

Guests of the Week:  Patricio Dávila and Phil Zigman of  RenovtictionsTO and Cole Webber of Parkdale Organize

RenovictionsTO

RenovictionsTO is a project seeking to document renovictions and above guideline rent increases in Toronto, provide resources and information for tenants, and support tenant organizing. Check out renovictionsto.com to learn more about where in the city renovictions and above guideline rent increases are happening and who are the landlords engaging in these practices. If you're facing a renoviction or above guideline rent increase, reach out to report your landlord and learn more about how you can fight back. In the future they will also start collecting data on the use (N12) evictions and making this information public on their website. You can check out their recent AGI report written by Phil Zigman and Martine August here. You can also find them on twitter @renovictions.

Phil Zigman is the co-creator of RenovictionsTO. 

Patricio Dávila is a designer, artist, researcher and educator. He is Associate Professor in the Department of Cinema and Media Arts in the School of the Arts, Media, Performance and Design, at York University. He is the co-creator of RenovictionsTO. 

Parkdale Organize 

Parkdale Organize is a group of working class people who organize to build neighbourhood power in Parkdale. The organization aims to build working class organizations independent of politicians and social service providers.

Cole Webber is a legal clinic worker in the Parkdale neighbourhood of Toronto, who is on Twitter @colefwebber

Checkout Parkdale Organize and learn more about them through their facebook page, twitter page, and website.

Production Credits:

Hosted by Nashwa Lina Khan 

Show Music by Johnny Zapras and postXamerica

Art for Habibti Please by postXamerica

Production by Candian Dimension

Production Assistance by Canadian Dimension and Johnny Zapras

Social Media & Support:

Follow us on Twitter @habibtiplease

Support us on Patreon

Subscribe to us on Substack

Habibti Please is proud to be part of the Harbinger Media Network

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit habibtiplease.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode, Nashwa, Liv Agar, and Will Menaker talk through the third world cinema excellence of Gillo Pontecorvo's The Battle of Algiers. Enclosed is a preview; if you want to unlock the full episode, you can do so by subscribing on Patreon or Substack.

Through its depiction of some of the most pivotal events in the Algerian War of Independence, The Battle of Algiers is an unsparing portrayal of what revolution actually is. The film specifically covers the events of 1954 to 1962, with French occupiers failing to stop an impending uprising. Although over half a century old, the movie shows little sign of aging and remains relevant today—it has been shown to members of the Black Panthers, the IRA, and had a featured screening at the Pentagon. The film remains unique and a must see for anyone interested in the Algerian people’s fight for liberation from 132 years of French colonialism.

During their chat, the trio reflect on the movie, its most important scenes, and some of the historical context around it; they also close the episode by rating the film on a very special scale.

Guest Information:

Guests of the week: Liv Agar and Will Menaker

Liv Agar is the host of a philosophical podcast under her own name whose topics address current political events. Additionally, she is a frequent co-host of QAnon Anonymous, an anti-QAnon podcast that analyzes the group’s conspiracy theories, and an occasional streamer. You can find her on Twitter and Twitch.

Will Menaker is one of the cohosts of the leftist podcast Chapo Trap House. You can find him on Twitter.

Production Credits:

Hosted by Nashwa Lina Khan

Music by Johnny Zapras and postXamerica

Art for Habibti Please by postXamerica

Production by Nashwa Lina Khan and Johnny Zapras

Production Assistance by Andy Assaf and Raymond Khanano

Social Media & Support:

Follow us on Twitter @habibtiplease

Follow us on Instagram @habibtiblease

Support us on Patreon

Subscribe to us on Substack

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit habibtiplease.substack.com/subscribe

This week features a special collaboration between Habibti Please, Canadian Dimension, and Courage Coalition. Nashwa and Ryan sit down with Omar Burgan of Courage Coalition to discuss some of the seven priority resolutions they have put forward for the upcoming NDP convention. They have submitted 14 resolutions for the NDP’s upcoming convention, occurring from April 9-11. This episode specifically focused on resolutions such as Justice and Peace in Israel-Palestine, Land Back, Free Transit for All, Abolish Billionaires, and Defund the RCMP. 

