· March, 2011

Stories about Ethnicity & Race from March, 2011

Bosnia & Herzegovina: Towards Partition

  31 March 2011

At OpenDemocracy.net, Bedrudin Brljavac writes about the situation in Bosnia & Herzegovina: “Fifteen years since the end of the war, ethno-nationalist leaders continue to pursue political agendas leading to the partitioning of Bosnia rather than membership of a united Europe. And yet, without the prospect of the EU, it is...

Colombia: Indigenous Communities Protect their Food Security

  31 March 2011

Indigenous communities in Colombia are taking steps to protect their food security. Not only are they educating their communities to eat what they grow on their vegetable gardens instead of buying expensive food brought from outside but they are also protesting new laws and regulations limiting their access to milk.

Russia: Tribute to SOVA's Galina Kozhevnikova

  27 March 2011

At OpenDemocracy.net, Andreas Umland pays tribute to Galina Kozhevnikova, the deputy director of the “SOVA” NGO and a prominent researcher of Russia's extreme right-wing movements, who died earlier this month: “She will be irreplaceable in future academic and public debates on the increase of ultra-nationalism in Russia.”

Hungary: Childhood Memories of the Holocaust in Pécs

  27 March 2011

Eva S. Balogh of Hungarian Spectrum shares her memories of the summer of 1944 in Pécs, when the city's Jewish population – and most of her neighbors and kindergarten classmates – lost their lives: “I heard that just last year the Jewish community in Pécs erected a memorial specifically for...

Georgia: Men in Black

  27 March 2011

Scary Azeri comments on photographs taken by Global Voices’ Caucasus editor at last week's Novruz celebrations held by the local ethnic Azeri community in Marneuli, Georgia. The blog is particularly alarmed by the large number of men dressed in black, a common style in the three South Caucasus countries, at...

Côte d'Ivoire: Where Are the African Personalities When They Are Needed?

  27 March 2011

A few months ago,  Marième Jamme asked Bono and Bob Geldof to take less prominent roles as speakers for Africa in the media and leave space for Africans to speak for themselves. Today on the Africa Rising blog,  bloggers  wonder where have the African personalities gone when they are actually needed to get the world's...

Brazil: Racism against Federal Judge

  25 March 2011

Blogger Renato Rovai regrets [pt] that Júlio Campos [pt] – a Federal Deputy from the Brazilian Democratas right wing party- has referred to the Minister of the Supreme Federal Court, Joaquim Barbosa, as the “dark brown of the Supreme”. Campos later apologized [pt] for what were considered racist words.

Côte d’Ivoire : Terror in Abidjan

  20 March 2011

Abidjan a connu avant le début de la guérilla qui sévit depuis quelques jours une série de violences inédites, des attaques contre les domiciles privés des adversaires politiques de Laurent Gbagbo. De plus des actes de lynchage ont été pris en vidéo dans la commune de Youpogon. Ces actes de violence publiés sur le web ont provoqué de vives réactions.

Malaysia: ‘Offensive’ Novel Creates Controversy

  20 March 2011

A recent controversy that has arisen in Malaysia is the issue of a novel used as a textbook for literature in secondary schools. Critics claim the book, which discussed the caste system, has racist content. The Indian community in Malaysia is demanding the removal of the book in the school syllabus

Brazil: Criminalization of Guarani-Kaiowá Leaders

  20 March 2011

Israel Sassá comments [pt] on the criminalization process that is taking place against the leaders of the indigenous Guarani Kaiowa community in Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil. According to him, members of the community are accused because they have been camping along federal roads after illegal farmers have stolen their...

Hungary: Waiting for the Hungarian Guard

  19 March 2011

The conflict between the Roma and the Hungarian community of Gyöngyöspata, a village north of Budapest, escalated drastically when paramilitary organizations appeared in the settlement some two weeks ago, after the far-right Hungarian political party's rally. Marietta Le reports on the online response to the situation.

Macedonia: Census Postponed Till October

  19 March 2011

As anticipated, the Macedonian parliament adopted a new law on Wednesday, which postpones the Census [MKD]–originally scheduled for April–until October. Political leaders [MKD] have still not set the date for the early elections: May and June are rumored as the likeliest time right now.

Côte d'Ivoire: When Ethnic Hate Shadows Politics

  17 March 2011

Abobo and Yopougon are two districts of Abidjan, the economic capital city of Côte d'Ivoire. Different ethnic and religious groups have mixed peacefully in the areas, until the recent Ivorian political crisis began. For the last ten days, they have witnessed incidents of ethnic violence, crystallising political disputes and the threat of civil war.

Racism in Latin America

  15 March 2011

During the International Year for People of African Descent -as declared by the United Nations- a video from Chile and another from Colombia spread through social networks show cases of racism in Latin America.

Bermuda: Dr. Ball Passes On

  15 March 2011

“She was one of the greatest Bermudians of our modern era, and her achievements and work are truly inspiring”: Catch a fire blogs about “[his] own memories and reflections” of “Bermuda's Lady of Labour”.