Stories about Ethnicity & Race from December, 2007
Caucasus: 2007 Blog Review
With 2008 less than a day away at time of writing, it seems only appropriate to take a look back at the blogging highlights in the Caucasus for 2007. Certainly, although blogging is still largely underdeveloped, the year has seen some major highlights, especially with regards to stories that also...
Serbia: “Manufactured Guilt”
Gray Falcon writes that “only by rejecting this manufactured guilt and by understanding who made it and with what purpose can the Serbs begin their path to freedom.”
The Balkans: B92 and Milošević
In a somewhat roundabout way, Alan Jakšić of Balkan Anarchist tells of how B92 radio, site and blogs have helped him to change his mind about Slobodan Milošević.
Sri Lanka: Being Tami
groundviews on the experience of being Tamil in Sri Lanka.
Romania: Dracula
Csíkszereda Musings re-reads Bram Stoker's ‘Dracula’ and writes about his surprising ethnic origins as well as Romania's flourishing Dracula-centered tourism industry.
Poland: Simon Mol
The beatroot writes again about Simon Mol, a “Cameroonian ‘refugee’, poet and human rights activist” charged with infecting 12 Polish women with HIV. (Many of the 213 comments to this post do not seem to have much to do with the subject.)
Egypt: Rama Yade
Rama Yade, France's Secretary of State, has inspired Egyptian blogger Eastern Bird to write the following post, which Tarek Amr translates from Arabic.
Armenia: Christmas Comes Early
The Armenian Observer says that while he can understand why international contacts and friends are wishing him Merry Xmas, he is irritated that Armenians are doing so as well. While the West celebrates Christmas on 25th December, Armenians will not do so until 6 January.
Armenia: Burning Bridges
Archuk's blog comments on recent hearings in the Armenian National Assembly on relations with Turkey and considers that focusing on potential financial reparations does more harm than good in the quest for “historical justice.” The blogger remembers that even a famous Armenian freedom fighter killed during the Karabakh conflict concluded...
Caribbean: Christmas Traditions
All over the world, people get together with friends and family to celebrate Christmas. They exchange gifts, and invite one another to their homes for parties, lunches or dinners, signifying the trademark Christmas message of peace and goodwill. Karel McIntosh speaks to a few regional bloggers to get a glimpse into what Christmas traditions are like in the Caribbean...
Ukraine, Russia: On Tymoshenko, Yanukovych and Putin
Foreign Notes writes about Yulia Tymoshenko's TV address and Viktor Yanukovych's “shadow opposition government” – as well as Vladimir Putin's misrepresentation of Ukraine's Russophone population in his Time Magazine interview and a subsequent reaction of the head of Donetsk region, who “emphasized that the Russian-speaking population of his oblast, which...
Serbia: Kosovo Roma
TOL's Romantic writes about about Kosovo's Roma and a new blog about this minority group.
Serbia: 50 Cent in Kosovo
Prishtine: Independence and Kanun hosts a discussion of 50 Cent's recent concert in Kosovo.
The Balkans: Fighting Genocide Deniers
Srebrenica Genocide Blog has two new posts up: on the atrocities of 1943, and on Darko Trifunovic, a “Srebrenica genocide denier” employed by the University of Belgrade's Faculty of Security Studies. In a comment, Alan Jakšić of Serbian Anarchist recommends that Daniel of Srebrenica Genocide Blog file a “formal complaint”...
The Balkans: A Blogroll, Sort Of
Balkan Anarchist posts a blogroll of sorts, listing all blogs (mostly Balkan, but not exclusively so) he has left comments at in 2007. Of special notice are Genocide in Bosnia, a blog by an exile from Srebrenica, and this discussion at Srebrenica Genocide Blog.
Israel: Hypocritical Arabs
“(A)ny state that defines itself as “Arab” would be equally guilty of the racism that Israel is being accused of,” writes The Elder of Zion, in this post, which lists excerpts from the constitutions of a number of Arab countries and Iran.
Barbados: Matters of Race
Barbados-born pop star Rihanna's revelation that she was bullied at school for being “white” causes Barbados Free Press and What crazy looks like to blog about “the intersections of race, colour, class and gender in the Caribbean.”
Armenia: Robinson Crusoe in Kurdish
Kurdistan and Hayastan — Hand in Hand posts a scan of the front page of the Kurdish translation of Daniel Dafoe's classic book, Robinson Crusoe. The book was translated and published in the Kurmanji dialect of Kurdish in 1936.
Russia: North Korean Laborers
Moscow Through Brown Eyes writes about North Korean laborers in Russia and examines other cases of coerced labor, elsewhere.
Russia: 1996 Attack on Red Cross in Chechnya
De Rebus Antiquis Et Novis writes about the 1996 murder of the International Committee of the Red Cross personnel in Chechnya.
Soviet History: 1963 Race Rally
De Rebus Antiquis Et Novis writes about a little-known 1963 rally in Moscow's Red Square, when 500 African students rallied against racial discrimination, following the death of a Ghanian fellow student.