If you want to connect with members who are part of Courage and working within their EDAs please fill out this form. Courage is doing invaluable work beyond electoral politics and we hope people check them out. They have formed chapters throughout Canada and are a refreshing addition to the growing left in Canada.

If you want to support Habibti Please as a project please consider becoming a patron on Patreon or a paid Substack subscriber.  As a subscriber, you can unlock full-length Habibti Please exclusives and videos.

Guest Information:

Collaborators: Courage Coalition and Canadian Dimension

Guest of the Week: Omar Burgan of Courage Coalition

Courage Coalition

Courage is a coalition of the independent left as well as a pan-Canadian, membership-based organization that attempts to bridge the divide between movement and electoral politics. Courage was founded on the belief that although elections can be important and consequential, the left needs non-electoral organizations that are focused on pushing forward social and economic transformation – especially when left parties are in power. 

You can find out more about the Courage Coalition on their website. Follow them on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram.

Omar Burgan is a researcher based out of Ottawa (on the traditional unceded territory of the Algonquin Anishinaabe people). He is a member of Courage as well as a labour union, anti-war and anti-colonial advocate.  

Canadian Dimension

Canadian Dimension is the longest-standing voice of the left in Canada since 1963. For more than half-a-century, CD has provided a forum for lively and radical debate where red meets green, socialists take on social democrats, Indigenous voices are heard, activists report from every corner of the country, and the latest books and films are critically reviewed. Subscribe today: bit.ly/sub2CD

You can find out more about Canadian Dimension on their website. Follow them on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, SoundCloud, and YouTube.

Production Credits:

Hosted by Ryan Deshpande and Nashwa Lina Khan 

Show Music by Johnny Zapras and postXamerica

Art for Habibti Please by postXamerica

Production by Canadian Dimension, Courage Coalition, Nashwa Lina Khan, and Johnny Zapras

Production Assistance by Raidin Brailsford, Raymond Khanano, and Ali McKnight

Social Media & Support:

Follow us on Twitter @habibtiplease

Support us on Patreon

Subscribe to us on Substack

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit habibtiplease.substack.com/subscribe

Friend of the show Niki Ashton joins Nashwa and Ryan once again—this time to discuss work beyond Canadian Politics; specifically building international people power. This episode is a discussion about an organization that everyone should be excited about: Progressive International.

In Canada and beyond, there has been a clear desire for many to build international solidarities that connect our struggles with others from around the world. Working people will always have more in common than they do with elites of their nations. Worldwide social and political injustice continues to thrive; without global solidarity we are often left alone in our national silos. With a growing fascist movement, we need organized left movements of international solidarity. This episode features clips of support and solidarity from others who are also striving for a better, more united world that is internationalist, anti-imperialist, and people-powered. The list of contributors includes: Noah Kulwin, David Adler, Alex V. Green, James Wilt, Liv Agar, Jeanine Khalik, Dwight Rhinosoros, Felix Biederman, Arif Hasan, and the Palestinian Youth Movement. 

We hope to “see” you at the event, Building Solidarity: A Conversation with Jeremy Corbyn & Niki Ashton. The event will be a conversation between Niki and Jeremy Corbyn about the state of progressive politics and how we can demand more. It is an event in support of Progressive International, a collaborative project founded in 2018 in Vermont by activists, leaders, and progressives like Jeremy Corbyn,Bernie Sanders, and Naomi Klein. We highly encourage people to sign up for the event. Internationalism is inherent to our politics and this show and we hope people attend and are inspired to build a larger and stronger more internationalist left wherever they are. 

To buy tickets to the event visit: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/building-solidarity-a-conversation-with-jeremy-corbyn-niki-ashton-tickets-143580403853

Mutual Aid & Community Support:

This week we wanted to re-highlight mutual aid and community support efforts happening in Winnipeg, Manitoba. On April 8th, 2020 Eishia Hudson, an Indigenous teen, was murdered by a Winnipeg police officer. Her family has a gofundme to support legal costs. 

