Canada's Tech Start Ups Face Financing Hurdles With SVB Collapse

By Reuters

|

March 13, 2023, 

Canada's Tech Start Ups Face Financing Hurdles With SVB Collapse

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Customers wait in line outside a branch of the Silicon Valley Bank in Wellesley,

 Massachusetts, U.S., March 13, 2023. 

By Maiya Keidan and Divya Rajagopal

TORONTO (Reuters) -Last week's sudden collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) could choke funding for Canada's technology start-ups and place them in the hands of domestic lenders who may be more selective in financing new ventures, financiers told Reuters.

That would be bad news for a sector that took a beating in 2022, which has made investors more risky averse in early stage investments.

"I would say this is probably the worst possible time (for this to happen) in the last decade because of the tech pullback we've had," said Neil Selfe, CEO at advisory INFOR Financial.

SVB's Canadian division, which received a license to operate in 2019, competed against other banks and private lenders to help finance the growth of the Canadian technology sector, before it collapsed on Friday. It had doubled its secured loans to C$435 million ($314 million) in 2022 from previous year.

Canada had come to be known as the world's second-biggest global tech hub in the world after Silicon Valley, Kim Furlong, CEO of Canadian Venture Capital and Private Equity Association told CBC News on Monday.

Companies including Shopify Inc were examples of Canada's tech success story, which helped pull more investments into the sector.

U.S. regulators stepped in on Sunday after the collapse of SVB, which had a run after a big bond portfolio hit.

CIBC, Royal Bank of Canada and Bank of Montreal were the most likely to pick up both SVB's current book, and future clients in Canada, John Ruffolo, Managing Partner Maverix Private Equity, a Toronto-based PE firm said.

All three banks have dedicated technology lending groups.

A spokesperson for RBC declined to comment while CIBC and BMO did not respond to requests for comment

Selfe at INFOR Financial said while SVB Canada was a smaller player "it was an important competitor in that market."

"I think Canadian banks will continue to lend to earlier stage technology companies but without Silicon Valley Bank as a lender, I think they can afford to be much more selective in who they lend to and potentially increase the price at which they lend."

Canada's top six banks already control more than 80% of the banking assets and the industry has come has attack from consumers advocates and politicians for its dominance.

Benjamin Bergen, president at Council of Canadian Innovators, a lobby group for Canadian technology companies, agreed.

"Before SVB went down, accessing capital was increasingly becoming tighter and tighter for Canadians for startups for scale ups," he said.

"And with this, really what we're hearing from the ecosystem is, you know, it is going to make it even more difficult, so that's really what we're monitoring."

Canadian companies saw overall venture capital investment of C$1.3 billion ($947.38 million) so far this year, compared to C$4.5 billion over the first three months of 2022 and C$3.5 billion over the same period in 2021, according to Refinitiv data.

Funding environment for start-ups was already getting difficult due to rising interest rates. Investors were also turning selective due to the threat of a recession. Aside from the banks, the federal government also has a Venture Capital Catalyst Initiative program that invests in promising Canadian technology companies.

($1 = 1.3722 Canadian dollars)

(Additional reporting by David Ljunggren in OttawaReporting by Maiya Keidan and Divya RajagopalEditing by Edward Tobin)

Etsy, other e-commerce companies feel squeeze of SVB collapse

Mar 14, 2023 

NEW YORK, March 13 (Reuters) -Etsy ETSY.O on Monday resumed payments to merchants with Silicon Valley Bank accounts after the e-commerce platform paused their payouts over the weekend following the U.S. government shutdown of the bank last week.

Approximately 0.5% of Etsy's active sellers -or around 2,700 merchants- had their payments delayed on Friday related to SVB's collapse, according to Etsy.

"We are working to pay these sellers today, and we’ve already started processing payments via another payment partner this morning," an Etsy spokesperson told Reuters on Monday.

The payments Etsy sellers received is unrelated to the Federal Reserve's Sunday announcement, which ensured that SVB's customers would have access to their funds on Monday.

Shopify SHOP.TO, which provides websites and apps to stores, also halted payments to online sellers with Silicon Valley Bank accounts, telling merchants they must switch accounts to receive funds, according to the company's website.

Etsy and Shopify each work with 5.4 million and 1.75 million online merchants respectively worldwide, mostly small-to-medium size businesses.

Some Etsy sellers decided to put their stores on vacation mode, pausing customer purchases in an effort to minimize their financial losses while others say they have received their payments on schedule.

Moshe Steinberg, 31, said that he received a payment from Etsy on Monday morning, but is still waiting for it to clear with his bank.

