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Libya’s flood: who bears the victims?

Graphic by Lily Cowper/@lilycowper

By

Amalec Masmud Escobar

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3 minutes

Graphic by Lily Cowper/@lilycowper

Storm Daniel meets Libya’s fractured infrastructures and political landscape, revealing a calamity molded by natural and unnatural causes.

Last September, flooding caused by Storm Daniel swept away entire communities and led to  over 10,000 people reported dead in Libya.  However, is the environment the only factor to blame? Libya’s tumultuous political landscape shows that this catastrophe was only partly due to the environment. The alarming death toll stems from the convergence of politics and climate change.

The heavy rain and flooding in the eastern part of Libya were brought by medicanes, which are a result of low pressure areas in the Mediterranean Sea that convert into tropical cyclones. While Storm Daniel set meteorological records in Africa, the collapse of two major dams only intensified the consequences of this natural disaster. These vital infrastructures had not been maintained since 2002.

Within those dam cracks lies the story of a state marked by a decade of civil war and NATO’s military intervention.  

Libya was once the most prosperous country in Africa, with complimentary healthcare and education to all, assured housing for every citizen and subsidized access to electricity, water and gasoline. Notably, the nation recorded the highest life expectancy across the continent. 

Dictator Muammar Gaddafi led a socialist regime until 2011 when protests broke out. Armed forces firing into the crowd sparked a national uprising, prompting the United Nations’ approval for “all necessary measures” to protect civilians. This support, including a NATO bombing campaign backing the rebels, led to the overthrow of Gaddafi’s regime. In the wake of power vacuums, internal conflicts gained international support resulting in an influx of foreign weapons and a sequence of proxy wars.

The socio-political history of Libya holds a lot of mixed emotions. During Gaddafi’s era, it began with acknowledgements from the United Nations Human Rights Council recognizing improvements in the country’s human rights practices. This initial optimism was soon overshadowed by citizens looking to emancipate themselves from a regime that had been in place for over 30 years. Backed by NATO’s militia, they traded an unelected and corrupt regime for two rival governments battling for power and control of the country. 

The dam collapses are a mere fragment of the chaos resulting from Western-initiated regime change and the broader disorder post-Gaddafi. Public Water Commission experts warned the central infrastructure agency about the aging dams. Unfortunately, these warnings were overseen by corrupt authorities under Gaddafi-regime at the time. Amid a civil war, the Turkish company hired to repair the dams left the country, pocketing millions of dollars for preliminary work and leaving behind the dangerous dams and Derna’s population.

Libyan citizens caught between regional fissures and international intervention were victims of a political stalemate that only contributed to the latest catastrophe. After Storm Daniel, the residents of Derna mourn thousands of lives and hold onto the hope that their grief can serve as a unifying force for their nation.  

Were the floods solely an outcome of the environment? While Mother Nature played a part, Libyan citizens must endure the consequences of this failed state.

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We have a responsibility to help those in need

Anti-homeless infrastructure isn’t the only thing hurting the homeless—our lack of attention is too

I’m sure you’ve seen the guy who sits in front of the garbage cans at Guy-Concordia metro, with his “Kindness is not a weakness” sign leaning next to him and a perpetually empty Tim Horton’s cup at his feet. He’s there everyday, quietly asking for change or a meal.

Around Remembrance Day, another man appeared in the metro station to collect donations and give out poppies. In a surprising twist, the people who never before had change in their pockets for the man begging everyday were able to produce quarters and loonies for the poppies.

Most people rarely give money to panhandlers and are uncomfortable having homeless people loitering in public places. When fewer homeless people are visible, we don’t ask questions about where they went—we are just relieved the metro station is a little calmer. So it’s not a surprise to me that Montreal has anti-homeless infrastructure, because it teaches us that homelessness is best kept out of sight and out of mind. But problems don’t go away by ignoring them.

Ever wonder why the seats at Laurier metro are floating cubes? Or why all the benches downtown have armrests segmenting the seats? Presumably, it’s to stop people from lying down in these areas, namely homeless people who might not have anywhere else to rest. I believe it’s our city’s way of saying we prefer that they sleep on the ground or don’t sleep in public places.

We need to change the way we think about homeless people in our society. Homelessness is not a lifetime sentence, nor is it a person’s defining feature. We need to see those without a fixed address for who they are: people in need of help.

It can be uncomfortable to talk to some homeless people. They can be dirty, smelly, intoxicated or all of the above. Now imagine how it feels to be the person in that position. Most of us live very comfortable lives, but sometimes we need to leave our comfort zone to solve difficult issues. A great way to help someone in need would be to acknowledge them and give them the 25 cents in your pocket. We can criticize the city for handling the problem poorly, or we can directly support the people suffering from the city’s lack of attention.

In my view, homeless shelters don’t work. They are overcrowded and can be expensive and dirty, creating an environment prone to disease and crime. Researchers at McGill University found that it costs $50,000 a year to care for one mentally ill homeless person, according to CBC News. This is an insane sum, especially considering it doesn’t seem to be reducing the homeless population in Montreal. Global News reported that the Welcome Hall Mission shelter had 2,700 new clients in 2017.

