· September, 2012

Stories about Ethnicity & Race from September, 2012

Jamaica: In Whose Image?

  27 September 2012

Whose conception of Jamaican identity resulted in the decision to market our country in this colour-coded way?  Why are we still rubbing out black people from the big picture?  Or, at best, downplaying blackness?  Which Jamaica are we selling?  And who to? Professor Carolyn Cooper writes about class, colorism, branding...

Mauritania: March to Commemorate the Passing of Rights Activist

  24 September 2012

Civil rights organisation Touche pas à ma nationalité TPMN ( in English: Do not interfere with my citizenship) has called for a large march to commemorate the passing of anti-racism activist Lamine Mangane, killed a year ago by authorities in the town of Maghama during protests against a census that marginalized black citizens of Mauritania.

Armenia-Azerbaijan: Hatred in the Caucasus

  22 September 2012

Murad Gassanly, an activist in exile, comments on the case of Ramil Safarov, a soldier convicted of murder in Hungary and recently pardoned in Azerbaijan, by examining how and why ethnic hatred has come to define society in both Armenia and Azerbaijan.

Azerbaijan: Political Forces United on Pardoned Axe Murderer

  22 September 2012

In Mutatione Fortitudo says that the two main opposition parties in Azerbaijan have united behind the government in its criticism of a European Parliament ruling condemning the 31 August pardon, release, and promotion of an Azerbaijani soldier who axed to death a sleeping Armenian counterpart on a NATO Partnership for...

Guinea: Fightings Between Peuls and Malinkes Erupt in Conakry

  21 September 2012

Guinée TV1 reports that clashes between Peuls and Malinkes [fr], two of the largest ethnic groups in Guinea erupted in Madina, a borough of Conakry. Protesters blocked Conakry’s main bridge and barricaded other roadways, according to witnesses, who said security forces were deployed but did not intervene right away.

Mauritania: The Burden of Being Black

  18 September 2012

How is it not to know what it is like to be free? To have your every waking, sleeping and living moment and your whole life and destiny in the hands of another that owns you? [..] this is not about history or a hypothetical question, but the here and now:...

United States: Spanish Stands Out in Political Conventions

  17 September 2012

In the race for the White House, the political conventions held at the end of August and beginning of September served as a showcase for the Republican and Democratic parties. This year, the conventions demonstrated the continuously growing importance of the Spanish language.

Armenia-Azerbaijan: International Day of Peace

  14 September 2012

Following an increase in tensions between Armenia and Azerbaijan, locked as they are in a bitter stalemate over the disputed territory of Nagorno Karabakh, Mountains of Peace looks ahead to the International Day of Peace. […] enough is enough. It is time to make a stance, time to speak out,...

Hungary: Armenian Singer Condemns Diplomatic Failure

  14 September 2012

It seems that to some politicians money means more than the honour of their own country or their relations with other countries. This case could affect the stability of the whole region. Lángoló Gitárok, a Hungarian music blog, has published an interview [hu] with Gaya Arutyunyan, a Hungary-based singer of...

Guinea: Acts of Torture, Symptoms of a Country Still Divided

  13 September 2012

Guinea's transition from the notorious military regime of Moussa Dadis Camara towards a democratic political system has not gone smoothly. The country is still experiencing strong internal divisions as indicated by the attempted coup d'etat against the president. The rule of law is still under construction and there are numerous accounts of torture within the military.

Hollister Models Clown Koreans Via Twitter, Offending Asians

  12 September 2012

It is not the first time clothing brand Hollister went under fire for its racial gaffes. Recently, its male models tweeted several racial messages making fun of South Koreans, including photos of model posing with “Asian squinty eyes”. Korea Bang quoted a comment that read : People talk about how Hollister’s...

Kosovo: “Cinematic Darkness Knows No Nation”

  11 September 2012

At Kosovo 2.0 blog, Belgrade-based journalist Dušan Komarčević writes – here and here – about his July 2012 trip to Prizren, Kosovo, to attend the DOKUFEST International Documentary and Short Film Festival: […] The cinemas were filled with movie lovers from Kosovo, Albania, Bulgaria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia, Croatia, Serbia,...

Kyrgyzstan: Two Years After the Conflict

  8 September 2012

Much like physical marks the conflict left on the city, the damage left in individual lives and on the city as a community is healing in many places—and where it doesn’t heal, it seems at least to fade into the background of other scars, other challenges. Noah Tucker on Registan.net...

Tajikistan: Xenophobia on Facebook

  8 September 2012

[O]ur society – to be more exact, that part of our society which has internet access and actively uses social networks – is increasingly witnessing the expansion and strengthening of unhealthy nationalist beliefs. Blogger Harsavor ponders [ru] the rise of xenophobia in Tajikistan, particularly among the country's Facebook users.