On a previous episode, we sat down with Winnipeg Police Cause Harm to talk about the WPS. For years police have harmed the people of Winnipeg and this group is in solidarity with all peoples and communities that are harmed by the WPS. They call for the defunding and abolition of the WPS and the reallocation of funds to sustainable community led initiatives. We encourage people to check out their blog.

Additional Resources: 

Progressive International presently features three pillars: Blueprint, Movement, and Wire. Below you can learn more about them and what supporting Progressive International helps build. 

Progressive International: Blueprint

* Progressive international convenes activists, thinkers, and practitioners to help design a policy blueprint to transform institutions that impact our lives, our communities, and the planet. 

Progressive International: Movement 

* Progressive International works to connect and build solidarity between activists globally. This page features toolkits and various campaigns including some mentioned in this episode. 

Progressive International: Wire 

* Progressive International’s Wire translates stories, essays, and statements from Progressive International members and partner publications. This not only renders a diversity of perspectives but also proliferates a range of perspectives on international issues.

Some readings that complement this episode:

* Niki Ashton Has No Reason to Apologize for Meeting with Jeremy Corbyn by Dan Darrah

* Progressive International Launches 'To Form Common Front' in Global Struggle for Justice and a Better World  by Eoin Higgins 

* Varoufakis and Sanders: how to organize a progressive international? A contribution by Seren Selvin Kormaz and Alphan Talek 

* Introducing Progressive International—a global left wing solidarity movement by Elizabeth Leier

Guest Information:

Guest of the week: Niki Ashton

Niki was first elected as MP for Churchill–Keewatinook Aski in 2008 when she was 26, and lives in her hometown of Thompson. She serves as the NDP’s Critic for Transport, and Deputy Critic for Women and Gender Equality. Niki believes in true reconciliation with Indigenous peoples. She is proud to work to bring together Indigenous peoples, students, labour, the LGBTQI2S+ community, and women in the pursuit of justice. Niki is a strong voice in Ottawa for change because she’s unafraid of challenging the status quo. She’s fought hard to end crushing student debt, expand health care to include pharmacare and dental coverage, and protect the environment.

Find Niki online! 

Website

Facebook

Twitter

Instagram

Additional speakers (in order of appearance): Noah Kulwin, David Adler, Alex V. Green, James Wilt, Liv Agar, Jeanine Khalik, Dwight Rhinosoros, Felix Biederman, Arif Hasan, and the Palestinian Youth Movement

Production Credits:

Hosted by Ryan Deshpande and Nashwa Lina Khan 

Music by Johnny Zapras and postXamerica

Art for Habibti Please by postXamerica

Production by Nashwa Lina Khan, Andre Goulet and Johnny Zapras

Production Assistance by Andy Assaf, Ryan Deshpande, Kandeel Imran, Raymond Khanano, and Ali McKnight

Social Media & Support:

Follow us on Twitter @habibtiplease

Support us on Patreon

Subscribe to us on Substack

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit habibtiplease.substack.com/subscribe

For International Women’s Day, the Habibti Team wanted to release one of our most cherished episodes to date. Nashwa and Ryan reflect on where they were this time last year as well as the origins of International Women’s Day as a socialist and workers’ celebration. The two watched Angela Davis in a packed audience at the University of Toronto; they saw people they loved and who inspired them and reminded them that change is possible. We urge people to remember that International (Working) Women’s Day should go far beyond thanking women in your life (especially if you are a man). The origins are in feminist struggles that work to also disrupt, dismantle, and unpack how we define women while we also work to re-imagine social relations women have in society including the gendered paid and unpaid relations. Today and everyday we want to remember that women are vital to struggles globally. 

In Angela Davis’ words “you have to act as if it were possible to radically transform the world and you have to do it all the time.”

