Thursday, December 08, 2005

Updates on Jamming VAW Night

Okay! Some pretty cool berita. First of all, Joe Kid found the map to The Lost Generation Space, http://www.geocities.com/lostgenspace/

Jangan sesat! Senang nak cari actually, and the best mamak in the world is actually pretty close by.

And we managed to get some awesome people to confirm their support by giving us some of their time, music and words, and they include:

360degree head rotation, Mei Chern, Hassan Peter Brown, Bernice Chauly, Rafidah Abdullah, Azmyl, Sei Hon, Sumbang, Jerome Kugan, Zapa.. and maybe some surprise drop in during the jamming sesi lewat malam.

Don't forget we are also going to be doing some art stuff, so if you wanna get your hands dirty, jangan pakai cantik-cantik ;-)

click to go to external page where this map boleh membesar sikit

Wednesday, December 07, 2005

Jamming Violence Against Women

9 & 10 December, 2005

Come and make the end of this year's 16 Days of Activism Against Violence Against Women a little more sparkly, a little more edgy, a little more swanky, and a little more crazy with your presence. KataGender + Food Not Bombs has two evenings lined up for you to play with:


Jamming Violence Against Women - films, music, words, paint and people



When?
Friday, 9th December 2005, 8:00pm till late (but not so late until we cannot wake up for the HR Walk the next morning ;-))
Where? The Lost Generation Space (notthatbalai), 11, Lorong Permai, Off Jalan Syed Putra, Robson Heights, KL
What? Mural Stencilling; Readings of original and not-so-original-but-still-make-the-heart-go-wahlau works; Sounds by local music-makers/players/people-with-guts-talent-and-a-guitar/dijeridoo
/voicebox; Films about how to turn the world upside-down-inside-out; Story Telling; Random Things that you can think of or want to do.
Why? 'Cause violence against women is a really stupid thing to live with?
Who? Hmm.. anyone who feels that spending one friday evening to provoke and ridicule the reality of violence against women with creative expressions is time well spent! Hope that includes you ;-)

Human Rights Night - Food Not Bombs + KataGender

When? Saturday, 10th December, 8:00pm till late. International Human Rights Day
Where? Same as above. The Lost Generation Space (notthatbalai), 11, Lorong Permai, Off Jalan Syed Putra, Robson Heights, KL
What? Art Exhibition, Poetry, Music, Peformance Art, Bazaar, Chill, Love, Peace etc... (all good things)
Why? 'Cause if we haven't got rights and freedoms, then what are we left with?
Who? You, me, your neighbour's kid who got spammed with this mail, her friends, their Friendster list, their ex-discipline teacher's list of Bad Rambutans, people who think and give a sen (maybe, who knows, maybe) etc etc etc

Bring your own makanan dan minuman because unfortunately, KataGender & Food Not Bombs do not have links to generous Mak Datuks and Tuk Datins who are able to fund our activities :)

Please help us pass this along! Hope to see you this weekend!

For more information:
katagender.blogspot.com | kata.gender@gmail.com

------

Mari menjenguk dan mengakhiri Aktivisma 16 Hari Menentang Keganasan Terhadap Wanita tahun ini bersama kami. Penglibatan kamu akan memastikan Pesta Dua Malam ini menjadi lebih gempak, lebih meriah, lebih kagum, lebih cacamerba. KataGender + Food Not Bombs mempersembahkan:

‘Jamming’ Keganasan Terhadap Wanita – filem, muzik, kata, warna, manusia

Bila? Jumaat, 9 Disember 2005, 8:00pm sehingga lewat (tapi taklar lewat sampai tak terbangun tidur utk Perjalanan Hak Asasi Manusia pagi esok :-))
Mana? The Lost Generation Space (notthatbalai), 11, Lorong Permai, Off Jalan Syed Putra, Robson Heights, KL
Apa? Stensil Mural; Bacaan2 karyaan asli, asal dan juga ciplak-namun-berdaya-mendengupkan hati; Bunyi2an dpd penghasil/pemain-muzik/mereka-yg-berani-berbakat-bergitar-bermacam2; Filem tentang bagaimana utk menunggang-terbalikkan dunia, Cerita-lah; Aktiviti2 Lain yg anda akan terfikir secara rambang…
Kenapa? Kerana kehidupan yang penuh dengan keganasan terhadap wanita sungguh tidak masuk akal?
Siapa? Hmm… siapa-siapa yg berpendapat bhw satu malam Jumaat yg digunakan untuk mencemuhkan ke-nyataan keganasan terhadap perempuan adalah masa yang digunakan dgn baik! Diharapkan ini termasuk anda ;-)