"It was a nail biting situation until I checked my bank account this morning," the 3D-printed seller from Central Ohio said, adding that Etsy is currently his only source of income.

Etsy merchant Elizabeth Thompson, 57, said she has received little guidance from the company on what transpired.

"I just don’t understand why they can’t be a little more transparent about what’s going on. It’s not like it’s their fault," she added.

Etsy said it communicated with any seller who was impacted on Friday directly via email and posted an update in their forums on Saturday.

E-COMMERCE RESPONSE

Shopify Chief Executive Tobi Lutke said in a tweet on Saturday that the company was seeing "very minor impact" from the SVB collapse.

"We use SVB as one of 12 or so banks spread over mostly Canada and US," Lutke said, adding "a small portion of our US operational fund flows is tied up in SVB but we are working around it and it should be business as usual."

Shopify has temporarily paused payments to its merchants who receive payments to SVB accounts. These online sellers must update their bank accounts that have no connections with SVB to resume getting payments.

Shopify Capital, an arm of Shopify that provides loans and cash advances to its merchants, has been impacted by SVB's closure, according to the company's website. Merchants are not able to view their loan offers or see their loan repayments as of now.

"Shopify expects to resume all operations for Shopify Capital in the United States within the next few days," the company said on its website.

Shopify is also opening interest-free balance accounts for merchants with the funds equal to the amount of payroll so that merchants can pay their employees, according to a Shopify spokesperson.

Block Inc's SQ.N Square, which processes credit-card payments for online and brick-and-mortar businesses, on Friday began pausing payments to their merchants SVB accounts and required them to update their banking information, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Switching bank accounts can pose a problem for sellers whose sole business account was with SVB. The payment holds have forced thousands of marketplace sellers and mom-and-pop shops to scramble to switch bank accounts and scurry to get access to funds for new product inventory.

Reporting by Doyinsola Oladipo and Arriana McLymore in New York City; Editing by Aurora Ellis

How fallout from the SVB collapse could complicate life for some of Canada's big banks

Especially those with operations in the U.S.

Author of the article: Stephanie Hughes
Published Mar 13, 2023 

Bank buildings in Toronto’s financial district.

The collapse of Silicon Valley Bank is unlikely to have a significant direct impact on Canada’s Big Six banks, but fallout from the U.S. tech lender’s demise could nevertheless complicate life for those with operations south of the border, analysts said on March 13.

Canadian bank stocks tumbled last week, losing nearly $20 billion in market capitalization, after Santa Clara, Calif.-based SVB suffered a run on deposits and was taken over by U.S. regulators. Bank shares were down again on Monday, with Toronto-Dominion Bank falling the furthest, off nearly three per cent in afternoon trading in Toronto. It closed down 3.43 per cent on the day.

Despite investor jitters, concerns for the Big Six were limited. Unlike SVB, which catered to a niche market funding tech start-up companies, Canada’s big banks dominate their home market and are diversified across industries and business lines.

“From a Canadian perspective, not only should the failure of SVB not have significant negative implications for our banks, but this crisis should actually be viewed as further vindication of the Canadian banking model, which is dominated by a few large and diversified players,” Bank of Nova Scotia analyst Meny Grauman said in a March 13 note.

While the risk of direct contagion to the Canadian banking system appeared minimal, National Bank of Canada analyst Gabriel Dechaine flagged some potential sore spots Canadian banks, especially those with major recent acquisitions in the U.S., could face in the wake of SVB’s collapse.

BMO, for example, has just established a foothold in California, where SVB did most of its business, through its US$16.3 billion Bank of the West acquisition.

“Though (Bank of the West) has different lending exposures within the state (i.e., not uber-concentrated in tech), if there is a ripple effect of SVB’s failure on the broader economy in California, BMO’s growth outlook could dampen,” Dechaine said in a March 13 note.

He added that further declines in the loan and deposit balances at Bank of the West, which were already below BMO’s initial expectations at the time the deal closed earlier this month, could prompt the bank to revise its forecasts again.


Dechaine said the SVB fallout also makes TD’s US$13.4 billion acquisition of First Horizon Corp. more interesting. TD has indicated that it does not expect to achieve regulatory approval by the proposed May 27 closing date and is trying to negotiate another extension. There has been speculation it might try to reduce its offer.

“Setting aside the issue of obtaining regulatory approvals, recent events have prompted even more questions about TD’s ability and willingness to negotiate a lower acquisition price,” Dechaine said, noting U.S. regional bank stocks plunged 12 per cent last week.

RBC, meanwhile, has had a growing stake in the California market since its acquisition of City National Bank in 2015. Dechaine’s concerns with RBC’s California footprint were somewhat assuaged by the fact that the state represents only seven to eight per cent of RBC’s total lending.

