Stories about Ethnicity & Race from July, 2011
Hungary: Situation of Roma
Eva Balogh of Hungarian Spectrum writes about the situation of Roma in Hungary against the beckground of US-talks with representatives of the Roma group in the country.
Puerto Rico: Libraries and Reading
Gil the Jenius puts forward a theory about why “there are no decent libraries on the island”, adding that with the current levels of Internet penetration, “We don't have any excuses anymore.”
Cuba: Call for Justice in Death of Teen
Laritza's Laws posts an update about the shooting death of a teen by a retired police officer: “Relatives and neighbors of the victim suspect the police are looking for excuses not to prosecute him, and they are demanding justice for the death of Angel Izquierdo Medina, that it not go...
Estonia: Tower of Babel
Giustino of Itching for Eestimaa discusses how Estonia – contrary to preconceptions – is very much of a multilingual country, not least because of tourism but also in daily practicalities.
The Balkans: Trials of Ratko Mladić and Goran Hadžić
At OpenDemocracy.net, Eric Gordy writes on what there is to expect from the upcoming ICTY trials of Ratko Mladić and Goran Hadžić.
Armenia: Nationalist links alleged after Utøya attacks
Unzipped comments on claims that Anders Behring Breivik, the Norwegian responsible for the 22 July terrorist attacks in Oslo and Utøya which killed at least 76 people, had online connections with extreme nationalists and neo-Nazis in many countries including Armenia. The blog says that the local security services should investigate...
Jamaica: Public Outbursts from Diasporan Women
“How can we not say to ourselves – was any enterprise ever so doomed to failure? Was anything ever so sad?”: An eye-opening post from Under the Saltine Flag about the underlying issues that could possibly have sparked public tirades by two Jamaican women.
Bosnia & Herzegovina: The March of Peace
Earlier this month, Sarah Correia of Café Turco took part in the March of Peace (Marš mira), walking some “100 kilometres alongside more than 6 thousand people in tribute to the victims of genocide in Bosnia.”
Argentina's Chinese-Argentines
The Council on Hemispheric Affairs (COHA) Blog launched a series “that will cover immigration throughout the hemisphere from a variety of different perspectives.” COHA Research Associate PoLin So kicks off the series with a post on Chinese-Argentines and their struggle to fit into Argentine society.
Trinidad & Tobago: Celebrating Emancipation
“Trinidad and Tobago was the first country in the world to commemorate the abolition of slavery with a national observance, and since that time several other countries (mostly in the Caribbean) have followed suit”: TriniGourmet.com has the lowdown on this year's Emancipation Day celebrations.
Hungary: Nation or State?
Eva Balogh of Hungarian Spectrum takes a critical look at Prime Minister Orban's difficulties with balancing between Hungary as nation and state.
Norway: Courtroom Doors Will be Closed
More than 70,000 people joined a Facebook event over the weekend advocating for the first court hearing of mass-murderer Anders Behring Breivik on Monday, July 25, 2011 to be held behind closed doors. Today it was confirmed [no] that no press or members of the public will attend. Breivik does...
Inside the Mind of the Norwegian Terrorist
Thoma Roche of Techyum blog posted an analysis entitled ‘Inside the Mind of the Norwegian Terrorist’. The fact that the terrorist pinpointed Japan and South Korea as clear examples of countries that consistently and directly dismissed multiculturalism has drawn various responses in South Korea.
Turkey: Ethnic Tension Rises Further as Street Clashes Erupt in Istanbul
In the aftermath clashes between army and separatist Kurdish PKK militants earlier this month, ethnic tension in Turkey continues to grow. Marches in the Zeytinburnu district of Istanbul broke out into larger scale street fighting on the night of July 21.
Norway: A Firsthand Account of the Massacre in Utøya
Prableen Kaur, a 23-year old local politician and youth leader from Oslo, has blogged a firsthand account of what she did to survive when a fanatic killer opened fire on a Labour Party youth camp in Utøya, Norway.
Norway: The Online Traces of a Mass Murderer
Bloggers and journalists in Norway and abroad continue to look for any online traces of murder suspect Anders Behring Breivik in hopes that it could help explain his actions on Friday, 22 July 2011.
India: Being A Muslim In Mumbai After The Terrorist Attacks
Azad Alam shares a personal story of facing consequences as a tenant of a Mumbai housing society after wearing a Islamic cap.
Georgia: Diversity in motion
Unable to visit each other's country because of the still unresolved conflict over the disputed territory of Nagorno Karabakh, Reader in Baku comments on meeting with Armenians on neutral ground in the Georgian capital and suggests others from both sides do the same.
Guatemalan Women Misrepresented by Guatemala's Tourism Board
“Please help me comprehend what’s wrong with our indigenous women that Guatemala’s Tourism Board hires light-skin ladinas and white women to represent our women? I need help understanding what’s wrong with the other 45% of the population? Don’t mestizos, ladinos, blacks and whites fit the ‘Guatemalan profile'?” asks Rudy Girón...
U.S.V.I., St. Kitts: On Belonging
A Nation or Nobody “wonder[s] about the place of writers like Phillips within the Caribbean literary community, and what they might be able to tell us about belonging and diaspora.”
Grenada: Justice Isaac Dies in Canada
The Caribbean Camera acknowledges the passing of “the honorable Julius A. Isaac, Canada’s first black Chief Justice”, who “ironically…died on the eve of one of the festivals he helped formulate – Caribana.”
