Photo: Michael Hite

Cold? Think twice before bundling up in a blanket or sleeping bag, as doing so just may result in a warrant for your arrest.

At least it could in Boulder, Colorado.

How and why does the city of Boulder–especially known for its laid back vibe–appear to be criminalizing its homeless population?

The answer–though somewhat baffling–has to do with an anti-camping ordinance, which outlaws sleeping outside with any sort of shelter besides clothing. The law has resulted in Boulder police issuing over 1,600 tickets in the past year, reported The Boulder Weekly reported recently.

Sticking Up for Shelter

Boulder’s only homeless shelter shuts down during summer months, and can only accommodate 160 individuals in the winter–less than 25% of the city’s individuals living on the streets.

Last November, it was this lack of space that led David Madison to be turned away from the Boulder County Shelter. That night, Madison returned to the streets with a sleeping bag to shield himself from the bite of the 11 degree Colorado air.

When the police found Madison, they deemed him guilty of camping. The only reason? His frost-covered sleeping bag.

Should America’s homeless population be left to choose between hypothermia and jail?

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) doesn’t think so. On June 28th, the ACLU filed a suit in Boulder, calling the anti-camping ordinance unfair and unconstitutional. In a letter sent to the Boulder City Council, the ACLU wrote:

“The City of Boulder has no legitimate interest in criminalizing its residents who are without a home, forced to sleep outdoors in the cold, and merely want to cover themselves in order to survive.”

The ACLU has suggested that the city amend the ordinance to clarify that using a blanket or sleeping bag “by itself” is not shelter. Furthermore, it explained:

“While we continue to believe that the arrest and prosecution of Boulder’s homeless residents under these circumstances violates the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment, it is not necessary to wait for a court ruling in order to conclude that these arrests and prosecutions are senseless, and bad public policy.”

Amen to that.

Homelessness by the Numbers

The National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty estimates that approximately 3.5 million people, 1.35 million of them children, are likely to experience homelessness in any given year. The number of families in homeless shelters even jumped 7% from 2008-2009.

With those statistics, the Obama administration–along with the support of volunteers throughout local communities–has taken on several initiatives to help to those without shelter.

On June 22nd, Obama issued a statement vowing to end homelessness within 10 years. The plan, called “Opening Doors,” grew out of a federal law signed in 2009, requiring the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness to develop a plan of action. Though their ideas have only recently been defined on paper, many remain optimistic about the administration’s commitment to this cause.

How Can I Help?

The National Coalition on Homelessness outlines four ways you can help America’s homeless: Contribute, Advocate, Reach out, and Educate, or “CARE.” For more information on each of these activities, visit the organization’s website.

If you’d like to support the ACLU’s efforts to decriminalize homelessness in Boulder, please sign this petition put together by Change.org.

Community Connection:

Want to work hands-on with people affected by homelessness? Check out our Urban Volunteering series, a guide to volunteer opportunities in cities around the world.

Photos by author

He hauls it into the boat, pulls the hook from its lip with a practiced yank.

The catfish emits a guttural gurgle that Roy doesn’t appear to notice. He plops the fish on the shiny silver boat bottom, now speckled with blood. I watch the catfish gasp and struggle for life, flopping about helplessly. I can’t look away – I’ve never seen a fish, or anything else, die before. Roy, however, climbs to the back of the boat and speeds on to another line. The dark, whiskered creature is soon a still mass of scales and flesh.

It is one of only two catfish that Roy will bring in today.

The words echo throughout the Atchafalaya Basin during our trip: “I always wanted to be a fisherman. I love fishing. But it’s not like it used to be; you can’t make a living fishing anymore.”

I was traveling in a group of 12: 11 students and Sheryl St. Germain, our professor and a Louisiana native. She’d brought us to the Atchafalaya to inspire our writing and teach us about a culture that is disappearing with the 25 miles of Louisiana coastline that turn into sea each year.

Roy’s friend Greg, a Cajun fisherman, photographer, writer, and woodworker, refuses to work anywhere else, despite the difficulties. Greg says the swamp is a spiritual place for Cajuns. I close my eyes to smell the swamp and try to internalize the feeling: mud, crawfish, water hyacinth, alligators, humidity, hot sun, cool damp breeze, dirt, cypress trees, water.

