· December, 2012

Stories about Ethnicity & Race from December, 2012

Iranian-Americans Seek Heros to Save a Life

Nasim, a young woman from Northern California of Iranian decent is in need of a bone marrow transplant. Several Iranian celebrities have stepped up to help spread the word to save her. They are using social media to find a hero to give a bone marrow donation.

24 December 2012

Rohingya Refugees Rejected by Singapore

Singapore turned away 40 Rohingya shipwreck survivors who were rescued by a Vietnamese ship. Singapore netizens and human rights groups reacted strongly to the decision of authorities to send away the refugees.

23 December 2012

Tempers Flare As Court Frees Dagestani Boxer Who Killed Russian Teenager

RuNet Echo

Rasul Mirzaev, a 26-year-old mixed martial arts world champion from Dagestan, is a convicted killer. His victim was a 19-year-old Russian man, Ivan Agafonov, whom he murdered in a scuffle outside a nightclub in August 2011. On November 27, 2012, a Moscow court let him walk free, after a little more than a year in custody. The RuNet has responded with often vehement emotion.

20 December 2012

Zambian President Orders Killing of “Rebels” No One Can Find

It remains difficult to confirm the existence of the Barotse Liberation Army, the supposed paramilitary wing of various groups calling for the secession of Zambia’s Western Province. After President Michael Sata’s ordered the army to kill the rebel activists, some have accused the government of fabricating lies.

20 December 2012

Caribbean: What Happened in 2012 (Part 1)

This year, events in the regional blogosphere were curiously bookended by hunger strikes. Part 1 of this 2012 recap takes a look at the topics that most shaped online discussion in the Bahamian, Cuban and French-speaking Caribbean blogospheres.

19 December 2012

United States: Occupy Sandy Stands Up to Destruction

Occupy Sandy has proved to be a great help in alleviating the damage caused by Hurricane Sandy. Organized by the group InterOccupy, Occupy Sandy was created as a part of the Occupy movement whose methodology was to organize general assemblies, attracting individuals and groups working to promote mutual communication. As stipulated in its mission, the movement seeks to respond to the needs of the 99 percent.

18 December 2012

The Elusive Quest for Peace with the M23 in the DRC

The current conflict in the Kivu Region of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) threatens to linger on despite an international effort to broker a truce between the M23 rebellion and the Congolese government. The conflict is difficult to grasp, because the M23 rebellion has been a shifting movement, both geographically and politically.

18 December 2012

Kuku's Case Reignites Racism Debate in Portugal

The recent acquittal of a police agent who shot and killed a 14-year-old boy named Kuku in a neighborhood of the outskirts of Lisbon in 2009 reignited the debate about racism and marginalized communities in Portugal, as well as multiplied the number of social media commentary repudiating the Portuguese judicial system.

12 December 2012

Ecuador Launches Oil Auction Amid Indigenous Protests

On Wednesday November 28, 2012, Ecuador began an international licensing round for 13 oil blocks - nearly ten million acres - of untouched south-central Amazonian territory as indigenous leaders took to the streets in Quito to protest petroleum concessions on their lands.

7 December 2012