Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside (DTES) neighbourhood is not known as one of the city’s most beautiful. Notoriously referred to as Canada’s poorest postal code, the DTES has high rates of poverty, drug use, and sex work. Next to glossy Gastown, it can seem dark and ominous, viewed by many as offering little else than prowling police and a strong homeless presence.
But the community of the DTES thrives in a way that few others in the city do. Vancouver is referred to by residents and visitors alike as “No Fun City,” touting strict liquor laws, few community events, and dispersed neighborhoods. The Olympic Tent Village, located at 58 W. Hastings, embodies a liveliness, spirit and sense of compassion that demonstrates the neighbourhood’s resilience, dedication and innovation.
The DTES has long been a hub of diversity, innovation and social justice work. It is home to the world-famous Safe Injection Site, site of the Carnegie Centre which hosts a myriad of public programmes, and boasts an impressive network of First Nations’-lead organizations. In many ways, the Village embodies the work of a plethora of DTES and Vancouver-based organizations, many of whom have endorsed the action.
On Tuesday evening, the second day of the Village, hundreds of campers and allies filled the empty lot, eating free meals served by Food Not Bombs, swapping stories, and singing songs. I joined the action that night, camping in a sea of tents that housed UBC students, homeless persons, First Nations elders, and others. Camp leaders swapped shifts so that a handful of people would be awake throughout the night, keeping an eye out for police and chatting with passersby. Legal Observers from the British Columbia Civil Liberties Association also monitored the Village from all sides.
The neighbourhood has been a point of contention for this Olympic city since Vancouver won the bid for the Games in 2003. At that time, city officials pledged to offer increased social housing and services in the area, but has since been lambasted by critics as spending little on the DTES and funneling funds to Olympic venues and transportation that do not benefit low-income people. Critics have also pointed to police targeting the homeless in the weeks leading up to the Games.
The Village appears to be just another thorn in the City of Vancouver’s side. The W. Hastings site sits on land owned by Concord Pacific but leased as a parking lot for use by the Vancouver Organizing Committee, or VANOC. Village organizers are confident no police action will take place against women, homeless, and older persons when the world’s eyes are watching the city.
So far, they seem to be right. Events continue at the Village unimpeded, with only a few police altercations and no reported arrests. Yesterday Mayor Gregor Robertson said that no action would be taken at this time, adding that the campers are “justified in their protest.”
Yet while the threat overt eviction actions seem minimal, Village organizers claim that the police have found other means to impede the work, stating that two undercover officers were discovered on the grounds on Tuesday. They also claim that some mainstream media outlets have been discouraged to cover the action.
Organizers and attendants are doing their best to keep the Village a safe, welcoming space, free from any altercations that may incite police action or negative media, and damper the feeling of community currently brimming within the tents. A list of guidelines hangs on the fence at the entrance to the village, noting that alcohol and drug use, as well as dealing, is not permitted; that decision making from DTES residents and homeless people will be given priority; and that First Nations Elders will facilitate conflict resolution, among others. Village meetings also take place daily, led by the Elders.
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