In my opinion, landlords should pay less property tax if they rent to people transitioning from life on the street. Businesses should receive a tax break for employing people recovering from homelessness. This way those stuck in a bad place have more opportunities to pull themselves out of a hole. I believe there are much more effective and sympathetic ways of preventing people from sleeping in public places.

We should all feel guilty when we see someone begging. We are young, compassionate, intelligent people who are in a position powerful enough to protest the inhumane treatment of a group of people. When a homeless person protests being stuck on the street, they are cuffed or removed by security. When we protest the circumstances homeless people are stuck in, we are given media coverage and called activists. It’s strange how we blame those who are in need. This poisonous mindset doesn’t solve the problem, and it needs to be changed.

Graphic by Zeze Le Lin

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News

What do orange cones mean to you?

Jason Prince responds to a question from the audience at the Detours Ahead panel on Jan. 30. Photo by Kenneth Gibson.

A discussion of infrastructure sustainability issues at Detours Ahead panel

A number of people voiced their frustration with inefficient public transportation, poor road conditions and generally chaotic approaches to infrastructure planning and maintenance in Montreal at a panel discussion held on Jan. 30 in Concordia’s Hall building.

Although the word “sustainability” normally brings to mind environmental concerns, the panel’s organizers from the Concordia School of Community and Public Affairs Students’ Association (SCPASA) said accessibility concerns, such as who does or doesn’t have easy access to public transportation, are an equally important aspect of sustainability when it comes to infrastructure.

The panel was moderated by Montreal Gazette columnist Celine Cooper, who began by asking panelists what they think of when they see an orange cone. It was a humorous prompt that allowed each panelist to highlight the issue of infrastructure sustainability from their own perspective.

For Gift Tshuma, a disability activist from Accessibilize Montreal, orange cones simply mean inaccessibility. Monica van Shaik, another Accessibilize Montreal advocate, expressed her hope that an orange cone might mean an important improvement to infrastructure, such as a new elevator at a metro station.

Jason Prince, an urban planner and professor at the School of Community and Public Affairs, asserted the orange cone still means corruption and diverting money to organized crime, to which David De Cotis, the deputy mayor of Laval and an executive on the board of the Société de transport de Laval, felt compelled to dispute when it was his turn to speak.

De Cotis touted Laval’s accomplishments in making public transit more accessible. He also provided insight into the kinds of trade-offs a city makes when managing limited budgets for public services, such as determining whether there is enough demand for it to be economically sensible to establish a new bus route in an unserved area.

De Cotis also mentioned some environmentally friendly initiatives the city of Laval has adopted, such as reducing transit fares to $1 on smog days.

Overall, the discussion was primarily centred around transportation, which has the most day-to-day impact on people’s lives.

Panelists spent time discussing what impact the newly elected mayor, Valérie Plante, might have on infrastructure issues. Prince observed that, while a lot can be done on the local level, infrastructure development operates at a provincial level in Quebec and “all the strings lead back to Quebec City.”

Other difficulties that panelists identified within infrastructure planning in Montreal include tensions between those in the downtown core versus periphery boroughs. While people living in areas served by the metro prefer using public transit, those who live in the east, west or off-island prefer getting around by car.

Also driven home during the discussion was the scale of the transit accessibility problem for people in wheelchairs, especially during the winter when snowbanks make bus ramps less accessible.

During the question and answer portion of the panel, the topic of unreasonable commute times arrose. “It took me 45 minutes to get between Côte-Vertu and Lionel-Groulx [metro stations] today,” said one audience member.

In response, Prince encouraged them to write a handwritten letter to the mayor and Philippe Schnobb, the head of Société de transport de Montréal (STM), to tell them about the problems.

“They need these letters right now, because the political will is there,” he said. “We need to keep the pressure on.”

After the panel, Prince told The Concordian that “students are a special category of citizens in this city.” He noted that there about 250,000 students enrolled in schools in the downtown area in any given academic year.

“Concordia students have political power,” Prince said. “They should wield it to make changes in the city.”

Photo by Kenneth Gibson

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Infrastructure renewal project to cost $8.37 million

An infrastructure renewal project for a generator and boiler at the Loyola campus will cost around $8.37 million. Photo by Alex Hutchins

Infrastructure project to include new generator and boiler at Loyola campus

An infrastructure renewal project for a generator and a boiler needed to power and heat certain buildings connected to the centralized systems of the Loyola campus is projected to cost a maximum of $8.37 million, according to documents obtained by The Concordian through an access to information request.

The authorization for the renewal project was given following the recommendation of the university’s Finance and Real Estate Planning Committees. It was one of three resolutions concerning the renewal project that were passed during a closed session of the April 19 board of governors meeting.

In an email, university spokesperson Mary-Jo Barr wrote that the amount “is based on an estimate, and the final cost will be confirmed as part of the tendering process.”

