Harsha Walia: Difference between revisions

'''Harsha Walia''' is a Canadian activist and writer based in [[Vancouver|Vancouver.]]. She has been involved with [[No one is illegal]], the February 14 [[Women's Memorial March]] Committee, the [[Downtown Eastside]] Women's Centre, and several Downtown Eastside housing justice coalitions.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Winter We Danced: Voices from the Past, the Future, and the Idle No More Movement|last=Collective|first=Kino-nda-niimi|publisher=Arbeiter Ring Publishing|year=2014|isbn=9781894037518|location=Winnipeg|pages=436}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://news.ok.ubc.ca/fccs/2014/09/24/author-activist-harsha-walia-to-speak-on-migrant-justice/|title=Author, activist Harsha Walia to speak on migrant justice|website=news.ok.ubc.ca|language=en-US|access-date=2018-04-16}}</ref> Walia has been active in [[immigration]] politics, [[Indigenous peoples|Indigenous]] rights, [[Feminism|feminist]], [[Anti-racism|anti-racist]], [[Anti-statism|anti-statist]], and [[Anti-capitalism|anti-capitalist]] movements for over a decade.{{sfnp|Walia|2013|p=315}}

In 2001, Walia co-founded [[No One Is Illegal (NOII)]], an anti-colonial, anti-racist, and anti-capitalist migrant justice movement.{{sfnp|Walia|2013|p=98}}<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.straight.com/life/553901/harsha-walia-probes-how-boundaries-oppress-us-undoing-border-imperialism|title=Harsha Walia probes how boundaries oppress us in Undoing Border Imperialism|date=2013-12-23|work=Georgia Straight Vancouver's News & Entertainment Weekly|access-date=2018-03-27|language=en}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=https://noii-van.resist.ca/important-noii-annoucement-about-future-communications/|title=No One Is Illegal – Vancouver » Blog Archive » Important NOII Announcement About Future Communications|website=noii-van.resist.ca|access-date=2018-03-27}}</ref> In addition to providing direct support for refugees and migrants facing detention and deportation, NOII campaigns for full legal status and access to social services for all people and works in solidarity with Indigenous self-determination, “anti-occupation”, and grassroots anti-oppression movements.{{sfnp|Walia|2013|pp=97-156}}<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.straight.com/news/548881/no-one-illegal-holds-celebration-coincide-release-new-book-undoing-border-imperialism|title=No One Is Illegal holds celebration to coincide with release of new book Undoing Border Imperialism|date=2013-12-15|work=Georgia Straight Vancouver's News & Entertainment Weekly|access-date=2018-03-26|language=en}}</ref> Although Walia has worked with NOII groups across Canada, she is primarily associated with NOII-Vancouver. She is a previous member of NOII-Montreal and has assisted the Pakistani Action Committee Against Racial Profiling (Montreal) and Refugees against Racial Profiling (Vancouver).{{sfnp|Walia|2013|pp=102, 106-107}}

For over a decade, Walia has worked with the February 14th [[Women's Memorial March]] Committee,<ref name=":11">{{Cite web|url=https://canadiandimension.com/articles/view/undoing-border-imperialism-with-harsha-walia|title=Undoing Border Imperialism with Harsha Walia – Canadian Dimension|website=canadiandimension.com|language=en|access-date=2018-03-29}}</ref> founded in 1992 following the murder of a woman on Powell Street in Vancouver.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://womensmemorialmarch.wordpress.com/about/|title=About|date=2009-12-17|work=Feb 14th Annual Womens Memorial March|access-date=2018-03-28|language=en-US}}</ref> Led largely by Indigenous women, the committee organizes the annual February 14 Women's Memorial March for women who have died in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside (DTES).<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://thefeministwire.com/2014/03/interview-harsha-walia/|title=An Interview with Harsha Walia - The Feminist Wire|date=2014-03-13|work=The Feminist Wire|access-date=2018-03-28|language=en-US}}</ref> A 20-year history of the Women's Memorial March is documented in a 2011 short film co-directed by Walia and Alejandro Zuluaga, titled ''Survival, Strength, Sisterhood: Power of Women in the Downtown Eastside''.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web|url=https://vimeo.com/19877895|title=Survival, Strength, Sisterhood: Power of Women in the Downtown Eastside|via=Vimeo|language=en|access-date=2018-03-28}}</ref> The film presents footage of recent and previous marches and centres the voices of women in the DTES, including members of the Downtown Eastside Power of Women Group, who developed the concept for the film.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://vpl.bibliocommons.com/item/show/2637481038?active_tab=bib_info|title=Survival, strength, sisterhood: Power Of Women in the Downtown Eastside|date=2011|publisher=Downtown Eastside Power Of Women Group|editor-last=Zuluaga|editor-first=Alejandro|location=Vancouver|editor-last2=Walia|editor-first2=Harsha|editor-last3=Downtown Eastside Power Of Women Group}}</ref> With their film, Walia and Zuluaga seek to "debunk the [[sensationalism]] surrounding a neighbourhood deeply misunderstood, and celebrate the complex and diverse realities of women organizing for justice."<ref name=":3" />