RBC was reportedly one of the potential suitors looking under the hood of SVB after regulators took control, according to Reuters. Sources told reporters that RBC had been exploring options to pursue SVB but was ultimately not comfortable with the risks involved. RBC declined to comment on the Reuters report and the SVB collapse.

Exposure to the U.S. regional banking market in general was another risk flagged by Dechaine. San Francisco-based First Republic Bank saw its shares fell by over 75 per cent in early Monday morning market trading amid fears that some smaller banks could be vulnerable if depositors became nervous and started to withdraw funds.

Increased regulatory risk also appeared to be on the table after U.S. President Joe Biden on March 13 said he wanted to prevent a repeat of the collapse.

“I’m going to ask Congress and the banking regulators to strengthen the rules for banks to make it less likely this kind of bank failure will happen again, and to protect American jobs as a small business,” he said.


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Silicon Valley Bank fallout: What you need to know

OSFI seizes control of Silicon Valley Bank's Canadian assets

Canada's banks beat the street, but can they outrun the downturn?

Despite the uncertainties, authorities on both sides of the border offered assurances that the financial and banking systems were safe.

The Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions, Canada’s top banking regulator, seized SVB’s Canadian operations on March 12 and made it clear that SVB did not take deposits in Canada and that its collapse was due to its specific predicament.

Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland said she spoke with financial sector leaders on the evening of March 12.

“We are in close contact with OSFI, which took action earlier this evening,” Freeland said in a March 12 statement on Twitter. “Canada’s well-regulated banking system is sound and resilient.”



Scotiabank’s Grauman suggested the episode might prompt the U.S. banking sector to take pointers from its Canadian counterpart, which is more concentrated. He said even without formally making such a move, U.S. deposit balances might shift from smaller financial players toward bigger banks with larger capital pools to reduce risk.

• Email: shughes@postmedia.com 

How Silicon Valley Bank's collapse ripped through global tech

Mar 14, 2023 

By Martin Coulter

March 14 (Reuters) - Not long after California startups started pulling money out of troubled Silicon Valley Bank, entrepreneurs in other parts of the world woke up to the news.

"Around 90% of our cash was in SVB," said Sam Franklin, 28, a London-based chief executive whose recruitment firm Otta specializes in tech talent. He ditched weekend "life admin" to figure out how to pay his employees at the end of the month.

In Hong Kong, Florian Simmendinger, co-founder and CEO of Hong Kong wearable company Soundbrenner, missed the start of the panic in California over SVB Financial Group SIVB.O last week, but he caught on quickly.

"I'm like, what? Are you kidding me? Like, my bank?" he said. "We already couldn't log into our account anymore during the regular business hours."

While the global effects of Silicon Valley Bank's collapse are just emerging, one thing is clear: tech startups, no matter how far apart, are intertwined. Many depend on a single mid-sized bank for their day-to-day operations.

Following the lead of California colleagues, startups in Europe and Asia gravitated to the bank, the 16th largest in the U.S. last year, whose name rang with tech cachet and which offered them specialized financial services.

U.S. FOUNDERS WARY

Quincy Lee, founder of Seattle-based EV charging startup Electra Era, tried to move millions of dollars from Silicon Valley Bank on Thursday afternoon as warning signs multiplied.

The website was down, overwhelmed by traffic. A customer service agent told him by phone that there could be a delay because so many people were trying to withdraw. By Monday afternoon, he had succeeded in getting his money and was looking for an alternative bank.

After a weekend of intense discussions over the future of SVB, U.S. regulators unveiled an emergency funding plan that gave the bank's customers access to all their deposits.

In the UK, Britain's Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt said the government and the Bank of England had facilitated a private sale of SVB's UK arm to HSBC HSBA.L, in a move which would protect deposits without taxpayer support.

European Union officials also assured consumers the bank had a "very limited presence" in the bloc. And Christoph Stresing, managing director of the German Startups Association expressed cautious optimism that domestic companies would get off lightly.

European stocks fell on banking industry concerns, though, and even startups that did not bank withSVB were scrambling.

"It's hard to understand just how interconnected SVB is with the start-up ecosystem," said Rachael Crook, founder and CEOof London-based healthcare start-up Lifted. Over the weekend shesoothed investors and made sure crucial service suppliers would not be hobbled, after executives raised concerns a key financial partner may have money tied up with SVB.

Aleksandr Volodarsky, CEO of Ukrainian startup lemon.io, which banks with SVB in the United States, told Reuters he started discussing the collapse with other entrepreneurs in the region on Thursday.