We are honoured to have this episode, an interview with Member of Parliament for Nunavut, Mumilaaq Qaqqaq, be part of our International Women’s Day at Habibti Please. Nashwa and Ryan had the honor to sit down with Mumilaaq and discuss a range of topics often ignored in Canadian media. In the episode, the three chat about Mumilaaq’s riding and the unique challenges it faces in colonial Canada. Some of the challenges covered include access to healthcare, such as community members having to be flown out of their communities to give birth. As of 2017 approximately 40,000 women had to travel from rural and remote communities, mostly from the North, to give birth in hospitals.  The cost of food insecurity and egregious price gouging of food in the North, as well as, the continued systemic repression of local food networks and businesses is also touched on. 

This conversation also briefly discusses the subtle, insidious, and omnipresent nature of colonialism and the importance of all people living in what is known as Canada to pay attention to what the Federal government does not do and who they neglect. Media also plays a role in the romanticization of Canada through feeding manufactured discourses. Much of this is due to the focus on a Canada that is broadcasted to the world as one that is good to all of its people. Part of this discussion disrupts that idea and highlights the ways Inuit have intentionally been left behind in Canadian media coverage. 

The three also broach on how climate change specifically impacts the North and the devastating effect that COVID has on the ability to organize and protest around environmental issues. This includes how corporations have continued to impose themselves on Indigenous land without consultation, permission, and without repercussions for their actions, something more easily facilitated during the COVID pandemic. 

The three end off reflecting on Mumilaaq’s housing tour of the region. Mumilaaq gives us insight on how it impacted her financially and mentally in ways that other MPs are unaffected. The conversation also discusses mental health in the North and the range of ways mental health can be supported throughout the country. The importance of culturally competent and multi-method supports is discussed as well as the social determinants of health, including housing.  We hope this episode makes people think about the North and the ongoing colonial neglect and intentional disinvestment in the region. Please check out resources that complement this episode to learn more. We also hope people check out Mumilaaq’s show, Moments with Mumilaaq.

We are grateful to have music from the North this week. This episode features music from Becky Han, a musician who grew up in Arctic Bay, Nunavut. You can find out more about Becky in the show credits. 

Mutual Aid & Community Support:

This episode reflects on housing as a basic human right. The neglect of Inuit is egregious and we hope this episode illustrates the need for more people in Canada to be concerned and in solidarity with people in Nunavut who deserve housing. Mumilaaq and her team have focused on many issues this term, one cause they are strongly dedicated to is the right and guarantee to housing for people in the North.  

Mumilaaq currently has a petition on her website, we encourage listeners to sign. The petition,entitled Nunavummiut Deserve a Safe Place to Call Home, calls upon the Federal government to invest in quality housing in Nunavut. 

As described by Mumilaaq multiple times, moldy, overcrowded housing has been a reality for far too long in Nunavut. We again hope people visit and sign the petition on her website: https://mumilaaqqaqqaq.ndp.ca/nunavummiut-deserve-a-safe-place-to-call-home

As discussed here and highlighted in the accompanying readings, housing in the North is in a crisis and adequate housing is long overdue for Nunavut. We must do more to address this issue in solidarity, collectively.

Additional Resources:

Some readings that complement this episode: 

* MP Mumilaaq Qaqqaq On Burnout and Taking On Canada’s Broken Promises as told to Carli Whitwell

* Nunavut MP speaks about return to parliament after extended leave by CBC News

* Nunavut housing crisis an example of systemic racism, MP says by Jim Bell 

* The RCMP and Quebec's Provincial Police Nearly Killed Off the Inuit Sled Dog by Dave Dean

* Tuberculosis rate among Inuit is 290 times higher than for non-Indigenous people in Canada. Here's why by Stephanie Hogan

* Forced to travel during pandemic, Nunavut women want birthing services at home by Emma Tranter

* Why many Northern Indigenous women are still relocated to deliver their babies by Bonnie Schiedel

* $20 hamburgers and $2 bananas: The cost of food insecurity in Canada's North by Ryan Flanagan

* Rise Up!’s archives on International Women’s Day 

* Many IWD archival documents currently on the Rise Up! website are from the Toronto International Women’s Day events. You will find these on the  March 8th Coalition/International Women’s Day  page in the Organizations section.

