· January, 2007

Stories about Ethnicity & Race from January, 2007

Mayotte: Who Lives There?

  31 January 2007

Reunion Passion usually blogs on her homeland but recently she focused on nearby Indian Ocean French overseas department Mayotte (Fr): “Many cultures cohabitate in Mayotte, the first, of Comorian origin, constitutes 60% of the population, the second is Malagasy and is heavily influenced by the first and finally the French...

Kurdistance: The Kirkuk Referendum

  31 January 2007

While the Kirkuk Referendum isn't expected to take place until December 2007, it is creating waves within Kurdistan, Iraq and their neighbors. Why the flurry of activity now? The Iraq Study Report recommended that the referendum be delayed, citing the the area as a “powderkeg”. The Republic of Turkey wants...

Nepal: Madhesh Is Burning

  31 January 2007

Madhesh is the southern plains of Nepal where half of the country lives. Madhesi are the people of Nepal, roughly half of the country. The Madhesi have been discriminated against for centuries. Now they are in a revolt that feels like the second part of the world shaking April Revolution....

Peru: Racism at the Beach

  31 January 2007

They say that to work is no offence, that there is no job that one should be ashamed of. It sounds logical, but not everyone seems to think that way. Many Peruvians, some think too many, leave their motherland to look for a better job opportunity abroad, where they often...

Palestine: Anti-Semites Increasing in Europe

  30 January 2007

Palestinian blogger Haitham Sabbah wonders why anti-Israeli sentiments are on the increase. He quotes Haaretz saying: “…the number of anti-Semitic incidents rose significantly in Europe last year, according to a joint study released Sunday by the Jewish Agency’s Forum for the Coordination of the Struggle Against Anti-Semitism.” He also links...

Sri Lanka: Life down South

  30 January 2007

groundviews goes to a village down south to catch glimpses of life and ask a few questions. “On the ethnic conflict, they said they didn’t want to see the country divided and that they believed the LTTE was an inhuman organization due to the acts of terrorism.

Japan: marriage stats

  30 January 2007

Adamu highlights some figures in the recent marriage statistics in Japan: In 1995, most internationally marrying Japanese men (35%) took Filipina brides, while a quarter of them married Chinese women. In 2005, the tables were turned, with only 30% marrying Filipinas and 35% marrying Chinese.

Russia: Roma Wedding and Christmas

  26 January 2007

The flag of the Roma people. According to Wikipedia, it “was approved at the First World Romani Congress in 1971, held in London, UK. The flag consists of a background of dark blue and green, representing the heavens and earth, respectively. The flag also contains a red chakra, or spoked...

Bahrain: Commemorating Muharram in Style

  26 January 2007

It's the month of Muharram in the Muslim calendar – a month commemorated with a variety of activities in Bahrain. Blogger Mahmood Al Yousif pays a visit to a friend's house, where they were preparing three pots – each with a capacity for 850kg of Shilla – a special dish...

The Arabist: Saudi Arabia Persecuting Ahmadis

  25 January 2007

The Arabist reported today a Human Rights Watch plea to the Saudi monarch urging him to stop presecuting Ahmadis. According to the letter, “Saudi Arabia has so far arrested 56 non-Saudi followers of the Ahmadi faith, including infants and young children, and deported at least 8 to India and Pakistan.”

Poland: HIV and Politics

  25 January 2007

The beatroot writes about the politics surrounding the case of the African refugee infecting women with HIV: “This time it's not AIDS and gays, however, it’s AIDS and Africans.”

India: Cricket Advert Gone Bad

  25 January 2007

The advertisements for the India-West Indies cricket series don't quite do the trick. Almost As Good As Chocolate on all that is wrong with the advert. “At worst, these ads are racist. At best, they shout out a message that Indians are not hospitable and treat our guests terribly.”

Yazan: Arabs have an Identity Crisis

  24 January 2007

Syrian blogger Yazan thinks Arabs suffer from an identity crisis dictated by a ‘superior’ past which is crushed by an ‘inferior’ present. “A superiority, that soon begins a never-ending fight with another complex. A complex of inferiority, towards a winner West a brutally developed and civilized West,” he explains.

Egypt: Sandmonkey Investigates 24

  24 January 2007

Egypt's leading blogger Sandmonkey has decided to investigate hit series 24 as he heard it was “insane, and according to some people superly racist against Muslims and Arabs”! He has since promised to engage himself in “seriously dumb & awesome entertainment for 5 straight continous hours.”

Kurdistance: The End of Saddam

  24 January 2007

Since the hanging of Saddam Hussein at the beginning of this year, Global Voices has covered what the world has had to say about it, the only group left now is the Kurds. Kurdish reaction was fairly slow to develop. I believe this was because of shock. But don't take...

Europe: Bulgarain Xenophobic MEP

  24 January 2007

“It’s about time EU politics had some entertainment again,” writes Europhobia. The ‘entertainment’ is the 23-year-old Bulgarian MEP Dimitar Stoyanov, known for the anti-Semitic and anti-Roma views he's not trying to hide.