Malam Hak Asasi Manusia - Food Not Bombs + KataGender


Bila? Sabtu, 10 Disember, 8:00pm sehingga lewat. Hari Hak Asasi Manusia Sedunia
Mana? Sama seperti diatas. The Lost Generation Space (notthatbalai), 11, Lorong Permai, Off Jalan Syed Putra, Robson Heights, KL
What? Pameran Kesenian, Puisi, Sajak, Muzik, ‘Peformance Art’, Bazaar, Chill, Love, Peace etc... (err.. aku tak erti macam-mana nak menterjemahkan ini tanpa menggelikan hati!)
Why? Keranamu Malaysia (acahje…) *ahem* Kerana kalau tiada hak dan kebebasan, apakah lagi yang tertinggal untuk kita?
Who? Kamu, aku, anda, dia, mereka, saya, anak jiran yang kena ‘spam’ oleh email ini, kawan-kawan dia, teman-teman mereka di laman Friendster, sesiapa yang berfikir dan memberi satu sen (mungkin, entahlah) etc etc etc

Bawalah food and drinks sendiri, sebab sayangnya, KataGender & Food Not Bombs tiada perhubungan dengan Mak2 Datuk and Tok2 Datin yang murah hati dan menyokong aktiviti-aktiviti kami melalui derma bakti :-)

Kalau boleh, tolong kami passkan mesej ini ke rakan2 riang-ria anda yang lain! Semoga kami akan bertembung muka pada akhir minggu ini (wah.. formal & aksyen)!

Utk keterangan yg berlebih-lebihan atau saja nak berchatting2:
katagender.blogspot.com | kata.gender@gmail.com

Troubagangers 16 Days Activism Special

In collaboration (but to be honest, more like with the support of lah...) Troubadours & Doppelgangers, Troubagangers 16 Days Activism Special managed to not only have a good time with good music, draw a HUGE crows, but also raise some funds for WAO's Refuge. With half of the proceeds going to the Refuge, almost RM500 were raised for groceries and other basic necessities.

More details of the event can be found on the TroubadoursKL blogsite

We handed out some leaflets and gave a small little smurf-sized ceramah on our aktivisma and the isu, and then sat back, and enjoyed the muzik!

More foto-foto:

Lisa Zahran.. she rocks! Cunnye voice control...


Sarah Lo & Kohl. Best best best giler!


Some members of Akustic 39 membaca-ing our KataGender 'propaganda' to the audience =D



"16 Days is..." "Hope there are no SBs here..."
Jac, temporary rep of KataGender for the night, giving out more off-the-cuff 'propaganda'.



Of the crowd, picture dicuri dari blogspot Troubagangers KL



And the irony is...



As our beloved P Ramlee would say, "Cobaan..."

Mural Painting

3 December

In support of Women's Aid Organisation, Sisters In Islam, Amnesty International Malaysia and Malaysian AIDS Council, KataGender got together to paint a mural on the NGO's theme for 16 Days this year:

Get the Power, Get the Knowledge, Keep the Promise

Playing around with retro-style, we attempted to symbolise the various elements needed to form a movement around women's rights - hence the waves.

But I think maybe it ended up looking a bit like a signboard for Mimaland, as cheekily observed by one of our members. Takpelah.. asalkan jadi! Anyway, kami akan continue pada 9 December, kali ini menggunakan cara stencilling. So jom join!

Now gambar-time:


angkut barang bukan senang!



boing boing! set up time...



mari mengecat!



penuh dengan concentra-si nampaknye.



apa ni? symbol black metal?? bukanlah.. simbol perempuan ;-p


jangan main-main dengan masking tape.


clean up crew! cuba teka, siapa pegang kamera? berminyaknye muka..


err... hilang inspirasi untuk describe adegan pelik dan boria ini..

To be continued pada 9 Disember, The Lost Generation Space!

Tamparan Hebat


2 Disember 2005

Sekali lagi, kami mengambil aktivisma 16 hari ke kaki-kaki lima dimana orang ramai berkerumun dan berjalan-jalan.

Kali ini, dua ahli KataGender beraksi melalui performance art yang dinamakan sebagai Tamparan Hebat.

Apa??
Mereka berdiri menemui each other, dan memberi tamparan diantara satu sama yang lain. Pada masa yang sama, ahli-ahli lain berkapur dikeliling mereka dan mengemukakan persoalan-persoalan:


"Membisu?"
"Apa yang sedang berlaku?"
"Sampai bilakah ia akan berhenti?"
"Indifferent?"
"Bizzarre? Reality!"
"Why can't we talk about violence?"
"Stop violence against women"

dan sebagainya.

Aksi ini mempunyai dua objektif:

1. Menonjolkan betapa peliknya fenomena keganasan terhadap wanita, dan apabila dibawa ke ruang awam instead of private spaces in the home, how ridiculous it is.
2. At the same time, how real it is. Tamparan itu bukan sekadar bermain-main sahaja, tetapi adalah perlakuan yang berdaya melukakan dan menyakitkan.

Apakah reaksi kamu sebagai seorang spectator?

Hentikannya? Berdiri dan tersenyum-senyum kambing? Jalan dan lalu sahaja kerana menganggap bahawa ini bukan masalah anda?


