Like a bird on the wire,Like a drunk in a midnight choir,
I have tried in my way to be free.
(Leonard Cohen.)
Some call them crow's feet...I call 'em laugh lines. I don't seem to be getting anymore right now. This coming winter will be a long one, I fear.I also anticipate it will be Our season of change(Michael and I). So although I harbour the thought that things might get harder to bear in the coming months, I look forward to the changes we are setting in motion now. This time next year, I want to see more laugh lines. Lots more laugh lines.
Until those laugh lines, I gotta live here so.....
Mayor and Council:
The rampant spread of drug trafficking in this neighbourhood is overwhelming. Once Finlayson was completely given over/ sanctioned to the crackheads/pushers/pimps and prostitutes, it seems they now have free reign over the entire neighbourhood. In less than the six days since Mr. Saroya's last property was finally vacated, both of Paul Saroya's derelict properties on the corner of Victoria and Milton are overrun, just as Finlayson and the alleyways have been since the use of security guards came into being.
I understand that there is no "overnight solution" for our neighbourhood, as we don't have the money to hire our own security guards to move them onto the next neighbourhood, as has happened here. But everyday we seem to lose more and more to these people. We lose our property, our peace of mind, our patience, our compassion, our sleep, and our right to enjoy our own homes.
We are trying to take responsibility for our streets with neighbourhood walks and a strong Neighbourhood Association. What responsibility will you take for this situation?
If there were groups of teenagers 20 or 30 strong congregating and wreaking half of the havoc that these addicts do, there would be by-laws to enforce the peace. I don't have any doubt about that, do you?
If there were something to be done with derelict buildings and criminal landlords then a huge weight would be lifted from the shoulders of this neighbourhood. If there was a way to keep 20 or 30 addicts/pushers/pimps/prostitutes(and all the trash, physical and mental, that they bring with them) from entrenching themselves with impugnity and proceeding to intimidate us, that, also would be a huge weight lifted.
If we busted some Johns in this town, that would go a long way, as well.
Please stop telling us it is a provincial problem, or a policing problem(no town of this size I have ever lived in has had this few officers)or whatever it is you are going to tell us next. The fact is, that although this neighbourhood has had its challenges these past years, it has been policies such as the red zones and the use of private security guards that have plunged this neighbourhood into the nightmare it is experiencing on a twenty-four hour a day basis now.
Once again, I offer my home to any one of you, Mayor, Council, Press, DNP, MLA, to give you a real view of what is being done IN this neighbourhood and TO this neighbourhood. Please come stay overnight for a few days. My home is comfortable, clean and I cook a delicious meal. I make great cookies and strong coffee.
Sincerely,
Dilling
*sent today to press in Nanaimo, Victoria and Vancouver(paper and video), Mayor and Council, MLAs, Downtown Nanaimo Partnership and various other folks. Can you think of anyone else this needs to go to?
18 comments:
I noticed you stopped by my Art Blog and commented. Thanks.
Your pictures are wonderful on your blog. Your blog is thoughtful and insightful into much.
You are amazing.
I'm so proud of you for standing up and making yourself heard...but I feel your weariness.
(I wish drugs didn't exist and couldn't wreck lives.)
I've been following your 'blahg' for a while and agree with your stance, except for one thing. I think you are *way* too gentle on the RCMP. In my experiences as a resident of many places accross Canada. BC for the last 17 yrs, living everywhere from Vancouver to the Interior, to the North, to the Island, (yes, I get more Christmas cards from moving companies than my family) I really believe there is a pattern to these problems. It's called The RCMP.
The RCMP is NOT interested in dealing with street crime. It is below them. They think it is out of their hands. Certainly you see the symbolic beat patrol, but provincial and municipal police forces, in other locals, are more likely to introduce the junkie a 6'6" gorrilla interested in kicking some ass, rather than the typical RCMP 5'2"semi-literate female cadet from QC. I'd just rather see someone who grew up in the neighbourhood, takes no shit and knows who the bad guys are. In the RCMP's eyes it's only "us against them." Even us, the non junkies become "them." How sad.
When I lived in Victoria, for example, a junkie panhandling in from of Tim's in the AM is usually met with a Victoria cop, putting rubber gloves on to do a search and a bit of a bump. Do we ever see this in Nanaimo? Ever? I haven't.
Du' ya' think this might have something to do with the disproportionate amount of criminals here? It's time to stop blaming the weather, it was 9*C , clear and sunny in Edmonton today.
(I lived there too and never got harrassed on the street for money, etc) EPS has had some bad press too, but belive me, they respond to calls and act like cops.
In my opinion, the most cost effective and promising way to clean up Nanaimo is to opt out of the RCMP and set up a municipal police force supported by a provincial police force.
The RCMP belongs on Parliament Hill, maybe a federal investigative force also or running The Musical Ride. But as for local policing? The RCMP are even now starting to demonstrate incompetence at what they traditionally excelled in; covering up their executions of innocent citizens.
