Olympic Tent Village: Behind the Scenes of the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics

http://worldlifilm.com | Walking around the 2010 Winter Olympics, it is hard to miss the frenzy of consumption surrounding the entire event. Hour-long lines to spend hundreds of dollars on official Olympic gear, drunk people everywhere, trash and Starbucks cups piling up along the streets. People are in Vancouver from all over the world, and are spending a lot of money.

You can imagine my shock when I discovered the Olympic Tent Village on the Eastside of Vancouver, at Abbot and Hastings St. Here, the people had a different take on the Olympics. After spending 8 billion dollars on Olympics infrastructure, there was no net increase in low-income housing - as promised in the Olympics bid. Homelessness has actually TRIPLED since the Olympics bid. Condos are spreading like wildfire, and the homeless are being displaced without anywhere else to go. Rather than providing solutions, the government in British Columbia seem to be ignoring and exacerbating the problem.

And with the Olympics in town, the stark contrast between the haves and have-nots becomes even more visible. Drunk people walk by the camp yelling "get a job." A sign hanging from a condo nearby reads "Build resumes, not tents." People in Tent City have little; everyone around them seem to have plenty.

"Another tower went up where the homeless had their homes/Who will save our souls"
Tent City is organized by nearly 100 local organizations. It has three demands:

1.END HOMELESSNESS
2.STOP GENTRIFICATION
3.STOP THE CRIMINALIZATION OF POVERTY

This is a look into their story. It is by no means comprehensive, as the issue is far more complex than a 3-minute film can address. However, it is eye-opening. It is a different perspective, something that you do not hear covered in mainstream media. The Olympics is not always as noble as their branding/marketing suggests, and I think its important to keep the OOC honest about the impact the Games have on host cities. Walking around Vancouver, I was not convinced that this was a good thing for Canada - or its people.

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[pbear604]

And no, Capitalism by definition does not function by increasing the distance between the haves and the have nots. In fact, true Capitalism promotes the privitization of the means of production and seperation of the economy and state. As well, it promotes an individuals right to live his/her own life as they see fit. Your definition of Capitalism seems a little off.

[worldli]

@pbear604 See comment below. There are many shades of capitalism. The current shade (free market economics) has gotten us into the global financial meltdown. The free market does not work. Banks are giving out billions in bonuses and companies are making billions in profit - while the average person can't get a job and has lost 50% or more of their life savings. How is it promoting freedom to live when the decisions of a greedy elite affect the normal person's agency to life a wealthy life?

[worldli]

@pbear604 See comment below. There are many shades of capitalism. The current shade (free market economics) has gotten us into the global financial meltdown. The free market does not work. Banks are giving out billions in bonuses and companies are making billions in profit - while the average person can't get a job and has lost 50% or more of their life savings. How is it promoting freedom to live when the decisions of a greedy elite affect the normal person's agency to life a wealthy life?

[dkorleone]

A real disaster -- shame on Canada for waging genocide on First Nations communities. People should rise up over that, instead of a few broken store window... belonging to the colonialist Hudson Bay Company.

[Orasea]

Homelessness has tripled???? the lady is right--that's a real disaster.

[blainewiak123]

Nice video. Keep posting more videos.Thanks

[52111centrumcz]

@pbear604 I know you wrote the comment over a year ago but...learn the elementary difference between theory and practice:

practice is when it works and nobody knows why.

theory is when it doesn't work and everyone knows why.

The western world has in the last 10 years joined theory and practice; it's economy doesn't work and nobody knows why.

[DJonX7]

lol i love how it's just natives that are in the streets.... (i actually dont... but...)

[TheExileHouse]

Is just me...or does it sound like Canadian Businessmen and Investors had a bad American upbringing..

Like this all sounds to much like an American Ghetto where the homeless are ignored for profit and capitalist Wall Street...

[myu106]

Give me a break. I work hard and I have to struggle to make a living and live in Metro Vancouver (I cannot afford Vancouver price at all) and buy my own home in suburban area and commute at least three hours per day;

You screw yourself and mess up your life and then you are privileged to live here for "free" or "cheap" and let me pay for you.

[ralphyization]

Jealousy will get you every where. Nothing Canadian television hasn;t already covered. We've already heard about that through Canadian T. V., There was a huge coverageon tv about that. , but at the same time, give us our "props" We won the podium!!OHH-AHHHH

[DarthSchwartz]

Indians with no job wanting handouts and free housing is nothing new in Canada. 

[worldli]

@pbear604 And you think I am a hypocrite? ("Anyways, I'm sure you're off travelling somewhere but don't forget to think about the homeless and downtrodden in Vancouver while you fly off to somewhere hot and sunny...hypocrite much?") Actually, I am in Cambridge England, shooting a conference of Nobel laureates in economics getting together to change the free-market thinking that has eliminated so much wealth from the world in the recession. So if I'm a hypocrite for doing what I love, then yes.

[worldli]

@pbear604 By the way, I still get sent notices when you comment on my video and then remove the comments. What exactly is the "lifestyle of addiction?"