· December, 2007

Stories about Ethnicity & Race from December, 2007

Caucasus: 2007 Blog Review

  31 December 2007

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...

Romania: Dracula

  26 December 2007

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

  26 December 2007

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

  25 December 2007

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

  24 December 2007

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

  24 December 2007

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

  23 December 2007

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

  21 December 2007

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...

The Balkans: Fighting Genocide Deniers

  20 December 2007

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

  20 December 2007

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

  20 December 2007

“(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

  20 December 2007

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

  20 December 2007

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.

Soviet History: 1963 Race Rally

  18 December 2007

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.