"We initiated a wire transfer on Friday morning and still nothing happened," he said. "We were lucky because we just made payments to developers and engineers just two days earlier."

CHINESE STARTUPS MOVING MONEY

SVB's Shanghai-basedjoint venture, SPD Silicon Valley Bank (SSVB), said it had a sound corporate structure and an independent balance sheet. SSVB is China's first technology and innovation bank, and the first Sino-U.S. joint venture bank.

As SVB was one of the few banks that made it easy for start-ups to open bank accounts for dollar financing, it was the dominant foreign bank for early-stage companies in China, advisors and companies said.

But many Chinese start-ups and fund managers are working to move their money out of SVB's U.S. arm.

One lawyer for a China-based venture capital firm said nearly all of its portfolio companies' operating cash, as well as its own operating cash was stored with SVB, and spent the weekend strategizing on alternatives.

After a rollercoaster of a weekend, Otta CEO Franklin said his company would continue banking with the UK arm of SVB and add accounts at more banks.

"The big learning curve for many of us in this industry has been, 'If you have a lot of cash, you should spread it around.'"

Reporting by Martin Coulter, Maggie Fick, Krystal Hu, Supantha Mukherjee, Hakan Ersen, Josh Horwitz, Josh Ye and Tom Sims; Editing by Peter Henderson and Richard Chang

'Absolutely idiotic'. SVB insider says employees are angry with CEO

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The blame game is on for who caused Silicon Valley Bank's collapse, and the tech sector is pointing the finger at SVB CEO Greg Becker for allowing his company to go down in history as the second-biggest US banking failure on record.

One Silicon Valley Bank employee, who requested anonymity to speak candidly, was dumbfounded by how Becker publicly acknowledged the extent of the bank's financial troubles before privately lining up the necessary financial support to ride out the storm.

This set the stage for the panic that ensued as customers scrambled to pull their money.

READ MORE: How does a bank collapse in 48 hours? A timeline of the SVB fall

People line up outside of the shuttered Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) headquarters on March 10, 2023 in Santa Clara, California. (Getty)

"That was absolutely idiotic," the employee, who works on the asset management side of Silicon Valley Bank, told CNN in an interview. "They were being very transparent. It's the exact opposite of what you'd normally see in a scandal. But their transparency and forthright-ness did them in."

Becker and his leadership team revealed last Wednesday night a hope (but no firm commitment) to raise $AU3.38 billion in capital as well as $31.5 billion in asset sales that sparked a $2.7 billion loss.

That news set off a wave of fear across Silicon Valley, where the bank serves as a key lender to tech startups. Many of them panicked, yanking $63 billion last Thursday alone when Silicon Valley Bank's stock crashed by 60 percent, according to filings by California regulators.

By the close of business that day, Silicon Valley Bank had a negative cash balance of about $1.4 billion.

"People are just shocked at how stupid the CEO is," the Silicon Valley Bank insider said. "You're in business for 40 years and you are telling me you can't raise $3 billion privately? Get on a jet and fly to Kuwait like everyone else and give them control of one-third of the bank."

Silicon Valley Bank did not respond to requests for comment but Becker has reportedly apologised to employees about the situation.

"It's with an incredibly heavy heart that I'm here to deliver this message," Becker said in a video message to staff on Friday, according to Reuters.

"I can't imagine what was going through your head and wondering, you know, about your job, your future."

READ MORE: US regulators say SVB customers will be made whole as second bank fails

A sign for Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) headquarters is seen in Santa Clara, California, U.S. March 10, 2023. 

REUTERS/Nathan Frandino (REUTERS)

'Widespread hysteria'

Jeff Sonnenfeld, CEO of the Yale School of Management's Chief Executive Leadership Institute (CELI), told CNN he agrees that Silicon Valley Bank's leadership deserves criticism for their "tone-deaf, botched execution."

"Someone lit a match and the bank yelled, 'Fire!' - pulling the alarms in earnest out of genuine concern for transparency and honesty," Sonnenfeld and Steven Tian, CELI's research director, said in an email on Sunday to CNN.

Sonnenfeld and Tian said not only was the announcement of an unsubscribed $3.38 billion capital raise Wednesday night "unnecessary" because Silicon Valley Bank had sufficient capital far in excess of regulatory requirements, but there was no need to simultaneously reveal the $2.7 billion loss.

The one-two punch "understandably sparked widespread hysteria amidst a rush to pull deposits," the two wrote, adding that they could have spaced the announcements out by a week or two and reduced the magnitude.

After his administration announced a swooping rescue of Silicon Valley Bank depositors on Sunday, President Joe Biden signaled US officials will be closely scrutinising all parties involved in the bank's collapse.