* Rise Up! Has a collection that includes materials about the many  IWD celebrations organized across Canada in the past.

* The Socialist Origins of International Women’s Day by Cintia Frencia and Daniel Gaido

* Why the working-class, socialist history of International Women’s Day matters today by Katherine Connelly 

* The Lockdown Showed How the Economy Exploits Women. She Already Knew. Silvia Federici has been warning for decades of what happens when we undervalue domestic labor by Jordan Kisner 

* Silvia Federici: Women, Reproduction, and the Construction of Commons by Art & Education 

* Women, Race, and Class by Angela Y. Davis

Guest Information:

Guest of the week: Mumilaaq Qaqqaq 

Mumilaaq Qaqqaq (ᒧᒥᓛᖅ ᖃᖅᑲᖅ), is an Inuk woman, Member of Parliament, and human rights defender. Elected in 2019, she is one of the few people to have given a speech in the House of Commons before being elected. Originally from Baker Lake, she now lives in Iqaluit, the capital of Nunavut. Mumilaaq has worked with Nunavut Tunngavik Inc., The Quality of Life Secretariat in the Government of Nunavut, Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, and Qulliq Energy Corporation among other organizations.Mumilaaq is fighting for adequate housing, clean water, and food security in the North. ᐃᓕᓐᓄᑦ ᐱᓕᕆᐊᕗᑦ 

Find Mumilaaq online! 

Website

Facebook

Twitter

Instagram

Mumilaaq’s show: Moments with Mumilaaq

Additional music provided by: Becky Han Music 

Becky Han grew up in Arctic Bay, Nunavut. She loves educating others about Inuit and Inuit culture through music and story-telling. This song, entitled 6-muarpat, provides a glimpse of her childhood when she had to be home by 6 pm for supper. The song reflects on how that time of day was a reprieve from loneliness for her because it was when she and her family would spend time catching up with one another. 

Find Becky on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. 

Production Credits:

Hosted by Nashwa Lina Khan 

Show Music by Johnny Zapras and postXamerica

Additional music provided by Becky Han—find Becky on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. 

Art for Habibti Please by postXamerica

Production by Nashwa Lina Khan and Johnny Zapras

Production Assistance by Raymond Khanano

Social Media & Support:

Follow us on Twitter @habibtiplease

Support us on Patreon

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Habibti Please is proud to be part of the Harbinger Media Network

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit habibtiplease.substack.com/subscribe

Last Fall, Nashwa and Ryan sat down with Don Davies, Member of Parliament for Vancouver Kingsway. This episode features a pre-show chat about February 24, 2021’s 2nd reading of Bill C-213, An Act to enact the Canada Pharmacare Act. Davies was the sponsor of the 2018 motion for Pharmacare. Despite that vote failing, there is a clear hunger in Canada to have pharmacare embedded into the fabric of our “public healthcare system.”  While there was hope for Bill C-213, sponsored by NDP MP Peter Julian, this bill also failed. Rumour has it the government is working on Pharmacare, but we are not hopeful it will be universal and public -- something Bill C-213 would have ensured. Nashwa and Ryan explore this further with Davies who has been passionate about the health of Canadians throughout his tenure as MP. They also discuss another neglected aspect of medicare: dental care, and the absurdity that our mouths are somehow divorced from the rest of our body’s health. They move onto a discussion of socialism and Davies’s opinion on the state of socialism in North America, including Biden’s impact on progressive politics. Nashwa and Ryan’s favourite topic -- international politics -- comes up, and we chat about Canada-US-China relations and the state of Canada’s foreign policy in the context of the Bolivian election. Davies predicts that the Biden-Harris government will inevitably lead to more neoliberal foreign intervention, his prediction was sadly proven correct with recent airstrikes in Syria. Davies ends on a hopeful note, opening up about the opportunities available to us and a “renaissance of the left.” 

