· September, 2008

Stories about Ethnicity & Race from September, 2008

Sri Lanka: On Tamils

  30 September 2008

Dr. Mala Amarasinghe at Lanka Journal writes about his perception of the Tamil population in Sri Lanka.

Jamaica: Power Struggle

  30 September 2008

“Portia Simpson-Miller…represents to the elite and middle class in Jamaica what Obama represents to white, bible-thumping, gun-toting mainstream America. Which is worse I wonder: To be black (socially speaking) in a black country or to be black in a white country?” Annie Paul provides thoughtful commentary on the recent opposition...

Ukraine: How Russian is the Crimea?

  30 September 2008

The 8th Circle discusses the Crimea and Ukrainian fears of a Russian secessionist movement, arguing that the peninsula could be compared to other European regions, which today could not be imagined seceding. He also refers to a new book on this theme by Ukrainian writer Taras Kuzio.

Angola: A new African El Dorado for foreign workers

  28 September 2008

Since the end of the civil war in 2002, Angola has been home to many foreigners coming to find work. It is estimated that there are over 70,000 foreigners living in the country, mostly coming from South America, China, Portugal and other African countries. Find out how this melting pot is evolving through the view point of Angolan and immigrant bloggers.

Sri Lanka: Anti-Tamil riot videos

  25 September 2008

ICT for Peacebuilding (ICT4Peace) blog informs of a new site titled “Never Again in Sri Lanka” which hosts videos of the anti-Tamil riots of July 1983.

Barbados, Jamaica, U.S.A.: Political Issues

  25 September 2008

Living in Barbados says that the recent battle for leadership in Jamaica's opposition party proves “that the overlapping values of candidates’ religion, race, gender, class, colour, speech, perceived intelligence and such personal characteristics–may play out in our little garden of politics at least as much as we think they do...

Bermuda, U.S.A.: Political Dilemma

  25 September 2008

Bermuda has got some unwanted attention with the Obama camp's latest campaign ad, which accuses McCain of being on the side of tax-dodging Bermuda-based US companies – Breezeblog says the whole thing “underlines the dilemma many Bermudians feel: as much as they wish to finally see a black US president,...

Jamaica: Post-Portia

  23 September 2008

“The whole class battle is already history and vanishes with Portia. Still, we will hear about it as long as Portia is leader of the PNP…”: Jamaica and the World examines the aftermath of the opposition's party's leadership elections.

Ukraine: Critique of a Text on NATO Membership

  22 September 2008

The 8th Circle posts a detailed critique of Jeffrey Tayler’s piece in The Atlantic: “[…] in the process of attempting to make the case against Ukraine’s membership in NATO, Tayler resorts (consciously or not) to claims that are either: misleading or factually inaccurate and/or are highly improbable to be true...

Palestine: Prejudice in the USA

  22 September 2008

Palestinian blogger Laila El-Haddad has had an unpleasant encounter with a man in Virginia: “Free Palestine? Palestine's already free!!” he raged, gesturing to a bumper sticker on the back of my windshield as he began to walk away. … He then turned around and bellowed out “Why don't you go...

Jamaica: Slaves

  22 September 2008

Jamaican Geoffrey Philp has “had enough of these latter day heroes whose bravery exists only in their febrile imaginations. They denigrate the memory of our ancestors who sucked salt, bore the whip and the yoke of slavery, and invented stories in the dark so that one day their children could...

Brazil: Suspense as indigenous land rulings in limbo

  20 September 2008

Brazil's Supreme Court (STF) decided to postpone the decision about Raposa Serra do Sol land but will vote on another less complex demarcation case: the Pataxó Hã-Hã-Hãe people have been waiting for this decision for over 26 years. Meanwhile, bloggers comment on the fact that, for first time in the history of Brazil's Supreme Court, an indian lawyer defended her people. Watch the video.