"I am firmly committed to holding those responsible for this mess fully accountable and to continuing our efforts to strengthen oversight and regulation of larger banks so that we are not in this position again," Biden said in a statement.

The role of the Fed

For their part, Sonnenfeld and Tian argue Jerome Powell, Biden's pick to lead the Federal Reserve, and his colleagues deserve at least some of the blame.

"There should be no mistaking that Silicon Valley Bank's collapse was a direct result of the Fed's persistent and excessive interest rate hikes," they wrote.

Why? Because the Fed's war on inflation depressed both the value of the bonds Silicon Valley Bank was relying on for capital and the value of the tech startups the bank catered to.

Of course, Silicon Valley Bank had more than a year to prepare for both of those issues.

The Silicon Valley Bank insider said the mismanagement of the bank's balance sheet heading into last week was "stupidity" and questioned the strategy of the CEO and CFO.

Still, the employee, who is a Wall Street veteran, emphasised his belief that the downfall of Silicon Valley Bank was brought on by errors and "naivety," not outright wrongdoing.

"The saddest thing is that this place is Boy Scouts," he said. "They made mistakes, but these are not bad people."

Digital technology new source of discrimination against women: Guterres

13 March 2023



During a dialogue with women civil society leaders in the UN General Assembly Hall on Monday, Secretary-General António Guterres heard about the critical need to make the internet safer for women and girls – and to ensure that they are equal participants in global conservations, both online and in-person.

The town hall with representatives from non-governmental organizations (NGOs) was held as part of the annual session of the UN Committee on the Status of Women (CSWOpens in new window), which meets in New York every March.

Its latest two-week session - known as CSW67, which runs through Friday - is focused on the theme of innovation, technological change, and education in the digital age.

Civil society also used the town to appeal for more action on other issues critical to women and girls, such as greater representation at the UN, ending the war in Ukraine, and eliminating all forms of gender-based violence.

 
A male-dominated world

In remarks prior to the dialogue, the Secretary-General spoke of the backslide in women’s and girls’ rights globally after years of incremental progress.

“Many of the challenges we face today – from conflicts to climate chaos and the cost-of-living crisis – are the result of what is a male-dominated world with a male-dominated culture, taking the key decisions that guide our world,” he saidOpens in new window.
Newfound discrimination

Mr. Guterres noted that digital technology – the product of an industry that is predominantly male - represents a new source of discrimination and bias.

“Rather than presenting facts and addressing bias, technology based on incomplete data and badly-designed algorithms is digitizing and amplifying sexism – with deadly consequences,” he said. 

“Medical decisions based on data essentially from men can damage women’s health.  Safety features based on men’s bodies can put women’s lives at risk, namely in the car industry,” he added, citing examples.

The gender digital divide is fast becoming the new face of gender inequality, he continued. Online spaces are not safe for women and girls, as they have been attacked, targeted, or denigrated on the internet.

Furthermore, “while 12 men have walked on the moon, not a single woman has done so,” he said, pointing to stereotypes that “push girls away from studying science, engineering, and math, and strangle the careers of women scientists.”

UN Photo/Eskinder Debebe
UN Secretary-General António Guterres (right) speaks during a Town Hall meeting with Civil Society moderated by Sima Sami Bahous (left), Executive Director of UN-Women.
Keep pushing forward

Mr. Guterres said the situation must change, and in the face of the “patriarchal pushback”, the international community must push forward for women, girls and the world.  

“Policymakers must create - and in some circumstances must reinforce to create - transformative change by promoting women and girls’ equal rights and opportunities to learn; by dismantling barriers and smashing glass ceilings,” he said.

He also called for all leaders to urgently take up UN recommendations that promote education and training in digital skills for women and girls, as well as algorithms that align with human rights and gender equality, among other measures.

 
Punish cybercrime

At the outset of the dialogue – which was moderated by Sima Bahous, Executive Director of UN WomenOpens in new window – the Secretary-General insisted that participants should not only ask him questions, but also offer comments, suggestions, and ideas.

He interacted with them in groups of three, first listening to their interventions as a whole and then responding to the individual issues they raised.

Houry Geudelekian, Chair of NGO CSW New York, was the first to speak. She stressed that countries must find a way to hold perpetrators accountable for online violence targeting women and girls.

“Cybercrime should be punishable in the same way as any other crime,” she said. “Member States and the private sector have the power to reverse the regression in gender equality and uplift women and girls in all their diversity.”

