When Tears Are Poisonous

Early this year, I took part in a project by artist Mona M. in which she explores the use of tear gas by riot-control police to disperse protesters even if the use of tear gas is prohibited in war. For her project, other participants and I read for the camera the Articles of the Chemical Weapon Convention about riot-control agents in different languages while onions were being chopped within a short distance from us.

Tear gas does not only produce sensory irritation to unarmed protesters, but it can also cause serious and prolonged health effects to anyone exposed to it. The 1925 Geneva Protocol prohibits the use in war of asphyxiating, poisonous or “other gases”, including lachrymatory gases.

Riot control agents are not allowed as a method of warfare according to the 1993 Chemical Weapon Convention. However, riot-control police all over the world consider this toxic weapon harmless and use it for domestic law enforcement purposes.

When I heard about this project, I was interested in taking part in it because as a child I was exposed to tear gas many times. I grew up in Panama, and in the 70's and 80's the country was controlled by the military dictatorship of Manuel Antonio Noriega and the PRD.

Whenever there were protests against the dictator on the streets, the riot-control officers would disperse protesters using tear gas. As a child, I wasn't involved in those protests but some of them took place right outside my school. The toxic clouds would be blown by the wind directly into the classrooms and we had to rush to close the windows and cover our faces with any piece of cloth that we could find.

No one should have this memory from their childhood, and no child should have to learn that in order to protect themselves from tear gas they must soak a piece of cloth in vinegar and wrap it around their faces. These were instructions that I received as a child from my parents and from my teachers. Go back and read this paragraph again and let that sink in.

In the video performance, we read the Articles of the Chemical Weapon Convention about riot-control agents in English, Spanish, Arabic, Chinese, French and Turkish. The onions irritate our eyes and throat, making it impossible for us to read.

Mona M. portrays her work through different languages with an interdisciplinary approach. Her artistic research involves issues like identity and memory. The situations she studies through her research combine her personal memory with ideas rooted in global socio-political values.

You can see the full video on this link. To learn more about the Chemical Weapon Convention, visit the OPCW.

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Meet An Arab Woman

As a species, human beings are inherently creative. Creativity is what we use to solve our everyday problems or to do things in a different way using our imagination. But, having this ability to create and actually creating something are two completely different things. That's why we are so impressed when we see people who create something which we consider beautiful. It makes us say "wow, they are so creative!" From the person who doodles on their notebooks, to the one who cooks imaginative dishes at home, to the aspiring Picasso's and the Beethoven's of the world, we are surrounded by creators.

However, for a creator to be considered what we call in the industry a "Creative", they require way more than just creativity. They require a constant awareness of everything that happens inside or around them. They require an unquenchable thirst to interpret life and present their view of the world to the rest of humanity. They must feel the need to create something every second of their lives without even questioning themselves why. That, for me, is a Creative. And I can count myself lucky for being surrounded by such talented ones.

One of those creatives is Sandy Abdelrahman. Sandy was born in Egypt and grew up in East London, where she is an activist and creative social entrepreneur. She is also the founder of Skaped, an organisation that uses art as an engagement tool to educate and raise awareness of human rights issues. She has a track record that includes representing the United Kingdom at the United Nations Youth Summit 2017 in New York and working with Amnesty International.

Sandy is currently studying for her Master's Degree in Art & Politics, for which she has devised an interesting project on the perception that the non-Arab world has of who an Arab woman is. 'Meet an Arab woman', is a project that invites us to have an open-minded conversation on the burning debate about being a woman and being Arab. The project is intended to answer all the questions that the rest of us have about culture, political correctness and stereotypes on gender in the Arab world.

Through online conversations via video call, Sandy wants to answer our questions on gender inequality, discrimination, and racism while at the same time challenging many of the prevailing perspectives. If you want to find out more about inspiring Arab women, or simply learn who makes the greatest falafel, sign up to her project and solve all the doubts that you may have about what being an Arab woman means.

Do you like what you just read? Consider becoming a patron on patreon.com/jccandanedo where you can learn more about my creative process and the stories behind my images. I’d love to have you as part of my Patreon community.

You can also subscribe to my weekly blog posts here!