From 2006 to 2019, Walia worked as a project coordinator at the Downtown Eastside Women's Centre (DEWC),<ref name=":12" /> established in 1978 as a safe, community-driven space for women and children in the DTES of Vancouver.<ref name=":12" /><ref name=":5">{{Cite news|url=http://dewc.ca/dewcabout/our-mission-and-purpose|title=Our Mission and Purpose |work=Downtown Eastside Women's Centre|access-date=2018-03-28|language=en-US}}</ref> The centre offers support through daily drop-in and emergency shelters, as well as food, advocacy, counselling, and housing outreach services.<ref name=":5" /> At the DEWC, Walia facilitated the Power of Women (POW) group, a program run for and by women living in the DTES.<ref name=":6">{{Cite web|url=http://rabble.ca/news/2011/04/power-women-building-change-women-grassroots|title=Power of Women: Building change at the DTES grassroots {{!}} rabble.ca|website=rabble.ca|date=8 April 2011|language=en|access-date=2018-03-28}}</ref> POW organizes weekly community discussions and actions with the goal of identifying, resisting, and transforming rhetoric and policies that marginalize women.<ref name=":7">{{Cite news|url=http://dewc.ca/drop-in-centre/power-of-women-to-women|title=Power of Women |work=Downtown Eastside Women's Centre|access-date=2018-03-28|language=en-US}}</ref> POW is upheld by leadership and involvement of women most affected by systemic injustice, particularly homelessness, abuse, and child apprehension; the group's work, Walia says, is therefore "rooted in the experiences and voices of residents of the DTES."<ref name=":6" /><ref name=":7" /><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://dewc.ca/introduction|title=Introduction |work=Downtown Eastside Women's Centre|access-date=2018-03-29|language=en-US}}</ref> the group's work, Walia says, is therefore "rooted in the experiences and voices of residents of the DTES."<ref name=":6" />

Walia and the Power of Women group have pressured the [[Vancouver Police Department]] to investigate and act on cases of missing and murdered women.<ref name=":6" /><ref name=":20">{{Cite web|url=http://vancouver.mediacoop.ca/newsrelease/4775|title=Three women arrested for occupying police station to demand investigation into DTES resident and Indigenous woman Ashley's death are released with charges {{!}} Vancouver Media Co-op|website=vancouver.mediacoop.ca|access-date=2018-03-28}}</ref> They are also involved in numerous housing justice campaigns and coalitions, including the Downtown Eastside Is Not for Developers Coalition.{{sfnp|Walia|2013|p=315}}<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://dtesnotfordevelopers.wordpress.com/2011/09/18/housing-march-block-party-report/|title=Report from DTES Women's Housing March, Gentrifuckation Tour, and Block Party to Block Condos|date=2011-09-18|work=The DTES is not for Condo Developers|access-date=2018-03-30|language=en-US}}</ref> The year 2006 marked the beginning of POW's Annual Women's Housing March for safe and affordable housing for low-income residents of the DTES.<ref name=":6" />

With NOII-Vancouver, Walia has assisted the Skwelkwek'welt Protection Centre since 2003 and the Sutikalh Protection Camp since 2004 in their fights against resort and hotel construction on [[Secwepemc]] and [[St'at'imc]] lands.{{sfnp|Walia|2013|pp=132-133, 148}} She has convened Immigrants in Support of [[Idle No More]]<ref name=":17" /> and is a supporter of the Defenders of the Land Network, the Indigenous Assembly Against Mining and Pipelines,<ref name=":11" /> and the [[Unistʼotʼen Camp|Unist’ot’en Action Camp]] in [[Wet'suwet'en|Wet’suwet’en]] territory, which she has visited on multiple occasions.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://aptnnews.ca/2016/11/10/identities-of-two-mikmaq-warriors-on-rcmp-threat-list-revealed/|title=Identities of two Mi'kmaq Warriors on RCMP 'threat' list revealed - APTN News|date=2016-11-10|work=APTN News|access-date=2018-03-29|language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Lee|first=Jo-Anne|date=2015-06-01|title=Harsha Walia in Conversation with MM&D Editor Jo-Anne Lee|url=https://journals.uvic.ca/index.php/mmd/article/view/13643|journal=Migration, Mobility, & Displacement|language=en|volume=1|issue=1|pages=62|doi=10.18357/mmd11201513643|issn=2369-288X|doi-access=free}}</ref>