Speaking in her personal capacity, she also called for the international community to reduce military spending by five per cent and instead channel the funding towards sustainable development efforts.
Young women demand change

Prabhleen Tuteja, Executive Director of YP, the Youth Foundation, asked the Secretary-General about greater representation of young women at the UN, particularly to ensure “feminist, intersectional and inter-generational leadership”.

Meanwhile, Rania Harrara from Morocco reported that young leaders were “pretty disappointed” that the town hall was taking place at the same time as a dialogue for youth representatives.

She highlighted other concerns around access to UN facilities, adding that many young people from the Global South could not take part in the conversation due to barriers such as lack of funding and visa issues.

“Equality and meaningful youth engagement is about digital access, digital literacy and digital safety for all adolescent girls in all of their diversity,” she said. “Adolescent girls are tired of being tokenized, and we require to be part of the policymaking.”

 
UN ‘rejuvenation’

The Secretary-General said he was surprised to hear about these impediments as the instructions were to allow all attendees to enter the UN facilities.

Regarding visas, he explained that they are issued by the host country, not the UN. However, he asked for examples of specific situations so that the matter could be raised with the US authorities to avoid the situation being repeated in the future.

Addressing the wider issue of youth participation, Mr. Guterres noted that while the UN has a strategy on gender parity, it has yet to adopt one on “rejuvenation” of the Organization.

“We need to have a younger UN,” he insisted. “Young generations are better prepared than myself to look into, for instance, the impacts of digital technologies in the way governance takes place globally.”

The Secretary-General also agreed with Ms. Geudelekian’s call for greater accountability for cyber attacks against women and girls, which he said is a matter that UN Member States should seriously examine.

 
A plea on Ukraine

One participant who said she represented Ukrainian women, gave emotional testimony about how the war has affected families in her homeland.

She reported that the independent delegation of Ukrainian women wrote to the Secretary-General last October requesting that he “immediately change the status of the United Nations”.

She underlined support for developing a new global mechanism to protect all countries from aggression, which drew applause from the room.

Mr. Guterres recalled that the conflict has generated the biggest refugee crisis since the Second World War, with women and children comprising the majority of those fleeing Ukraine.

“Women are indeed suffering in a way that is totally disproportionate in relation to this tragedy,” he said.

The Secretary-General upheld that the Russian invasion of Ukraine is a violation of international law and the UN CharterOpens in new window, “and it has been very clearly expressed by uOpens in new windows.”

He also underlined the UN’s ongoing humanitarian action and support, including efforts to renew the Black Sea Grain Initiative, which is set to expire in a matter of days.

OPINION
GUEST ESSAY

Michelle Yeoh: The Crisis That Changed My Life 8 Years Ago Keeps Happening
March 13, 2023

Women react at the site of a collapsed building in the aftermath of the major earthquake in the Elbistan district of Kahramanmaras, Turkey, in February.

Credit...Sedat Suna/EPA, via Shutterstock

By Michelle Yeoh
Ms. Yeoh is an actor and a United Nations Development Program goodwill ambassador.
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Over the past few weeks, many people around the world joined me in celebrating my career firsts — from winning my first Golden Globe, Screen Actors Guild Award and Independent Spirit Award to earning my first Oscar (for actress in a leading role). While I am grateful for this unforgettable moment in my professional life, I want to redirect that global spotlight to an issue that is very personal to me and warrants the world’s attention.

My life changed eight years ago when one moment shook my outlook on the world.

It was April 25, 2015, and I was in Nepal with my partner, Jean Todt, visiting local organizations. Suddenly, I felt the earth begin to tremble violently. Outside the doors of the low-rise building I was in, a deadly earthquake ravaged the country. I’ve never felt the type of fear and panic I felt that day, when the ground beneath me shook so powerfully, I couldn’t stand on my feet. I had to crawl to try to make it to the door to escape. When we emerged, we had to stay outside for hours, unsure which buildings were strong enough or safe enough to return to.

I was fortunate to make it through that day unscathed, but not untouched. The experience was terrifying. Its effects linger with me still. Our hotel was damaged during the earthquake and was no longer safe to enter, so we made our way straight to the airport, where we spent two nights before being evacuated by plane. As we got on the road, I saw the ruins and destruction all around me. I couldn’t shake the thought of how unfair it was that I had a home to go to, unlike the thousands of families whose entire lives were suddenly reduced to rubble.

Michelle Yeoh, center, visiting the Amitabha Drukpa Nunnery in Nepal after the devastating earthquake there in 2015.Credit...Prakash Mathema/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

Disasters of such magnitude cause irreparable damage to the lives of those who already have so little. I witnessed this when I returned to Nepal to help with relief efforts three weeks after the earthquake and then again a year later, when I returned as a goodwill ambassador for the United Nations Development Program.