Water.

Annual floods provide a good environment for crawfish to breed and grow. However, in recent years, floods have been bringing extra silt into the basin and burying crawfish breeding grounds or the floods haven’t come at all, depleting the water of oxygen and freshness. And it’s all because of human control of water flow.

Greg supports himself with writing, photography, and rescuing sunken cypress logs to turn into art and furniture. Roy had to take a job as a hotel maintenance man. But both men make time for fishing and teaching visitors about the Atchafalaya.
As they work, they wait to learn if oil from the BP Gulf oil spill will seep into the Basin.

“It depends on whether the river currents can keep the oil out in the Gulf. If the water level in the Atchafalaya gets very low in late summer and early fall, oil could creep upriver and into the Basin. That would probably have a devastating effect on all life in the water, including crawfish,” says Greg. “There is plenty oil in the marshes already, along the Gulf, and a hurricane could spread it north into the Basin swamps.”

Roy hauls up a crawfish trap – there are only a handful of crawfish in it. He lowers the trap back into the water without emptying it.

Maybe tomorrow there will be more.

Community Connection:

Human actions endanger our own habitats and livelihood, as well as the habitats of animals. Read about other threatened places in 9 Places to Experience Now Before They Literally Vanish.

Photographer’s Note: In the broadest sense, a powwow is a rally, a meet-up, to honor Native American culture. Because non-natives are frequently welcome, powwows are often ideal opportunities to bridge gaps between cultures and bring awareness to the rich panorama of Native American heritage.

I’d attended powwows in the past but I knew going to the Gathering of Nations in Albuquerque, NM, would be a completely different experience. This was the mother of all powwows, the largest one in North America, with about 700 tribes convening for song and dance over a span of three days. Visitors from around the world flood the University of New Mexico campus, eating fry bread, buying handmade Kachina dolls, and snapping tons of pictures of gorgeous Native American regalia (never “costumes”).

But, much like Albuquerque, the Indian influence surrounds us here everyday. Even after centuries, headlines still capture the struggles of social issues on the reservations. Movements are still being launched to preserve native languages and spiritual sites.The history is celebrated everywhere daily, through powwows, cultural centers, and the works of indigenous artists, dancers, musicians.

As Conran, my guide at the Acoma pueblo, said, “Many books have written us off in history because our population declined. They say our culture disappeared. But our culture is alive. We do not disappear–we are still here.”

Photos also represent the Sacred Springs Powwow in San Marcos, TX.

1. While generations have lived in the homes in the pueblo, many houses have been updated to include modern necessities such as screen doors. However, other conditions are still similar to the conditions of their ancestors — no electricity, no running water. Daily tours are provided by the Acoma tribal welcome center.

2. A traditional kiva at the Acoma Pueblo. A kiva is a subterranean room used for spiritual ceremonies by Native American pueblo communities. Very little is known about the rituals or activities that take place in a kiva.

3. This year was the first time the Gathering of Nations was held outdoors in the University of New Mexico Lobos’ football stadium. The event, attended by over 100,000 people over three days, included a separate Indian Traders Market tent, a music stage and an Obama administration contingent that brought a video message from the President.

4. Members of the Pollen Trail Dancers, a Diné children’s dance group, perform at the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center in Albuquerque, NM. In addition to year-round dance performances, the Center also curates a museum of pueblo history, local artists’ exhibitions, a gift shop, and a cafe with native pueblo food.

5. Members of the Pollen Trail Dancers, a Diné children’s dance group, perform at the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center in Albuquerque, NM.

6. Gathering of Nations Powwow, 2010

7. Gathering of Nations Powwow, 2010

8. Cuicani in Xochitl at Sacred Springs Powwow in San Marcos, TX.

9. Cuicani in Xochitl at Sacred Springs Powwow in San Marcos, TX.

10. A dancer waiting for his call to the dance circle. Gathering of Nations worked to promote the cultures and traditions of American Indian people for the last 26 years.

11. Elder dancer of Cuicani in Xochitl performing at Sacred Springs Powwow in San Marcos, TX. Known for their energy and frenetic music, this dancer is in his 60’s.

