· March, 2006

Stories about Ethnicity & Race from March, 2006

Landing at the Iraqi Blogodrome

This week bloggers in Iraq are saying the same thing in different ways – the security situation is becoming unbearable. Also, in my bag today, a winning blogger gets another award; Chikitita negotiates Iraqi bureaucracy – Lara Croft-style; Meemo has a party; Caeser has a chance meeting with a girl...

Malaysia: Chinese Taxes

  29 March 2006

Anak Merdeka reacts to an amazing statement by Malaysia's former PM Mahathir Mohamad that Malaysia's development had been funded largely by taxes paid by ethnic Chinese — and not Malay — Malaysians.

Malaysia: disturbing survey results

  28 March 2006

A survey conducted by Merdeka Center, a research firm made up of professionals from various social science fields, draws a shuddering reaction from Brand New Malaysian. The survey respondents agreed with the characerterization of the the three largest ethnic groups in Malaysia as follows–Malays are lazy, Chinese are greedy and...

DRC: Kabila's Rwandan Ties Questioned

  26 March 2006

Renouveau Congolais posts (FR) a picture in which DRC transitional president and presidential candidate Joseph Kabila allegedly stands to the right of Rwandan General Paul Kagame during the 1994 Rwandan genocide. Kabila was allegedly General Kagame's bodyguard during the genocide. Blogger Dr. Francois Thsipamba Mpuila and several readers debate whether...

Chad: Peace and Mika Yondoloum

  26 March 2006

Le Pangolin posts (FR) a reader's comment about the potential for Liberal Party presidential candidate Mika Lelita Yondoloum to bring peace to Chad. The reader, Citoyen Lambda, feels strongly that Yondoloum has what it takes to forge a government of national unity. Lambda also nominates Yondoloum for the Nobel Peace...

Africa: We Can't Blame Everything on the West

  26 March 2006

Le Pangolin writes (FR): “So long as we fail to entertain critiques of our destructive ways, we will always be dominated by the West. Imagine for a moment all Africans living in Europe creating investment funds; they could then purchase on [various] stock markets the very companies that determine the...

Haiti: You Know You're Haitian When…

  26 March 2006

AyitiCheriConnexion posts (FR) an english language 35-point list of things that make one Haitian sent to her by a Haitian born outside of Haiti. AyitiCheri tacks on seven slides of staples of Haitian culture including the inevitable djondjon and griot.

DRC: Elections and “Rwandanization”

  23 March 2006

For Musengeshi Katata from Forum Realisance (FR) a victory for Joseph Kabila in the upcoming election would only prolong the “rwandanization” of the Congo. The “rwandanization” of the Congo started when Laurent Kabila, Joseph's predecessor and father began hiring rwandan and ugandan mercenaries to keep himself in power, says Katata....

DRC: “I Have a Dream”

  22 March 2006

Blogger Tony Katombe of Le Blog du Congolais publishes (FR) an eloquent email received from a Belgian reader who thanks him for shedding light on Belgium's past and present entanglements with the DRC. Katombe then embarks on his version of “I Have a Dream” in which through his blog he...

Nepal: Racism

  21 March 2006

Bahas on the prevalent forms of racism in Nepal - “Racism in Nepal particularly affects members of the Dalit and indigenous as well as refugees and other ethnic communities.caste-based discrimination has been recognized as a critical problem worldwide, with particular impact in South Asia.”

DRC at a Boiling Point

  21 March 2006

Over at UDPS Liege, blogger J. Kayembe Tshipamba lists (FR) all the reasons why he believes the DRC is headed towards an era reminiscent of the Mobutu years: free speech issues as evidenced by the repressed March 10 opposition protest; the presence of Rwandan mercenaries; the parcelling of the DRC...

China: Jews in Harbin

  21 March 2006

China Confidential picks up a Xinhua report on the visit to the northeastern city of Harbin by members of the U.S.-based Anti-Defamation League (ADL). “In the 1920s, Harbin was the largest Jewish community in the Far East, with a thriving economic and cultural life. Numerous Jewish relics of those days,...

South Korea: Confucianism in action

  21 March 2006

The Asia Pages has a long and detailed warning to anyone considering living and working in South Korea: “Words cannot possibly describe to you what a shock the Korean way of doing things was to me. My entire first year at my current job was a harsh, harsh lesson for...

China: Desert highway

  21 March 2006

The Opposite End of China comments on a recent report from the official Chinese news agency Xinhua, announcing another highway to be built across the formidable Taklamakan Desert.

Uyghurs: Tarim River

  20 March 2006

The Opposite End of China notes a recent report from the official Xinhua news agency about the resettlement of around 700 families in the environs of the Tarim River, whose water levels are falling dramatically.

Diaspora: race and immigration

  20 March 2006

Curious continues his series of posts on racism and immigration in Europe and America. The latest is a short piece on what “governments do to integrate immigrant communities” in the Netherlands, US and Britian….