I thought again of Nepal when I watched the coverage of the devastating earthquake that hit Turkey and Syria last month. Even before the earthquake struck, the socioeconomic conditions in Syria were dire, with approximately 90 percent of the population living in poverty and millions in need of humanitarian assistance. Many are now homeless and lack the means to rebuild their lives or keep their families safe.

Crises aren’t just moments of catastrophe: They expose deep existing inequalities. Those living in poverty, especially women and girls, bear the brunt. In the immediate aftermath of a disaster, lack of sanitation, health facilities and safety disproportionately affect women. In my time as a goodwill ambassador, I have seen up close how women and girls are often the last to go back to school and the last to get basic services like clean water, vaccines, identity cards and counseling. They are typically the last to get jobs and loans.

In Syria the United Nations anticipates some 40,000 women will give birth in the coming months without access to sanitary conditions. When women have to sleep out in the open — often the case when buildings have collapsed or are unsafe — or in group shelters without adequate privacy or protection, they are at increased risk of sexual violence and assault, which skyrocket in the aftermath of a disaster.

To fully recover from a disaster and be prepared for the next one, the specific needs of women and girls must be factored into the humanitarian response.

Women must also play leadership roles in the recovery process. But women are woefully underrepresented in the decision making that affects their prospects of survival in times of crisis. This gap has a dangerous effect: Studies have shown that women are hit hardest in disasters. Women and girls are often at a disadvantage when it comes to rescue efforts, and women are more likely than men to suffer from hunger.

We know women sustain their communities. Their voices, leadership and full participation are key to an inclusive, successful and sustainable recovery. This means considering women’s needs, priorities and safety when rebuilding neighborhoods and constructing schools and marketplaces. It means ensuring women have equal access to information, job opportunities and skills training, as well as loans and insurance mechanisms, which are all crucial to regain financial stability.

We know having more women in positions of power and as decision makers at community, national and institutional levels leads to more inclusive policies, laws and practices that protect and contribute to gender equality at all levels. It means striving for zero tolerance for gender-based violence at home, at work, online or anywhere else. And it also means investing in women’s education to ensure their voices are represented at the highest levels of government and society.

We live in a world plagued by recurrent pandemic, war and disaster and are struggling with climate change. It can feel insurmountable. But we also live during a time of incredible technological advancements. Information and communication technologies are our most powerful allies in battling these crises. Technology keeps essential social services running, improves crisis response, strengthens communities and boosts economic recovery.

And yet the digital world is also a place of inequality. Globally, 2.7 billion people are excluded from digital connectivity, more of them women. As a result, according to the World Bank, women face barriers in getting access to information and resources in all spheres of their lives, including how to adequately prepare for, respond to and cope with a disaster.

Reducing the digital divide is critical in changing deeply ingrained gender social norms and ensuring that women’s voices and leadership are embedded at the highest levels before, during and after a disaster. Furthermore, we must make measurable investments in women’s education that promote digital literacy and STEM fields.

This year we are halfway toward the 2030 target date to achieve what the United Nations calls Sustainable Development Goals, a blueprint for a shared global vision of a world without poverty or inequality. What I have learned through my work with U.N.D.P. is that realizing these global goals will be possible only if we achieve true gender equality, everywhere, and in all aspects of life — especially in times of crisis — and in anticipation of the next disaster.

I’m 60 years old, and I just won my first Oscar. I know something about perseverance, and I am all too aware of what society expects of women. I’m also well aware that my experience can’t compare at all with that of the women heroes I met who are on the front lines of crises. But if I can do one thing with this moment of my professional joy, it would be to point the spotlight on those who all too often go unacknowledged, the women who are rebuilding their communities, taking care of children and older people and putting food on the table. Let’s make sure they are not missing from the room when decisions are being made that affect them the most.

Michelle Yeoh is an actor and a United Nations Development Program goodwill ambassador.

India top court to start hearing same-sex marriage case

Shruti Mahajan, Bloomberg News

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Gender rights activists and supporters of LGBTQ community walk the Delhi queer pride parade in New Delhi on Jan. 8, 2023. (Sajjad Hussain/AFP/Getty Images/TNS)Sajjad Hussain/GETTY IMAGES EUROPE/TNS

A five-judge panel of India’s Supreme Court will begin hearing detailed arguments on April 18 in a landmark case seeking marriage equality for the country’s LGBTQ community.

The top court said the issue was of “seminal importance” and must be heard by a larger panel of judges. The order came a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government opposed legalizing same-sex marriages and pressed for the issue to be debated and decided only by parliament.

