Stories about Ethnicity & Race from June, 2012
Trinidad & Tobago: For all the Daughters
A new blog, that addresses “everything about being a girl in the Caribbean”, is here.
Slovakia: Teachers Call for Help in Open Letter to Education Minister
Two elementary school teachers wrote an open letter to the Slovak Minister of Education, highlighting the problems they face with their students who are “significantly maladjusted socially, [and] are almost exclusively students of the Romani origin,” sparking controversy.
Armenia: Intolerant Society
Unzipped: Gay Armenia posts a video animation produced by the Civilitas organization illustrating how intolerant society in the virtually mono-ethnic Republic of Armenia can be. The blog also notes that...
Mali: Timeline and Video of the War between MLNA and Ansar Dine in Gao
Weeks removed from striking an alliance to take over the North of Mali, the Tuareg rebel movement MNLA and the Islamist group of Ansar Dine are fighting in the town...
Georgia: Men Can Wash Their Own Feet
Making Connections not only posts a recent video by Georgian bloggers against homophobia, but also one calling for gender equality in the South Caucasus country. The blog notes that the...
Puerto Rico: Francheska Duarte's Case Causes Outrage
The young mother Francheska Duarte was run over and later abandoned in an emergency medical centre by her ex-boyfriend. The judge presiding over the case found Francheska's former boyfriend Jorge Ramos guilty only of the less serious misdemeanor. The decision has caused an outrage in the island.
Armenia: Online Petition to Support LGBT Rights
Following the recent firebombing of a gay-friendly bar in Yerevan as well as homophobic comments from government officials and politicians setting the scene for the aggressive disruption of a diversity...
Kyrgyzstan: Incident in Batken Highlights Cross-border Ethnic Tensions
Passions flew high in the southwestern Kyrgyz city of Batken last week after local residents took a group of Tajik citizens hostage in an attempt to force the release of...
Armenia: A Slow Descent Into Fascism?
Following the 8 May firebombing of a gay-friendly bar in Yerevan and the disruption by ultra-nationalists of a march for diversity two weeks later, the Huffington Posts asks if Armenia...
Guyana: Race Relations
“In the past decade or so this demonic cancer of contemporary Guyana has been intensifying with systematic, contumelious frequency. We, as a nation, have not failed to take notice but...
Greece: Immigrant Knifed on Election Night
Violence against immigrants has been steadily mounting in Athens since last year's spate of attacks, especially before the recent elections which saw the extreme right Chrysi Avgi (Golden Dawn) party gaining...
Armenia: Bloggers Criticize Public TV Eurovision Coverage
Forced to reluctantly broadcast the final of this year's Eurovision Song Contest in Azerbaijan, Armenia's Public TV used the occasion to continue the ongoing information and propaganda war against its rival in the region. Some Armenian bloggers respond.
China: Africans Protest a Suspicious Death in Police Custody
Chinese public opinion has been highly divisive following a protest involving hundreds of African residents of Guangzhou this week, sparked by the suspicious police station death of a member of the southern Chinese city's large African community.
St. Lucia: Flower Festival
At “I and Iyanola”, Nkrumah Lucien completed a two-part blog post exploring the origins of Saint Lucia's flower festivals: “It is not that La Wòz and La Magwit cannot be...
Tunisia: Final Draft of New Constitution Preamble Causes Controversy
Tunisians are fuming over the final draft of the preamble (prelude) of the new constitution, drafted by their first elected parliament after the fall of the Ben Ali regime. Many netizens did not agree with the assembly members' vision of post-revolution Tunisia. Ahmed Medien summarises reactions.
Russia: Bloggers Honor Tupac Shakur
Highly intelligent and socially aware, Tupac Shakur embodied the plight of contemporary African Americans who struggle to overcome poverty and racism. RuNet bloggers have honored him by his story from beginning to end on the anniversary of his birth. (June 16, 1971 - September 13, 1996)
Tajikistan: Language and Nation-Building
Blogger Adash Istad ponders [tj] the importance of a common vernacular language in the process of nation-building in Tajikistan. The author writes: “We have a national spoken language [which all...
Kyrgyzstan: Videos Abound of ‘Patriotic’ Attacks on Migrant Women in Russia
A number of 'patriotic' videos depicting male Kyrgyz labor migrants abusing their female compatriots for associating with men from other ethnic groups while working in Russia has recently been disseminated online. The videos have sparked outrage across domestic and international networks.
Bangladesh: Keep Border Open For Rohingya Refugees
After a recent sectarian violence between Rohingya and Rakhine in Western Myanmar, Bangladesh has restricted the influx of Rohingya refugees crossing borders. Bangladeshi netizens questions the decision of the government on humane grounds, though admitting as well that the country is incapable of hosting more refugees.
Kyrgyzstan: The Peace Bell Tolls for Everyone but Uzbeks?
On the second anniversary of violent clashes between ethnic Kyrgyz and Uzbeks in southern Kyrgyzstan, a ‘Peace Bell‘ [ru] has been unveiled in the city of Osh as a monument for...
Myanmar: Protest Against Riot Attacks
CJ Myanmar reported[my] that Rakhine people in Yangon, Myanmar protested against riot attacks which already spread in nearby towns of the Rakhine state. The protestors include Rakhine ethnics and Buddhist...