Support from a member of the public

Kami mendapat bermacam-macam response. Some were curious, stood around and whispered amongst themselves. Ada yang mengambil gambar. Ada yang lalu sahaja dan membaca sms tanpa menoleh ke kanan dan ke kiri, atas atau bawah. Some came up to us and engaged us in conversation to ask us what the whole action was about. Some were showing their support by joining us in the chalking, initiating more conversations with the crowds that were forming around us.

Tapi... kami diusir. Sekali lagi.

Apabila kami beredar dan membuat aksi ini ditempat yang lain, inilah kisah enam aktivis yang ditahan oleh polis kerana berani menonjolkan kuasa kapur untuk menghentikan keganasan terhadap wanita.

Pelikkan dunia ini?



We set out to highlight the reality and ridiculous nature of violence against women. What happened to us in the end, highlighted to us the reality and ridiculous nature of State and Corporation's violence against our right to exercise our freedom of expression.

Check updates on Meor who was arrested on the same day, 2 December 2005, for daring to sing in public.

Monday, December 05, 2005

Kuasa Kapur

[a thought from the 2 December incident]

Strangest thing happened...

Who would have thought
that chalk
would awaken such fury -
3 cameras began clicking,
moustaches fumed authority,
and men with the same tailor
who talked with a swagger
came marching in to call for Order;
"Order!"

"Do you know whose property this is?"
"Ko tau tak tempat siapa ni?"

The arrogant curl from
a clean lipped Mister
He lectures, like to a child
It's evident, isn't it?

"Kalau berani buat, kenalah macam ni..."

Our identities were ripped from us from
little thieves hiding behind a layer cake of obscurity;
"It's gone to the very top", he says,
and patiently tries to engage my empathy.
"They'll lose their jobs if I don't report you to the police."

For a moment, I imagined them as human
with mouths to feed, addictions to sustain,
and frustrations with giggly youths who dared
to carve their presence through a Word on Wood
in a Park for Tourists.

It didn't last, this moment.
It didn't go away either.

So we asserted our Peace,
asserted our assertions,
asserted and asserted
our tired exasperation.

We could either wait,
Or we could each have our private moustache
implanted on our bodies.
So we waited (I despise facial hair).

and we waited,
and we waited,

As the Evidence of The Deed faded
with the careless scuffle of mall creatures
checking their SMSes,
from the squatting scrutiny of stares
in curious walker by-ers
checking our wanton messages -

"I don't want to live in a world where the stupidity of violence against women exists."

Finally two turned up
Plain as clothes can be,
one good, one bad,
makes a couple of bored beauracrats.

"Apa ni? Tulis apa ni?"
"Niat kamu baik, tapi tempatnya salah"

Same old, same old.
We pay to have this retold
a million times over,
"Capitalism rules over Chalk you see,
and freedoms needs some ink
over the dotted line. Humour me.
You see?"

I see.

The sign of disruption
to genitalia-ic prescription
is misread
as Bad Music instead.
They scrabble in packs,
Sniffling rats,
Looking for the prawn behind our pastels.
Even SBs find it hard to imagine
a woman raped every 10 seconds
a matter of Public Politics.

So into metal blue cans we went
Sardine VIPs
Flashing lights and whizzing by the circus.

"Nak gari ke tidak?"
Cocainne junkie, stuttering his repetitive
God-making questions
"Nak gari ke tidak?"

Escourts to the toilets,
More hours in a room,
Sharing silences and ashtrays with
the boy scouts.

"Adakah saya ditahan?"
"Dibawah seksyen apa saya ditahan?"
"Adakah saya ditahan?"
"Adakah saya ditahan?"

His habits are infectious, and I think
perhaps it is the stale air that
imbues the black of bones
with surrendering despair,
and burden my tongue
with foamy replication.
I can get no answers here.

The surge of witnesses enlarged,
and our spirits hardened for a second -
unwavering -
Their presence stilled the wind from choking.
"No worries. If any ketuk ketampi happens,
call me."
Even Mawi had to stifle a laugh.
The show must go on.

Twin SBs, with "Nothing to hide.
This is not my business,"
Came around for a friendly chat -
"What really happened?"
Still searching for the prawns,

I see.

Barbed wires over fence, two rifles
and some iron hands, a prayer book
to cleanse from trickery;
Playing with time,
miming with rhymes,
112, 113,
It's an elegant dance of
slipping tongues.

I'm getting tired.

Who did we piss off?
In trying to reclaim some space
just for a moment, maybe an hour,
maybe till the next monsoon shower,
Must all sidewalks be athritic veins of shoppers?
Was it the taking of words and
splashing it in colours
as gifts, without an advertiser?
Or perhaps we snubbed the uniforms,
finding them childish games
by playground bullies,
where even rifles failed to crack
our plastered, friendly smiles?
Could it be the communal cynicism
that contaminated to catatonic complacency,
and crystalised possibilies
to imagine catalystic contingencies?

Who would have thought that chalk
Would awaken such energy.