[R-G] Resignation from Fire This Time

[Ivan Drury]

February 3, 2008

An open letter to the left and progressive community
on Ivan Drury’s resignation from Fire This Time;

My name is Ivan Drury. I’m writing this letter to inform the left and 
progressive community that I have broken with Fire This Time, MAWO, and 
all other related groups. Through this letter I also hope to begin to 
stand accountable for the many irresponsible and destructive things I am 
responsible for having done when I was a member of these groups.

I have been an activist in Vancouver for more than ten years. In 2002-03 
I helped to found the Fire This Time Movement for Social Justice. FTT 
formed out of an ugly split within the Anti-Poverty Committee. I also 
played a big part of this split and remained in FTT, Youth Third World 
Alliance (Y3WA), Mobilization Against War and Occupation (MAWO) and 
other related organizations* as an active member and organizer until the 
beginning of January last year. I resigned quietly in January 2007, but 
did not send an ‘official’ resignation letter until October 2007.

This letter has been a long time coming. For better or for worse, I’ve 
not been up to writing it and going public until now. If it is necessary 
to explain why it’s taken a year to write, I will just say that leaving 
FTT was very hard. Emotionally and personally, my experience in the 
group really messed me up.

There are three things I want to deal with in this letter. And I’ll keep 
it as short as possible:

1. Why I left FTT;
2. The Fire This Time and the damage done (an apology);
3. What I believe in now.

Over the last two months I have had some discussions with some people in 
the left about these general themes. While I have apologized to these 
individuals, I feel that there is a lot of ground left to cover. These 
apologies have really only been openings to a longer rectification 
process involving a lot of responsibility-taking and work.

I understand that even those who have never had a direct negative 
experience with me or with  FTT have been negatively impacted by the 
lousy, sectarian, and confrontational atmosphere kicked up by FTT 
groups. If you feel that you are owed more than a general apology from 
me and feel that I should (or have neglected to) contact you directly; I 
am probably planning to and am just working up the nerve. If you want 
to, please feel free to contact me: ivanddrury at yahoo.ca

This letter is meant for the broad left-progressive community. There is 
one additional group that I’d like to speak to that is sadly separate 
from this community: the remaining members of FTT/Y3WA. However, this 
group has been forbidden by the leadership (ie. by Ali Yerevani) from 
speaking to or even receiving emails from me. This letter, as well as 
another letter directed specifically to them is posted here: 
http://ivandrury.wordpress.com

[...snip...]

Cont'd here: http://ivandrury.wordpress.com