Vancouver, B.C.
“…rich memories of ‘home’, ‘migration’, and ‘survival…”
“With complicated, entwined, and rich memories of ‘home’, ‘migration’, and ‘survival’ with uncertainty and limited means, and adding the notions of karton (in English, carton; also famous for Balikbayan Boxes) symbolizing the world economy, the supply chain, and the systemic racism in the global labour practices,” artist Mildred Grace German describes her installation.
By Mildred German
In March 2021, the 20,000 TEU (twenty-foot equivalent unit) container ship, Ever Given, blocked the Suez Canal. The gigantic ship was caught in a sandstorm and its operators lost control of the ship causing it to be wedged and stucked across the canal banks and waterways.
A 120-mile artificial waterway, the Suez Canal is one of the busiest waterways in the world. Located in Egypt, the Suez Canal also has been a hotbed for geopolitical conflict since it opened in 1869. Yet, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East rely heavily on this Canal to fasten transportation of goods, that its obstruction in 2021 reportedly caused severe negative impacts on international trade, with an estimated $10 billion loss per day.
The Suez Canal crisis of 2021 ended after Ever Given, along with 422 vessels, were freed. This crisis not only highlighted the difficulties of hauling larger ships, but also how many nations are dependent on many non-local supplies, and that the delaying of shipped and imported goods could mean the death of many industries globally.
IN SEARCH OF HOPE
As the shipping industry is responsible for the movement of 90% of our goods and of our industries, the essential and vital role of seafarers is often overlooked. Skilled seafarers are highly sought, yet industries and governments worldwide neglect to protect their rights.
I remember the 2021 news on the funeral services held in Halifax, N.S. for Jake Marinduque, the 30-year old Filipino seaman who reportedly died of head, chest and spine injuries during a storm aboard the M/V Guilia on a stormy January 30, 2021. His widow, family members, and the Filipino community asked why the ship was not re-routed despite the turbulent weather and why the crewmen kept working despite bad weather conditions.
In 2021 as well, an online petition was started by the Filipino-Canadian group, the Victoria Filipino-Canadian Association (VFCA), to reach out for support and to demand justice for stranded and enslaved Filipino seafarers by Goundar Shipping in Fiji. The petition stated that Mr. George Goundar (the managing director of Goundar Shipping Limited in Fiji) was a former BC Ferries employee, and that his ‘eponymous’ shipping company has had several high profile business dealings in BC, including the sale of the Queen of Prince Rupert, Queen of Chilliwak, and most recently the Queen of Nanaimo.
Facing heavy storms, rough seas, high waters, and grinding isolation from being far away from families and communities is an ordinary occurrence and an expected experience of any seafarer as part of their job. However, violations of the Filipino seafarers’ rights, including financial scams and human trafficking, are unacceptable, but also rampant.
10 million Filipinos overseas
There are over 10 million overseas Filipino workers who are far away from their families and motherland, including seafarers. In fact, Filipinos dominate the seafaring industry and are hailed as top sailors and seafarers worldwide.
Despite contributions to the global economy and the near-death working conditions, as seafarers work out there in open waters of the far, dark, and wide oceans, bringing and transporting commodities from shore to shore, the many stories of the undignified job conditions of Filipino seafarers also pile up.
The Philippines is a major source of migrant labour for over 275 countries. Poverty, lack of access to medical care, violence against women and children, and corruption remain rampant in the country. Its economic, cultural, and political instability brought by 500+ years of colonization and wars by nearly 10 empire and imperial countries have also resulted in the natives of the archipelago the loss of their lands and livelihoods. Thus the forced migration of many Filipinos to work abroad fills job shortages internationally, including Canada’s need for high skilled workers.
KARITON: PHILIPPINE-STYLE WOODEN CART
I was once again reminded of the importance of ‘kariton’, the Philippine-style wooden cart when I visited the Philippines in 2019. Many have used kariton for business or trading purposes as these wooden carts can be transformed to stalls for food, fruit, and goods vending. In other ventures, there are people who use the kariton for fetching
water, transporting farm animals, and for delivery services.