Part of the projected cost—$3.1 million—will be funded by the federal government’s Post-Secondary Institutions Strategic Investment Fund (SIF). The SIF and Quebec’s Plan québécois des infrastructures 2016-2026 (PQI) will also fund the research centre due to be built on Concordia’s Loyola campus.

According to Barr, the remaining cost of the $8.37-million renewal project will be “funded by a separate fund paid for by the PQI.”

“Concordia is contributing [approximately] $930,000 to the Loyola Campus Infrastructure Renewal Project,” Barr said.

Funding for the $52.75-million research centre, to be built behind the existing Richard J. Renaud Science Complex will also be split three ways. “Approximately 40 per cent is covered by the federal government, 30 per cent by Quebec [provincial government] and 30 per cent by Concordia,” according to Barr.

The research centre, named Applied Science Incubator in the documents obtained, is a 8,700 square metre extension of the campus’ current science facilities.

An internal memo reviewed by The Concordian confirmed a fund was created for the project on May 27, 2016 by Nancy Sardella, a senior financial officer in the university’s Restricted Funds department.

The principal investigator of the project—who is “responsible for the management of the research project, both financially and operationally,” according to Concordia’s Researcher’s Guide to Financial Management—is Roger Côté, the university’s vice-president of services.

The fund was created approximately a year before the announcement of the Applied Science Incubator. According to Barr, it was created “to allow the university to prepare its submission to the governments for project funding.” As well, the fund included “expenses related to feasibility studies, such as conceptual architecture drawings, estimates and technical studies.”

In response to The Concordian’s request for the science building’s architectural plans, secretary-general and general counsel Frederica Jacobs wrote that, because “the project is in its preliminary phase, final architectural plans are not available at this time.”

According to the board of governors’ resolution during the April 19 meeting, the cost of the research building project “will be paid from a combination of funds received from the federal government through its Post-Secondary Institutions Strategic Investment Fund (SIF), contributions from the government of Quebec and the university’s own capital budget.”

A decision-making summary signed by Côte-des-Neiges—Notre-Dame-de-Grâce borough director Stéphane Plante on June 30 indicated that 54 more parking spaces will be needed for the new project, according to a study done by the engineering firm CIMA+.

The summary reads that “it is very probable that [the borough] will need to add parking spaces on street parking reserved for residents when the project is done and to answer to the demands of residents.”

In early September, the C.D.N.—N.D.G. borough determined the project could proceed despite opposition by N.D.G. residents, including Irwin Rapoport, who created a petition requesting a referendum to determine whether or not it should be built.

Rapoport and other N.D.G. residents said they hoped to preserve the green space on which the building would be constructed. “The residents are seeking a moratorium on any development of green space on the campus,” Rapoport told The Concordian at the time.

On Sept. 11, borough officials discovered a clause in Bill 122, a new provincial law adopted in June, which states “public property intended for collective use in the education sector is no longer subject to approval by a referendum.” Consequently, the project was able to move forward without the threat of a referendum.

Photo by Alex Hutchins

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News

Hall building escalators should be fully functional by September

Renovations are in the works at the Henry F. Hall building and escaltors are expected to be up and running by September. Photo by Navneet Pall.

Renovations are in the works at the Henry F. Hall building and escaltors are expected to be up and running by September. Photo by Navneet Pall.

The Henry F. Hall building is slated to be renovated and upgraded over the next few years, but the process is complex.
The dysfunctional escalators between the mezzanine and fifth floor are a continual source of frustration for Concordia students. The estimated completion date of the current renovations for the escalators between the lobby and fifth floor is September 2012, according to university spokesperson Chris Mota.
Timothy Lazier, a history and English specialization student, remarked that “how students see the building depends on what floor they are on and if they can actually get to it.”
Lazier said that he’s had classes scattered throughout the Hall building and noticed the difference on the newly redone floors.
“Up to the seventh floor, it’s really ugly but I have a bunch of classes on the renovated floors and they’re nice,” said Lazier. “It feels like you’re in a different building.”
The interior and exterior of the 12-floor, cube-shaped building is gradually deteriorating due to time, weather and general use. In 1998, the university started renovations to improve the overall state of the Hall building, but students like Cleo Donnelly are not impressed with the current structure. “I get that it’s old but there’s nothing overly special about it. They should just tear it
down and build a new one,” she said.
According to Martine Lehoux, the university’s director of facilities planning and development, Concordia will refurbish the untouched floors in the near future, but it can only be done when the floors are not occupied.
This explains why certain floors of the Hall building were revamped in the last decade while others have yet to undergo major repairs.
When they were once occupied by various science departments, the eighth, eleventh and twelfth floors were renovated when the Richard J. Renaud Science Pavillon at the Loyola campus opened in 2003. The western section of 7th floor was upgraded after the department of applied human sciences moved to the Loyola campus in 2005.
The escalators between the sixth and seventh floors have been working since last Thursday, according to Mota.
The university is scheduled to improve the amphitheatre on the ninth floor this summer and during 2013, upgrades are planned for the amphitheatre on the first floor and the western portion of the basement that belongs to the engineering department.
Projects awaiting funding approval include renovations for the fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh floors of the Hall building for 2014 to 2015.

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