Walia was active in the Olympic Resistance Network (ORN), which instigated several anti-Olympic actions and demonstrations during the [[2010 Winter Olympics|2010 Winter Olympic Games]] in Vancouver.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kh49c6pySIoC&q=women's+memorial+march+committee+walia&pg=PA62|title=Game Over: How Politics Has Turned the Sports World Upside Down|last=Zirin|first=Dave|date=2013-01-29|publisher=The New Press|isbn=9781595588425|pages=62|language=en}}</ref> The actions were in response to growing homelessness rates of low-income residents in the DTES and cuts to social programs due to [[Gentrification|urban gentrification]] in the build-up to the games.<ref name=":8">{{Cite news|url=https://www.democracynow.org/2010/3/2/in_the_shadow_of_the_olympic|title=In the Shadow of the Olympic Flame: A Report from the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver, the Poorest Neighborhood in Canada|work=Democracy Now!|access-date=2018-03-28|language=en}}</ref> The Women's Memorial March Committee and Power of Women group also resisted the Games by refusing to cancel or reroute the annual February 14 Women's Memorial March<ref name=":8" /> and obstructing the Olympic Torch Relay as it passed through the DTES.<ref name=":6" />

Following an anti-Olympic demonstration on February 13, 2010, during which [[black bloc]] tactics were employed and windows of the [[Hudson's Bay Company]] (an Olympic sponsor) in Downtown Vancouver were smashed, Walia defended the protestors, stating that several of them are devoted“devoted activists who support marginalized communitiescommunities” and adopt a“a range of tactics to do so.”<ref name=":9">{{Cite web|url=https://www.straight.com/blogra/w2-forum-focuses-black-bloc-tactics-february-13-protest-against-vancouver-olympics|title=W2 forum focuses on black bloc tactics in February 13 protest against Vancouver Olympics|website=Georgia Straight Vancouver's News & Entertainment Weekly|date=20 February 2010|language=en|access-date=2018-03-29}}</ref> She also expressed that wearing masks during protests is“is a reasonable precaution in light of [[mass surveillance]] practicespractices” and that black bloc tactics can increase“increase the effectiveness of less direct actions such as the February 14th Women's Memorial March.”<ref name=":9" />

An active member within Vancouver's South Asian community, with whom she aims to "lift up the reality of what’s going on in South Asia in terms of the global landscape of geopolitical warfare,"<ref name=":11" /> Walia is on the board of the South Asian Network for Secularism and Democracy.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://sansad.org|title=SANSAD|website=SANSAD|language=en-US|access-date=2018-03-29}}</ref><ref name=":11" /> She has been involved in [[Anti-Capitalist Convergence]] and the Northwest Anti-Authoritarian People of Colour Network, sits on the board of Shit Harper Did, and is a youth mentor for Check Your Head.<ref name=":123">{{Cite web |title=Announcing our #CAPAL17 Keynote Speakers! – Canadian Association of Professional Academic Librarians |url=http://capalibrarians.org/2017/02/announcing-our-capal17-keynote-speakers/ |access-date=2018-03-29 |website=capalibrarians.org |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://commons2012.wordpress.com/program-2/presenters-participants/|title=Presenters & Participants|date=2011-11-17|work=Tragedy of the Market: from Crisis to Commons|access-date=2018-03-29|language=en-US}}</ref><ref name=":19">{{Cite web|url=https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6544380.Harsha_Walia|title=Harsha Walia|website=goodreads.com|access-date=2018-03-30}}</ref>

On June 30, 2021, controversy arose after Walia retweeted a Twitter news article from [[Vice (magazine)|''Vice'']] World News on the [[2021 Canadian church burnings|burning of two Catholic churches]], adding the comment: "Burn it all down".<ref name="globalnews.ca">{{Cite web |title=Head of B.C. civil liberties group under fire over 'burn it all down' tweet |url=https://globalnews.ca/news/8002314/bccla-church-fire-tweet/ |website=Global News}}</ref> Her tweet was condemned by British Columbia's Public Safety Minister [[Mike Farnworth]] as "disgusting and reprehensible."<ref name="globalnews.ca"/> Calls were made for Walia's resignation and for her to issue an apology. Walia said that she was not supporting arson; she said that "Burn it all down" meant "a call to dismantle all structures of violence, including the state, settler-colonialism, empire, the border etc."<ref name="Straight">{{cite news |last1=Smith |first1=Charlie |date=July 5, 2021 |title=B.C. Civil Liberties Association executive director Harsha Walia at centre of social media firestorm |url=https://www.straight.com/news/bc-civil-liberties-association-executive-director-harsha-walia-at-centre-of-social-media |access-date=July 11, 2021 |work=The Georgia Straight}}</ref> She received support from the [[Union of British Columbia Indian Chiefs]] (UBCIC), though the statement released by the UBCIC did not mention the tweet itself.<ref name="Straight" /> She resigned as executive director of the BC Civil Liberties Association over the issue on July 16, 2021.<ref name="CP16Jul21">{{cite web |author=The Canadian Press |author-link=The Canadian Press |date=16 July 2021 |title=B.C. Civil Liberties Association leader resigns after controversial social media post |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/bccla-leader-resignation-1.6106796 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210717125802/https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/bccla-leader-resignation-1.6106796 |archive-date=17 July 2021 |access-date=17 July 2021 |work=[[CBC News]]}}</ref>