This episode reflects a bit on international victories for socialism and how the Canadian government’s actions and complicity can often impact other parts of the world. This is why we would like to highlight that friend of the show Niki Ashton is holding a virtual event on behalf of Progressive International with Jeremy Corbyn. The event will be a conversation between Niki and Jeremy Corbyn about the state of progressive politics and how we can demand more. It is an event in support of Progressive International: a collaborative project founded in 2018 in Vermont by activists, leaders, and progressives like Jeremy Corbyn and Bernie Sanders and Naomi Klein. We highly encourage people to sign up for the event. Internationalism is inherent to our politics and this show and we hope people attend and are inspired to build a larger and stronger more internationalist left wherever they are. 

To buy tickets to the event visit: 

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/building-solidarity-a-conversation-with-jeremy-corbyn-niki-ashton-tickets-143580403853

Mutual Aid & Community Support:

This week, we want to highlight mutual aid and community support efforts happening in Winnipeg. On April 8th, 2020, Eishia Hudson, an Indigenous teen,  was murdered by a Winnipeg police officer. Her family has a gofundme to support legal costs. Eishia’s father William Hudson writes, “My daughter Eishia was a young girl who should have had a long life ahead of her, and within seconds that officer put an end to that. Eishia had a strong bright smile that could lighten a room, she had a contagious laugh, and she was loved by everybody. She was very athletic, loving hockey and basketball. She was very ambitious when it came to the court. She was very creative and artistic. Eishia loved to learn new things, take on projects, and worked hard to succeed. Eishia was a great aunty; she loved spending time with her nieces and nephew, and it made her smile just seeing the smile on their faces. She was a Daughter, a granddaughter, a sister, an aunty, a cousin, a loyal person, a friend and so much more.” Please be sure to boost and give if you can to the Hudson family. 

On a previous episode, we sat down with Winnipeg Police Cause Harm to talk about the WPS. For years they have harmed the people of Winnipeg and this group is in solidarity with all peoples and communities that are harmed by the WPS. They call for the defunding and abolition of the WPS and the reallocation of funds to sustainable community led initiatives. We encourage people to check out their blog.

Additional Resources:

Some readings that complement this episode: 

* Universal Pharmacare in Canada: A Prescription for Equity in Healthcare by Mohammad Hajizadeh

* The Importance of a National Pharmacare Program by Cindy Lamoureux

* Bolivia Has Provided Us a Radical Vision of Hope by Nicole Fabricant 

* 'Joe Biden Just Dropped Bombs on Syria. Here We Go Again': US Responds to Rocket Attacks With Airstrikes by Common Dreams Staff 

Guest Information:

Guest of the week: Don Davies 

Don Davies is the Member of Parliament for Vancouver Kingsway. He was first elected in 2008, and re-elected in 2011, 2015, and 2019. Don serves Parliament as the NDP Critic for Health and Deputy Critic for Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness. Prior to that, he served as Official Opposition Critic for International Trade, Citizenship and Immigration and Multiculturalism, and Public Safety and National Security. 

Find Don online! 

Website

Facebook

Twitter

Youtube

Flickr

Production Credits:

Hosted by Ryan Deshpande and Nashwa Lina Khan 

Music by Johnny Zapras and postXamerica

Art for Habibti Please by postXamerica

Production by Andre Goulet

Production Assistance by Ryan Deshpande, Raymond Khanano, and Ali McKnight

Social Media & Support:

Follow us on Twitter @habibtiplease

Support us on Patreon

Subscribe to us on Substack

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit habibtiplease.substack.com/subscribe

To celebrate Hawa Y. Mire’s nomination as the federal NDP candidate representative of York South—Weston, we’re unlocking her previously paywalled episode! Not only that, but we have a small companion piece to go with it—a brief bonus episode where Hawa returns to the show to talk about the YSW region and the various factors which have motivated her to run for the position. Be sure to check it out here after this episode!

