· April, 2010

Stories about Ethnicity & Race from April, 2010

France: Reactions over Niqab and Polygamy Controversy

  28 April 2010

Lies Hebbadj is currently making  the headline news because his wife was fined for driving while wearing a niqab and because he said himself that he has three more households. His statement led him to be suspected of polygamy and therefore possiblyof French gaming welfare laws. Although  many bloggers, including Rokhaya...

Sri Lanka: The Idea Of Citizenship

  21 April 2010

Sanjana Hattotuwa comments on the idea of citizenship in Sri Lankan context: “Citizenship is (thus) anchored not to a secular, liberal ideal larger than the sum of its constituent peoples and communities, but to reductionist fault-lines and groupings, based on and fuelled by communal hagiography and the chauvinism of majoritarian...

Azerbaijan: Nationalist propaganda

  21 April 2010

Flying Carpets and Broken Pipelines recounts being verbally abused by a fellow countryman after co-presenting with Global Voices Online's Caucasus regional editor at a recent conference. The blogger notes that the reason for being cornered and harassed was her belief in tolerance and democracy in Azerbaijan as well as peace...

Lebanon: 24/7 Campaign for Migrants’ Rights

The 24/7: Campaign is a new online campaign working to alter the servant stereotype established between an Asian/African person and a Lebanese person. It is raising awareness to the fact that migrant workers are business persons from sophisticated cultures. The campaign aims at improving work conditions which, despite the recently...

Uruguay: New Holiday Commemorates Charrúa Massacre

  14 April 2010

For the first time on April 11, 2010, Uruguayans commemorated a day remembering the 1831 massacre against the Charrúa indigenous people. Supporters of the Charrúa and the law allowing this holiday see this as a small but significant step toward embracing the indigenous heritage of the country.

Spain: Conguitos Racist Logos in Question

  2 April 2010

On Maneno, a blogging platform dedicated to meet the needs of sub Saharan Africa bloggers, schauzeri wonders why Conguitos, a renown sweets company in Spain,  retained their current logos despite the offensive undertones for Africans [article also available in spanish]. According to schauzeri, The offensive logos, which have been in circulation...

Malaysia: New Economic Model

  2 April 2010

Dubbed as the New Economic Model, Malaysia's Prime Minister has finally unveiled the first part of the plan detailing the country's future economic direction. The effort is much lauded especially by policy makers in mainstream press, but the citizen media abounds with skepticism.