[IPSM] Fwd: Open Letter concerning the use of *police force* against 2110 Centre for Gender Advocacy Staff, Tuesday afternoon

[Dru Oja Jay]

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Maya Rolbin-Ghanie <maya.rolbinghanie at gmail.com>
Date: Wed, Oct 21, 2009 at 3:13 AM
Subject: Open Letter concerning the use of *police force* against 2110
Centre for Gender Advocacy Staff, Tuesday afternoon

*SUMMARY: In a heavy-handed attempt to stifle dissent, representatives of
the 2110 Board and Staff suspended several Staff without pay and used police
to violently remove us from the 2110 Centre.*


To friends and supporters of the 2110 Centre for Gender Advocacy:

Today marks a sad turn of events for the Montreal/ Concordia Activist
community. At approximately 3:45pm, during the course of a regular workday,
Farah Abdil, a 2110 board member came into the office and demanded my home
address, refusing an explanation. When I refused, on the grounds that I did
not feel comfortable providing Farah with this information, they persisted,
asserting that they, as my employer, had every right to demand this of me. I
then asked if Farah Abdil could email me asking for this information so that
I would at least have a record of the request. They refused, and left the
room in a rage. They returned a few moments later with another board member,
Lil Kraus, and the two demanded that I enter into the 2110 lounge with them
to speak privately. When I was not forthcoming due to the fact that Farah
Abdil, in particular, has acted aggressively toward with me on numerous
occasions in the past, Farah Abdil physically pushed me into the lounge.
Bianca Mugyenyi, my ally and co-worker, noticing this abuse, followed close
behind and tried to enter the lounge as well to prevent me from being
isolated against my will. Farah Abdil then pushed Bianca against the wall to
prevent her from entering the room.

In the following 20 minutes, I, Maya Rolbin-Ghanie (part-time Volunteer
Coordinator), Bianca Mugyenyi (full-time Programming and Campaigns
Coordinator), and Aly Stillman (part-time Promotions and Publicity
Coordinator), who have all been critical of a severe lack of board and staff
accountability in recent months, were handed identical letters of suspension
by Lil Kraus and Farah Abdil, signed by them alone, presumably on behalf of
the entire Board. They refused to explain anything, claiming that everything
was “in the letter.” Upon presenting us with the letters, they demanded that
we grab our belongings, return our keys, and vacate the premises
immediately, or they would call security.

The letters in question have informed us that we are all suspended for 2
weeks with no pay. Reasons listed include: actively participating in a
public campaign which falsely accused employees and members of the board of
numerous wrongful behaviours, trying to force the board to vote on “some
specific” policies, using the 2110 members' list without the board's
authorization, and asking to be paid for hours spent petitioning for an SGM,
among other false accusations.

The Board maintains that our accusations of misappropriation are false, yet
fail to recognize our evidence to the contrary, and insist on suspending us
for something tantamount to slander. The Board maintains that we are
illegitimately using the 2110 listserve for our campaign, and yet this is
patently false, as, not long before they forbade staff to send emails
without Board approval, the listserve mysteriously ceased to function.
Further, the Board have asserted that Aly, Bianca and I requested to be paid
for hours spent petitioning for an SGM, which is also false. (Aly Stillman
did not petition at all, and none of us requested to be paid for these
hours). Lil Kraus and Farah Abdil have refused to provide evidence of any
reason for suspension outlined in their letter. They have also refused to
explain how the letter is legitimate, as the decision to suspend was not
reached in a Board Meeting, and as such, is not following the 2110
constitution or decision-making process. Less than 24 hours earlier, in the
context of a public Board Meeting, no mention of this was made, and a
process of conflict resolution was heavily emphasized.

This is very clearly an act of bad faith, and demonstrates a gross
misunderstanding of our motives for making this campaign a public one: the
betterment of the Centre, (and activism in Montreal, by extension), and the
promotion of a sense of responsibility that we feel should accompany any
staff or board member's mode of interaction with a social justice
organization whose budget is $250,000 a year, no strings attached.

When Bianca, Aly and I refused to leave the premises on principle because we
do not recognize the legitimacy of the letter, full-time staff member Devon
Simpson called Concordia security. Not long after, as we continued to
maintain our right to remain at work, Lil Kraus called the Montreal police.
Four male officers arrived on the scene, and one searched Bianca's purse
without permission, for her key. They violently pushed and dragged all three
of us out the door, and when Bianca Mugyenyi tried to return, one officer
slammed her hard onto the ground and into the door, before dragging her to
the police car, smashing her onto the hood, cuffing her, and arresting her.
She was fined $144 for obstructing a walkway. Aly and I then re-entered the
Centre, and the police were called back a second time. Although they
physically removed us again, they did not arrest us, as they were weary of
CUTV cameras that, by this time were on the scene.

Aly and I did not attempt to re-enter again, while Devon Simpson, M'ar
Stine, Mubeenah Mugal, Lil Kraus, Farah Abdil, and Gab Stensson, among
others, remained in the 2110 Centre with the doors locked, and would not
answer phone calls. A number of people who showed up for an American Sign
Language class were unable to enter and Bianca Mugyenyi had to call security
to retrieve her wallet from the Centre.

The events I describe here are outrageous for a number of reasons. On an
obvious level, (at least to me), the use of the power of the state by
self-professed activists and gender-advocates is simply appalling,
especially considering the context that the 2110 Board is choosing not to
address: a staggering hostility towards activism. In the eight months that I
have been involved with the 2110, it has come to my attention that the more
active a staff member is in their organizing, the more they are persecuted
for it. The clearest example of this is Missing Justice, a campaign that
works to end violence against Indigenous women, of which I am a member.
Staff have, on more than one occasion, expressed concern that they thought
it was taking up too many resources. This is false, as Missing Justice
raises the majority of its money on its own. This is even more outrageous
considering that the 2110 Centre had a $37, 000 surplus. Further to this,
Board and staff's interest in and support of the campaign has been minimal
at best. At worst, some board and staff have been hostile toward the
activity and new people that Missing Justice has brought to the Centre.

The letter that myself, Bianca and Aly were served today very clearly
intended to stop us from making what is happening at the 2110 Centre public.
The 2110 Board are employing fear tactics (ie. no pay) to stop the gross
violations of our labour code, constitution and mandate from being known.
What the 2110 Board fails to comprehend is that, although our jobs at the
2110 Centre are indeed our livelihoods, money is entirely beside the point.

An Emergency Board Meeting has been requested for 7pm on Thursday, October
22nd, at the GSA (2030 Mackay). A confirmation is forthcoming. All our
encouraged to attend.

A Special General Meeting (SGM) of the 2110 Centre has been called for
Monday, November 2nd, time and place to be disclosed by the board.

For further information, and updates on the struggle for accountability at
the 2110 Centre, visit 2110democracy.ca

To contact the 2110 Board of Directors, write to: board.2110 at gmail.com

Sincerely,

Maya Rolbin-Ghanie
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