12. Cuicani in Xochitl at Sacred Springs Powwow in San Marcos, TX.

13. Dancers overlooking the powwow field at Gathering of Nations.

14. A dancer lining up for grand entry at the Gathering of Nations Powwow, 2010

15. Two child dancers walking into the dance circle for competition performance at the Gathering of Nations Pow Wow, April 25 2010.

16. Three male dancers awaiting grand entry to the dance circle at the Gathering of Nations Pow Wow, where roughly 3,000 American Indians from 700 tribes in the U.S. and Canada gather for a cultural celebration.

Interested in perfecting your travel photography skills?

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Photo: factoryseashell

Who Are the Dalits?

The word “Dalit” is Marathi and means someone who is crushed or oppressed. In a wider sense, it would mean the members of Indian societies (a single Indian society does not exist) who were discriminated against because they were not part of the four Hindu varnas (castes). These varnas were considered sacrosanct and placed in privileged positions in the social hierarchy.

In the hierarchy that was legitimized, a system of graded inequality came into existence and the Dalits were the lowest in the pyramid- they were considered “impure”, shunned and alienated. Not only was their touch considered threatening; the very sight of them was considered harmful.

And these are human beings we are talking about here.

Upper castes maintained distance from the Dalits. They were not allowed to walk along the same roads as those more socially privileged, and were not allowed to drink water from the same wells.

Today, even though the constitution of India has abolished the caste system, Dalits continue to be discriminated against in many parts of the country, both urban and suburban.

Who Was B. R Ambedkar?

An activist, a politician, a lawyer and an anthropologist, Ambedkar was the first Dalit to obtain a college education in India. Ambedkar followed it up with degrees from universities such as The London School of Economics and Political Science and Columbia University.

Ambedkar’s father, Ramji Sakpal, encouraged his children to read Hindu classics (which Dalits were not supposed to read). Having held a senior position in the army, Sakpal decided to use his influence to get his children admitted to school.

Although Sakpal was successful in his endeavor, he could not protect his children from social discrimination and alienation. When Ambedkar wanted to drink water, for instance, someone of a higher caste had to pour the water down to him as Ambedkar – being a Dalit – could not touch either the vessel or the water. Usually it was the duty of the school clerk to pour water for Ambedkar. When the clerk was absent from duty, he had to go without water.

Ambedkar was a strong critic of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, who was one of the first leaders to condemn discrimination and who, like Ambedkar, advocated caste annihilation. However, Ambedkar felt that the word used by Gandhi for the Dalits – harijans – which literally translates as “children of God” was very condescending and patronizing.

Ambedkar felt that instead of working towards human dignity and equality, Gandhi’s attitude towards the Dalits would have them remain subjugated to the brahmanical or hindu order.

As Ambedkar himself rightly put it,

“It is a pity that Caste even today has its defenders. The defenses are many. It is defended on the ground that the Caste System is but another name for division of labour and if division of labour is a necessary feature of every civilized society then it is argued that there is nothing wrong in the Caste System. Now the first thing is to be urged against this view is that Caste System is not merely division of labor. It is also a division of laborers. Civilized society undoubtedly needs division of labor. But in no civilized society is division of labor accompanied by this unnatural division of laborers into watertight compartments. Caste System is not merely a division of laborers which is quite different from division of labor—it is an [sic] hierarchy in which the divisions of laborers are graded one above the other. In no other country is the division of labor accompanied by this gradation of laborers.”

Being at the bottom of the pyramid often means that the Dalits are treated far worse than any other human beings. Their caste is determined by their birth. Even though it is illegal to discriminate against other human beings, Dalits often find themselves being alienated or marginalized by upper caste brahmans.

If you’d like to learn more about Dalits, I recommend Dalit Network, a useful resource for information on injustices meted out to the Dalits.

Community Connection:

Learn more about India on our India Focus Page.

All photos by author.

From memorials peppering the city, to the always-present flowers on folksinger and folk hero Victor Jara’s grave, to the fact that one of the main streets is called September 11th, the date on which the golpe militar, or military coup, started in 1973.

Augusto Pinochet held power for 17 years during a period of Chilean history many Chileans would prefer to put behind them, and many choose never to talk about. As a foreigner, I often feel it’s not my place to say a word with respect to the dictatorship.

