It appears Ashley died of a drug overdose. Another occupier said the incident is reflective of Vancouver's drug addiction crisis, not Occupy Vancouver, a protest against the very economic and political system that creates the conditions for drug addictions. "This is a better, safer shelter than any other shelter in the city. That's why people are here -- shelter, education, free food. Nothing that happened here is a product of this movement." - said Occupy participant Blaine Komatic.
Their have been 120 deaths from drug overdose in downtown Vancouver during the past year. Not once did either Gregor Robertson or Sunan Anton call for the closing of the downtown slums because of 'safety'. This poor girl's death is being used as a red herring to divert attention, as all red herrings are supposed to do, away from the issues of homelessness, hopelessness, poverty, inequality and despair.
Occupy Vancouver is undoubtedly the safest place to survive as a street person in Vancouver. If there were no election run going on Gregor Robertson would be going all 'liberal' on this issue. If the Olympics had actually delivered on it's pre-spectacle hype there would have been far more facilities available for Ashley. Instead she and others have voted with their feet for the imperfect community growing in the 'occupied' bits of ground here and around the world.
What happened today does not merely affect Occupy, it affects all of Vancouver, Canada, and our world - touching us all. This event reinforces our very reasons for being onsite today and calls for collective grieving and solidarity. This is a time for love and healing. We need to stand together as a community in this moment. - Occupy Vancouver
Tragic death rocks Occupy Vancouver site - A woman at the Occupy Vancouver camp died Saturday after being found in an "unresponsive" condition, police said. A Canadian protest organizer said it appeared to be the result of a drug overdose.
