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Nation-wide Study on Day Laborers
GUEST: Abel Valenzuela, associate professor of Chicana/o studies and urban planning at UCLA, director of the Center for the Study of Urban Poverty, lead author of the report, “On the Corner: Day Labor in the United States”

The nation’s first survey on day laborers was released this week, showing that nearly a quarterare US citizens, 43% are married or live with a partner, and almost two thirds have children. The report also found that most day laborers are active members of their community in terms of attending church, sports clubs, or community centers. But the study also found a disturbing trend of worker abuse by employers. One in two workers were cheated out of wages in the two month period prior to the survey, 44 percent were denied food, water and breaks; 32 percent worked more hours than initially agreed to with the employer; 28 percent were insulted or threatened by the employer; and 27 percent were abandoned at the worksite by an employer.

Download the report.

Survivors Accounts of the Rwandan Genocide
GUESTS: Eric Kabera, film maker of Keepers of the Memory, and Erik Ehn, Dean of the School of Theater at CalArts, helping to organize the “Arts in the One World” Conference, with Theater without Borders and Co-existence International

“Keepers of Memory: Survivors’ Accounts of the Rwandan Genocide,” is the title of acclaimed filmmaker Eric Kabera’s newest documentary. Through haunting footage and the heartfelt testimonies of those who survived the genocide of 1994, which took over a million lives, the film explores the trauma of those who survived. The documentary also highlights the resiliency of Rwandans through their efforts in preserving memorials that honor the slain victims of the one hundred day long genocide. “Keepers of Memory,” has garnered critical praise from reviewers, one of which stated, “This film takes us places Hotel Rwanda never went near.”

Keepers of Memory will be screening on Thursday January 26th, at the Bijou Theater on the CalArts campus at 7:30 pm.

It will also be screening on Friday January 27th at the UCLA Campus (Room 100, Moore Hall) at 7 pm.

Keepers of Memory is out on DVD, and available via www.choicesvideo.net. The film’s website is www.keepersofmemory.com.

The Good Body
GUEST: Eve Ansler, acclaimed playwright

New York based Eve Ensler made it okay to shout the word “vagina” in a crowded theater. She is best known for her play, “The Vagina Monologues,” which since 1996 has become an international phenomenon, staged around the world by professional and amateur performers in more than 35 languages. Ensler founded V-Day, a nonprofit charity group that has raised more than $25 million to end violence against women. But she is now back on stage, with her newest play, “The Good Body” which is coming to LA. This time, Eve Ensler focuses on the entire female form, exploring her own personal struggles with her body image as well as different perspectives from women around the world. The Good Body is written and performed by Eve Ensler and while its funny, it seriously questions portrayals of women pressured by media and magazines to look extraordinarily unhealthy. The New York Times hailed “The Good Body,” as “forthright funny, bristling with wisecracks and exotically harvested snippets of wisdom.”

There will be a limited 16 performance engagement of “The Good Body” at the Wadsworth Theatre from January 31 to February 12, 2006. Tickets are available at the Wadsworth Theatre Box Office, 11301 Wilshire Blvd., through Ticketmaster – online at www.WadsworthTheatre.com, by phone at Ticketmaster at 213-365-3500, and all Ticketmaster outlets.

For tickets, click here. For more information visit www.thegoodbody.com.

Sonali’s Subversive Thought for the Day:

“We focus on fixing our bodies. We spend $40 billion a year on beauty products. What if we actually took that money, took that time, took that energy and started fixing the world. Women would actually be in power,” – Eve Ensler