The dictatorship is everywhere, and it’s nowhere.

There are demonstrations every September 11th, and March 29th (for Day of the Young Combatant, which remembers two brothers active in the leftist resistance movement who were shot and killed by the police during a demonstration) but the rest of the year there is a whole lot of silence.

You might ask someone where they picked up such flawless French, or ask how their family in Sweden is doing, but never ask the underlying questions: Were you in exile, too? Were you one of the 30,000 people imprisoned or tortured? Is one of your family among the 3,197 people killed or disappeared?

With the inauguration of the $22 million Museo de La Memoria y Derechos Humanos (Museum of Memory and Human Rights), this quiet is lifting, giving way to dialogue. A conversation in which the older generation comes to watch the news footage of the era, reminding themselves of time and place, and the younger generation congregates, surprised to see that in Europe, protests were held against the dictatorship. Parents take children born into democracy on a history ride through their own family tree, pointing and explaining, and answering questions the children are just now learning to ask.

The museum is a stark, glassed-in building in a giant sloped plaza, opposite the Quinta Normal Metro stop on the green line (Linea 5) in Barrio Yungay, one of Santiago Centro’s working-to-middle class neighborhoods.

The permanent exhibit is three floors of documentation, multimedia, memorabilia, news clippings, poetry, art, and stark reminders of torture. The first floor looks at human rights as a universal challenge, with a rough map of the world laid out in photos that show efforts to maintain human rights.

Below, are a series of plaques representing the truth commissions established to document what happened in each country’s dictatorship. Alongside Chile are Serbia, Bosnia, Uganda, Chad, El Salvador, East Timor, and dozens of others.

Further upstairs, the events of September 11th, 1973 are shown, aged black and white footage showing the attack on the presidential palace, the moving in of troops among civilians, the falling of curfew. Further exhibition spaces show international newspapers condemning the dictatorship, repression, and torture, and stark black panels where children’s drawings and letters are posted, asking where their parents have gone.

Up further still, under strong sunlight let in by the museum’s glass walls, the demand for truth and justice is documented, along with footage of families of the disappeared talking about the future. Mementos of the era are under a large glass display, an open time capsule with vinyl records and food packages of the day. The displays take the visitor through the demand for justice, and the plebiscite vote that returned Chile to democracy, proclaiming “Nunca Más” (Never Again).

All the while, a backdrop of black and white photos of more than a thousand of the disappeared, many taken as enlarged photocopies of their national ID cards, are framed against a pale green wall that stretches along the height of the museum, with empty frames interspersed among them.

The museum was inaugurated by President of the Republic Michelle Bachelet in January 2010. Ms. Bachelet had been detained, tortured, and ultimately lived in exile during the dictatorship. The museum calls itself an “invitation to reflect on attacks made on life and dignity from September 11, 1973 to March 10, 1990 in Chile.”

I’m hoping it’s an invitation for people to talk about what’s been unsaid, and for me to listen, and ask the questions for which I’ve wondered the answers for the five years I’ve called Chile home.

Community Connection:

Eileen Smith, a regular contributor to Matador and one of our community ambassadors, is also Matador’s destination expert on Chile. Don’t hesitate to connect with her if you have questions about Chile, and check out her blog.

Photo: Francisco Collazo

Yesterday, I wrote: “[A] tropical island is only paradise for people who come for a short, pleasant visit, not for the people who live there day in and day out.” Read on if you’re wondering why.

Number of years since being bought by the United States: 92

Photo: Francisco Collazo

Amount of money paid by the US for St. Thomas (along with St. Croix and St. John): $25 million USD

Current population: Just over 50,000

Current minimum wage (as of late July 2009): $7.25

Average monthly electricity bill (for a family of 2 that runs air conditioning at night): $300.00 + (Yes, you read that correctly)

Average weekly wages for a St. Thomas resident (as of last quarter of 2008): $673.00

Total number of St. Thomas residents employed in the last quarter of 2008: 23,900

Guardsman in Iraq. Photo: National Guard

Number of St. Thomas National Guardsmen who have served in Iraq & Afghanistan since 2001 (total number reflects National Guardsmen from St. Thomas, St. Croix, and St. John): 500

Number of St. Thomas National Guardsmen who have been killed in Iraq or Afghanistan in the line of duty since 2001 (total number reflects National Guardsmen from St. Thomas, St. Croix, and St. John): at least one dozen

Number of St. Thomas National Guardsmen who have ever been able to vote for President of the country they serve: ZERO. Due to the terms of its status as a US territory, St. Thomas residents are citizens of the United States but do not have the right to vote in federal elections.

