Stories about Ethnicity & Race from July, 2012
Guyana: Linden Protests
Imran Khan explores the roots of the Linden Protests and concludes that the recent electricity rate hike is merely the latest in a long series of “economic and social hardships” meted out to the citizen of that mining community.
Democratic Republic of Congo: Rwanda Accused in North Kivu Violence
Since April 2012, North Kivu province in the eastern Congo has been destabilised by the March 23 movement (M23), comprised of fighters from the Tutsi-led National Congress for the Defence of the People (CNDP). M23 continues to cause enormous loss of life and massive population displacement within the province.
Caucasus: Olympic Women
Ianyan introduces its readers to the female athletes representing the three countries of the South Caucasus in the Olympic games in London.
Jamaica: Campaign to Exonerate Marcus Garvey – Part 2
Jamaican diaspora blogger Geoffrey Philp has been working tirelessly to gather signatures for the online campaign to exonerate Marcus Garvey, who, in the early 1920s, was convicted and sentenced to prison on charges of mail fraud involving his Black Star Line shipping company. In this follow-up post, Geoffrey discusses why he thinks it is important for Garvey's name to be cleared and why it should be done under the Obama administration.
Jamaica: Campaign to Exonerate Marcus Garvey – Part 1
Marcus Garvey was a Jamaican political leader, writer and thinker who is considered a national hero in the land of his birth. But in the United States, Garvey is down on record as a convicted felon. In the first installment of this two-part post, Global Voices talks to one Jamaican diaspora blogger, Geoffrey Philp, who started an online campaign to clear Marcus Garvey's name.
Bangladesh, Myanmar: Rohingya Repression in International Spotlight
Protests are happening around the world against Rohingya repression. Six weeks after clashes between Rohingya and Rakhaine broke out in Western Myanmar, more than 100 people have been killed and 50,000 are estimated to have been displaced.
Russia: The Killing of Krutov
The June 29 murder of Svetloyarsk Raion administration head Nikolay Krutov was a blip on that day’s news. It was not unprecedented, but unraveling why the crime was committed (and what it means) is anything but straightforward.
Morocco: Video Explores the Question of Racism
In Morocco, an ethnically diverse country and one that has seen a recent influx of sub-Saharan African migrants, racism is seldom discussed. A video [Ar] posted by Moroccan YouTube user ch3aldaw (Turn on the light) asks: Are Moroccans racists?
India: Ethnic Clashes in Assam
Fighting between indigenous Bodo tribes and Muslim settlers in the Indian State of Assam killed at least 32 people and wounded many more. Approx. 70,000 villagers have fled their homes since the violence started and taken shelter in relief camps. More than 60 villages belonging to both Bodos and Muslims in Kokrajhar and Chirang districts were ransacked or burned.
United States: Anaheim Rises After Police Kills Unarmed Man
After the police shot Manuel Díaz, a 25-year-old unarmed Latino man on Saturday, July 21st during a chase in Anaheim, California, the community reacted with protests claiming an increased level of violence against them. We share videos and reactions from the net.
The Bahamas: Comments on the Colorado Shooting
There has not been a significant reaction in the Caribbean blogosphere about the Colorado movie theatre shooting - which is being cited as one of the deadliest in recent U.S. history - save for two Bahamian bloggers, for whom the news hit close to home.
Syria: Refuge in Armenia
With the situation in Syria deteriorating rapidly, Cilicia comments on the plight of the country's 100,000 strong ethnic Armenian population. The blog says that many are already applying for Armenian citizenship, but more could be done to offer them refuge in Armenia.
Armenia-Georgia: Typography Without Borders?
Behance features a typographic project to write the Georgian word for hello phonetically in an Armenian script stylized in such a way that it resembles Georgian. Although some letters in the Armenian and Georgian alphabets can resemble each other depending on the fonts and case or styles used, they are...
Mali: What is The ECOWAS Waiting for ?
Francis Laloupo wonders whether the ECOWAS has a clear purpose in the resolution [fr] of the crisis in Northern Mali. Laloupo argues that while the ECOWAS has maintained for the past 4 months that they strive to re-establish the unity of the Malian territory, they have yet to draw a coherent strategy to...
Caucasus: Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia Compared
Katie Going Global visits the South Caucasus and compares Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia. Assessing the three countries on many levels, the travel blog considers that Georgia is the most tourist-friendly.
Northern Mali: Resistance in the Streets and Online
Northern Mali has been de facto cut off from its central government since the Tuareg rebels then the Islamists drove the army out of their territory. On the ground, tension is rising. Women were the first to go out on the streets and in all the northern cities, the young have taken up protest.
Lebanon: Segregation against Migrant Workers at Beaches
Following the first video released by the Anti Racism Movement showing blatant segregation at one of the Lebanese beaches, another video is published and this time is featuring 10 more resorts clearly discriminating against migrant workers.
Brazil: Navy Denies Entrance to Quilombo Rio dos Macacos
Tai Oliver reported on Quartoamarelo Ateliê studio Facebook page [pt] about recent abuses involving the Navy and Rio dos Macacos quilombo community in Bahia, Brazil, which struggles against eviction threats since February. She says the Navy, in control of the quilombo's entrance, denied access to four residents (woman, three children)...
Zambia: Police Thwart Xenophobic Attacks Against Congolese Traders
The Zambian law enforcement agencies prevented what could have been deadly retaliatory and xenophobic attacks on neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo citizens living in Zambia following the burning to death of a Zambian driver in the border Congolese town of Kasumbalesa.
Hong Kong: Foreign Domestic Workers Protest Mandatory Live-in Policy
A popular singer's outrageous treatment of her maid, who is forced to sleep in a customized bed on top of a toilet bowl, sparked protests outside the immigration office against Hong Kong's mandatory live-in policy which makes foreign domestic workers vulnerable to ill-treatment.
Kyrgyzstan: Blogger Suggests “Ethnicity Should Die”
Ilya Karimdjanov, a prominent Kyrgyzstani blogger, argues [ru] that ethnicity as a criterion for dividing people up into groups “should simply die”. “I really don't understand why people tend to differentiate themselves using the stupid criterion of ethnicity,” he writes. While many people reading the blog agree with Karimdjanov, one...