To think of it, wooden carts are environmentally-friendly. They do not require use of gasoline; they run by push or pull motion. Thus, they remain one of the most popular and most used means of transportation of goods, produce, water, grocery items, and many more other heavy items. The vitality of these wheeled innovations help millions worldwide.
In addition to being a means of transportation, kariton also has become a place of home. Given the circumstances, many dwellers use karitons as tiny shelters, and a place to sleep. Due to this use, the kariton has become a symbol of poverty, as the privileged can afford well-built homes, comfortable beds, and motor vehicles.
KARTON / CARTON / BALIKBAYAN BOXES
Karton (carton) is one of the cheapest building materials to find. The cardboard boxes, which have made their journey from places to places, are usually trashed and disposed of in recycling bins. They are often considered garbage after usage.
Cardboard boxes are also popular as a shipping material. In this modern time, deliveries often come in boxes. Either from an online store, produce store, or the pizza parlor, boxes protect food and commodities. Cardboards are light in weight and have a paper surface where sticker labels easily stick.
The popular ‘Balikbayan Box’ is one that is also known worldwide. As Filipinos work all over the world, they send balikbayan boxes to their families, loved ones, and communities in need in the Philippines. The balikbayan box has become a symbol of love and care of overseas Filipino workers who are far away from their families as they work abroad. These boxes are often filled with canned goods and non-perishable items as these well-packed boxes travel via freight container ships for many months before reaching the Philippine ports. Then after, these boxes have to be sorted out for door to door deliveries in the Philippine archipelago, which comprises about 7,641 islands.
Cardboards are also used as temporary shelter- like the wooden kariton. Many dwellers use the cardboard material as a mat to sleep on, and at times as blankets too. Cardboards are perfect for making shade and privacy walls. However when it rains, these cardboards get soaked and wet, and the paper material easily breaks down.
CARTOON!
The comedy and irony of it all! The irony of colonization, forced migration, landlessness, poverty, disparity, disunity, and more…will there ever be a just and lasting peace?
From August 3-13, 2022, the VINES Art Festival held ten various art events in many parks and green spaces in the city. Marking its 8th year, its theme: “The Healing Power Of The Arts At Its Very Heart” gathered 100+ artists and community advocates and thousands of spectators at this year’s VINES Art Festival.
The Opening Ceremonies were held on August 3rd at Stanley Park / Second Beach. Events were also held at Oppenheimer Park (August 4), Sunset Beach (August 5), Creekside Park (August 6), Hadden Park (August 9), Grandview Park (August 11), New Brighton Park (August 12), to the Prison Justice Day (August 10) and grand finale at Trout Lake (August 13).
According to vinesartfestival.com, VINES is “a community / professional arts organization and festival that is responsive to and nurturing of artists who are working toward land, water, and relational justice.”
Weeks before the Festival, a film screening of Lake of Dreams was held on July 17, 2022 at the Djavad Mowafaghian Cinema at the Simon Fraser University (SFU) Goldcorp Centre for the Arts in Vancouver. Lake of Dreams is a series of eight residential schools survivors’ and elders’ stories curated by Nlaka’pamux Elder Mechelle Pierre. There were art installations too which were displayed at Grandview Park.
Mildred Grace German is a Vancouver-based Filipino-Canadian multidisciplinary artist, writer, as well as a chef, residing on the unceded homelands of the xwməθkwəy̓ əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), and səl̓ ilwətaɁɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations of the Coast Salish Territory. In order to learn and understand the space that she is situated in, German practices with a variant in forms of creations.
In collaboration with Carlos, an avid carpenter and craftsman, and Richmond-based artist-group MIRAGER, a kariton (Philippine-style of wooden cart) was conceptualized, designed and built. It was hand-painted with themes of Land, Water, and Air – the different routes of migration.
German’s “In Search of Hope: Kariton, Karton, Cartoon!” was exhibited on August 12, 2022 along the ports of Vancouver at the New Brighton Park, and at the VINES Art Festival’s grand finale on August 13, 2022 at Trout Lake Park in Vancouver.