Number of people who have told me “Things aren’t what they used to be.” 7

Community Connection:

Want to learn more about the Caribbean? Read “Hope, Change, and Yes, We Can in St. Kitts.”

The author on her balcony at the Marriott Frenchman’s Reef, St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands; Photo: Francisco Collazo

Yesterday, the public relations firm Diamond PR sent nine travel writers to nine Marriott properties it represents in seven different locations in the Caribbean and Mexico. I’m one of them.

The purpose, of course, is the same as any other press trip: to expose writers who have a large audience of readers to its clients’ properties in the hopes that what those writers blog/tweet/Facebook about their experience will stimulate interest in the destinations and the properties.

If you’re a regular reader of my work, that preceding paragraph might seem incongruous with what you know about my writing. I’m not one for lavishing praise on anyone or anything unless it truly impresses me, which is tough (if you’ve got doubts about this, just check out this doozy of a book review).

And higher-end travel isn’t exactly my niche. If I had to narrow down my interests–which is tough–they’d fit more or less comfortably into the categories of political, cultural, social, and environmental movements, particularly in Latin America and the Caribbean.

And finally, if you know me personally, you know that the word “paradise” isn’t one that makes a frequent appearance in my vocabulary… mainly because I lived in “paradise” (Puerto Rico) for 2.5 years and know that a tropical island is only paradise for people who come for a short, pleasant visit, not for the people who live there day in and day out.

So what am I doing on this trip?

There are at least two answers.

1. Though I don’t write often about higher end travel–and though it’s not my travel style when I’m footing the bill– I won’t deny that I enjoy it. I like high thread counts, I like sleeping under a duvet even better than I like saying “duvet,” and I like eating dishes that have overwrought, absurdly detailed names like: Sofrito Marinated Filet Mignon with roasted poblano crema, manchego cheese, chile-toreado salsa, and house-made cilantro-corn tortillas, garnished with cilantro petals.

A frou-frou appetizer in Oaxaca. Photo by author

And if something on those travels–a hotel or inn, a meal, an experience–impresses me, I have no problem writing about it, though it won’t be here on Matador.

2. But at the end of the day, I have to admit that I only know the difference between the salad fork and the entree fork, I don’t like to dress up, and I choose my wine based on whether I like the looks of the label, not because I really know anything about terroir.

And when it comes right down to it, I’m more comfortable with the people providing a service rather than those receiving it.

That’s the real reason I’m in St. Thomas this week.

*
A few years ago, when I lived in Puerto Rico, I jumped to the cause of some locals who’d set up (illegal) residence on a beach in Carolina. “La playa no se vende!” read banners spray painted and hung limpidly between sea-salt speckled tents.

“The beach is not for sale.”

Marriott was allegedly planning to extend its domain to a public beach, gobbling up the sand and closing it off to everyone except hotel guests. Of course, I was on the locals’ side.

The problem was, I didn’t really know anything about the issue and I hadn’t talked with either side.
*

A worker in St. Kitts takes a break. Photo by author

Since that time, I’ve been working on a long-term photojournalism project about the effects of big hospitality corporations on local communities, specifically in areas of the Caribbean where local industries have collapsed in the past 20 or so years.

From the outside, it’s easy to be on the side of those people on the beach. Like anything, though, once you hang around for a while and start listening to people’s stories, the “truth” is a lot more complex.
*
So, long story short, I’m not in St. Thomas because I hope to experience a little slice of paradise and bring it back to you… though if I do have some incredible peak moment, you can read about it on my own blog.

I’m here because I’m always looking for the back story, the untold story, the stories of people who are overlooked. .

And if you follow my writing, that’s the ever-present thread that informs my work… no matter where I am.