Isn't it The Budda who said there are three things you can't hide? The Sun, The Moon, The TRUTH!
(Note: Before anyone flames me, I DO NOT direct any of this critisism to individual RCMP officers. I know they are decent and honest people by the vast majority. I just think they work for a flawed institution in need of a major overhaul.)
Chilled, I, too, believe in local police who grew up here, who feel compelled do do right by their own community. Beat cops with an investment in a neighbourhood are a godsend. I grew up with that and at age 39, I am still in contact with some of them...and some of them are still working the same beat after becoming so invested. But also, the RCMP have been VERY good to me here, keeping in contact by phone and otherwise, resonding in a timely manner...but Nanaimo has SO FEW police compared to other communities this size. And the judges just let everyone go, too. Also, we have SO EFFING MANY ammenities to support street people/addicts/pushers/pimps/etc. Nanaimo publishes a 20+ page pamphlet on how to get everything you need to live on the street. No Joke. I have a copy right here in front of me. Sweet, isn't it? But the security guards hired by the Downtown Nanaimo Partnership and sanctioned by city council are what is ripping this community apart right now.
"...but Nanaimo has SO FEW police compared to other communities this size."
Yet the policing budget is comparable to other communities this size. I'm not sure if you are agreeing with or refuting my comments about the RCMP.
I'm not sure the cop in the car has anything to do with the budget....
oh dilling (I always want to call you dill, which would reduce you to a pickling herb, so I restrain myself)it just gets worse and worse. I'm working on a letter, hopefully I will finish it tomorrow when I'm home with a sick girl.
I love the self portraits you've been doing!
There's something about what has happened and is continuing to happen in your neighbourhood that stinks and when the whole story gets out, there's going to be more than one politician out of office with egg on his or her face. There is absolutely NO excuse for what goes on along that section of Victoria Street and it should be a real embarrassment to the town of Nanaimo. You are one brave lady and I hope your letter makes someone stand up, take notice and have the balls to do something about it.
"Nanaimo publishes a 20+ page pamphlet on how to get everything you need to live on the street."
This is disgusting.
I sure hope you get a positive response to this letter. You and your neighbors both deserve it.
Oh wow, I am so very impressed with your letter! God I hope it does some good. It gets so old, doesn't it? Politics, crime, idiots...don't get me started.
And yes, it IS a small world...
Bravo, Dilling. Bravo.
First of all, you are doing a great job of getting involved. Why don't you run for office of some kind so you can have a direct input?
Secondly, I watched an installment of Little House On The Prerry were Mrs. Olson, the cranky wife of the general store owner, was trying to get a job in a saloon - to help out after moving to a new town.
The lady owner of the bar said she had too many crows’ feet around her eyes, and Mrs. Olson was mortified. She said they were not crow’s feet, they were laugh lines.
The old matron said, "Honey, ain't nothing that funny."
Besides, you have very nice eyes. It’s just a shame they have to see all they see around your home.
well done dilling, it must be soul destroying, have you ever tried contacting the TV, do a video tape and send that in?
and yes they are laughter lines and i hope you get lots more, in a nice way as we need laughter to be able to cope with the shit life throws our way
You have a lot of courage Dilling and I admire you for confronting the problem. I hope it gets published!
Great letter. That's gotta get some attention.
What about "Goldhawk" or "Olsen on Your Side". Both are, or were (I am not sure if they still are around)good advocates in the media.
The important thing is to get this in media spotlight outside of Nanaimo. Here it will just be brushed aside because it puts city official in a bad light and brings up more controversy about their boon-doggled conference center.
I will agree completely that the RCMP is a very flawed system. With the few police that we have and the huge problems that go on here, there should be no officer playing dress-up while handing out tickets. How about dressing up as a junkie/hooker/john/etc. Time better spent for sure.
I lost a lot of respect for the policing system during the last year. Every time I would call to complain about the activity regarding a drug house in my neighbourhood you could count on a patrol car cruising by about 1 - 2 hours after. In fact, one day I called in to dispatch and while I was on the phone I witnessed a serious beating in the driveway of that house. I told dispatch to up this to an emergency and two hours later a cop car finally came by. An hour after that the officer called me to say that he had been by, but didn't see the people of vehicle I had described. Go figure!
I'm sorry things aren't getting better.
You can come stay here or you can borrow my dad. He's big and tough and doesn't take shit from anyone.
I hope the letter gets some attention. This may sound silly but what about organising some marches through your neighbourhood? Just trying to think of anything that would grab more media attention. It might even scare the John's away.
Increase in rent after moving from Nanaimo to North Vancouver: $425/month
Cost of moving truck rental: $500
Cost of ferries to visit friends in Nanaimo: $120 round trip
Living in a place where I don't worry about crackheads: PRICELESS
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