The Indian constitution calls for cases involving crucial interpretations of the constitution to be heard by panels of at least five judges.

The petitions before the court seek marriage equality under various Indian statutes and religious personal laws. The push follows the decriminalization of homosexuality in 2018.

In a brief hearing Monday, lawyers for the petitioners highlighted that the court has already expanded various rights for the LGBTQ people, ranging from the right to privacy for personal choices to granting legal protection for “atypical” families.

The government’s counsel rested their argument on the so-called Indian concept of family — which the government has described as accepted “statutorily, religiously and socially” as between a biological man and a biological woman. A legislative debate on the issue would better reflect the views of society, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said.

If same-sex marriages are allowed, “we would be destroying the intent of the legislation,” Mehta added.

The Indian government’s position echoes that of Singapore — where sex between men was decriminalized in 2022 but the government amended the constitution to give parliament the authority to define marriage. As of now, that rules out same-sex couples.

A ruling in favor of the LGBTQ community will grant marriage equality to all of India’s 1.4 billion people and eventually cement rights such as adoption and inheritance.

Just a handful of places outside of the West — and only Taiwan in Asia — allow same-sex marriage. India’s court proceedings will be watched closely in countries like Thailand, Japan, Greece and South Korea where similar debates are taking place.

Iraqi reporter who threw his shoes at George W. Bush says his country is still paying the price for the US-led invasion

Muntazer al-Zaidi, 48, at his home on the outskirts of Baghdad, Iraq.
Shirin Jaafari/The World

Iraqi journalist Muntazer al-Zaidi was thrust into the global spotlight in 2008 after he threw his shoes at then-US President George W. Bush. Two decades after the US-led invasion of Iraq, he says his country is still paying the price.

The World
March 13, 2023 · 

By Shirin Jaafari

On the outskirts of Iraq’s capital, Baghdad, the streets don’t have names, trash is not collected and the roads are not maintained.

It’s in this area, in an unassuming brick house, that 48-year-old Muntazer al-Zaidi lives with his wife and daughter.

A small garden separates the dusty road from his home.

Zaidi has been in the global spotlight for more than a decade. His life changed on Dec. 14, 2008, when at a news conference in Baghdad, he hurled his shoes at then-US President George W. Bush.

“This is a farewell kiss from the Iraqi people, you dog,” he yelled in Arabic as he threw his first shoe toward Bush. “This is for the widows and orphans and all those killed in Iraq,” he shouted as he threw his second shoe.

The video was shown on news shows across the world. The relatively unknown Iraqi journalist suddenly became the face of resistance to some, and a troublemaker to others. Now, two decades after the US-led invasion of Iraq, he said that his country is still paying the price.

Following the press conference, Zaidi was arrested. He said he was tortured by the Iraqi security forces while in detention. In recent years, he said he has been shunned by Iraqi news outlets because “they don’t want to be associated with someone who is anti-American.

“Even the ones who say they hate America, they are afraid to confront this fact,” he said.

Zaidi also has a devout following.

Today, 15 years since the press conference, Zaidi’s views about the US have not changed.

“How can I forgive?” he asked. “These people have done these atrocities against my brother, my neighbor, my father, and they haven’t at least apologized, nor [are they] going to trial and they’re still free at large.”

He pointed to Russia’s war in Ukraine, adding that “the whole world now is weeping for Ukraine, but we were under occupation, and no one was even supporting us. Some of them were even supporting the Americans and if they were not, they just kept their mouths shut.”

Zaidi described his action at the press conference as “sort of a scream” or an attempt to draw the world’s attention to his country. He wanted to say not all Iraqis embraced the Americans at the outset of the invasion, as he said it was described by Americans. In fact, many Iraqis were suffering.

On the day of the conference, Zaidi said he picked his dirtiest, oldest shoes. As if to add to the insult.

He said he went in expecting he might be killed. So, he chose his seat carefully, picking the one in the last row. His thinking was if he got shot, no one behind him would be hit.

Zaidi had planned and prepared for a day to show his anger at the US president. In 2005, he made a video stating he is not paid by anyone nor is he affiliated with any groups.

But his anger is not just at the Americans. Iraq, he said, has gone from bad to worse. In 2011, he joined the protests against the Iraqi government.

“The Iraqi government is run by Iran,” he said. “Our politicians are being manipulated by neighboring countries. The Iranian influence, the illiteracy, the corrupt politicians, the media blackout, and corruption are all legacy of the US invasion.”

As for what happened to his shoes, Zaidi said he doesn’t know. He suspects the Americans shredded them so that they would not be made into a symbol by his supporters.

Alaa Mahsoob Mohammed supported the reporting of this story.

via GIPHY