In this newly unlocked episode, Nashwa and Ryan are joined by Hawa Y. Mire to extensively discuss Me to We in Canada and its history in Canadian highschools. Hawa’s work regarding the subject can be found here.  Hawa also graciously explains her evergreen The Anti-Somali Feedback Loop with Briarpatch Magazine, a piece everyone should read, providing a foundation for understanding the Somalis in the “Canadian” cultural landscape. 

Mutual Aid & Community Support:

For those who live in Toronto: if you would like to stand in solidarity with the thousands of unhoused Torontonians, you can participate in a protest outside of John Tory’s condominium this Sunday, February 28th from 10am-5pm at 248 Bloor Street West ~ Bloor Bedford Parkette. For more information, please visit this post detailing the event being held by the Encampment Support Network.

As mentioned before, the City of Toronto has filed legal action against Khaleel Seivwright, the Toronto tiny shelter builder. It is vital people push back by writing to their city councillors and showing solidarity with Khaleel as the City attempts to charge him for implementing a temporary measure to keep people alive this winter. You can see a statement from Khaleel here. If you live in Toronto please call, email, or tweet your elected officials to drop the charges against Khaleel for his tiny shelters, stop gap measures to keep unhoused people alive this winter. Every year, unhoused people die in the city and nothing changes, things seem to get worse. Khaleel not only helped give people tiny homes, he demonstrated the ways the community steps up and cares for each other in times of rising austerity and organized abandonment by elected officials. We hope more Toronto citizens call for charges to be dropped and are in solidarity with those who are fighting for housing in the city. 

Additionally, here are further resources for communities within Toronto facing the results of increased austerity:

* Encampment Support Network (ESN) is an ad-hoc, volunteer-run network supporting people living in encampments in 6 locations throughout Toronto. This includes ESN Parkdale, ESN Trinity Bellwoods, ESN Scadding Court, ESN Moss Park, ESN LNP and ESN Cherry Beach.

* RenovictionsTO is a volunteer-run organization that gives tenants the tools they need to organize and fight back against their landlords who are partaking in a renoviction. 

* Keep Your Rent is another vital organization that offers Toronto residents a litany of resources to combat rent evictions.

* Evictions Ontario is yet another great resource for evictions—it also specifically offers a tracker to see where evictions are taking place across the province.

Disability Justice Network of Ontario is a collective that aims to build a just and accessible Ontario through the dissemination of knowledge regarding issues that people with disabilities face—they promote change through legislative action; also, they support community members through a community caremongering program.

Guest Information:

Guest of the week: Hawa Y. Mire

Hawa recently won the nomination to become the Federal NDP Candidate for York South-Weston. She is an amazing multi-talented individual who is presently the newest Executive Director of The Canadian Feminist Alliance for International Action (FAFIA). Hawa is a critical writer and commentator who has been featured in Macleans, Briarpatch Magazine, Metro Morning, CBC, CTV, and Rabble among others. She is the co-editor of MAANDEEQ, a collective of young Somali-demics from diverse fields who write and podcast about the Somali territories and the Somali diaspora. 

In April 2015, she co-edited a special issue journal for the Canadian Council for Policy Alternatives’ Our Schools, Our Selves titled Constellations of Black Radical Imagining: Black Arts and Popular Education. As mentioned within the episode, she has published The Anti-Somali Feedback Loop with Briarpatch Magazine (2017) which provides extensive documentation of Somali experience in Canada over the past 25 years.

You can visit her website at https://www.hymire.ca,  you can find her on twitter @HYMire and follow the campaign online through #HawaForYSW

Production Credits:

Hosted by Nashwa Lina Khan and Ryan Deshpande

Show Music by Johnny Zapras and postXamerica

Art for Habibti Please by postXamerica

Production by Nashwa Lina Khan and Johnny Zapras

Production Assistance by Raymond Khanano and Ali McKnight

Social Media & Support:

Follow us on Twitter @habibtiplease

Support us on Patreon

Subscribe to us on Substack

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit habibtiplease.substack.com/subscribe