Stories about Ethnicity & Race from April, 2014
Trinidad & Tobago: The Implications of Style
When you see your reflection, are you seeing you or an amalgamation of your racial, historical and social complications? Tillah Willah blogs about the “self-schism that exists [and the] ways that this affects [her] as a black woman living in the west.”
When Will Impunity End for Slave Traders in Mauritania ?
A protest coordinated by several Mauritanian civil society organizations and political parties was held on April 29, 2014 in Nouakchott. The protest was initiatied by members of Haratin tribe who demand more rights and the enforcement of existing laws. This protest marks the first anniversary of the Haratin Manifesto [fr]. The...
Some See a Success Story. Others See a ‘Thieving’ Undocumented Immigrant
Betty Wong was smuggled into Hong Kong from mainland China in 2003 when she was 8. Her story, from undocumented immigrant to medical student, was met with online attacks.
French Newspaper Publishes Chart on What Nationalities Commit Crimes
The newspaper Le Progrès based in Lyon, France published an infographic [fr]entitled “”Délinquance : à chacun sa spécialité – principales nationalités impliquées” (Crimes: To each his own- the main nationalities implicated [for each type of crimes]) (see image in the twitter update below): Dans son édition du jour, Le Progrès...
Guyana: The Walter Rodney Enquiry
Two different narratives are taking hold in Guyana when it comes to the Commission of Enquiry into the death of political activist Walter Rodney: Barbados Underground reports that the Guyana Trades Union Congress is looking after its interest in arriving at the truth, while propaganda press, which is not in...
French NGO Tackles the ‘Roma Question’ Through Community Building Projects
The Embassy of PEROU aims to bring together suburb residents and their shantytown neighbors by building community centers together and improving general living conditions.
The Africanized Experience of Lisbon
The media and racial stereotypes [pt], through the perspective and experience of two specialists in the area of the study of race, both Afroportuguese, born in Lisbon, Portugal. is the topic of a new podcast. An interview with Grada Kilomba, academic of Santomean origin at the Humboldt University Berlin, translated into...
Indians in the Caribbean
Active Voice reviews Gaiutra Bahadur’s book Coolie Woman: The Odyssey of Indenture and wonders whether “banning words or proscribing them ever achieves the desired outcome”: Should we be trying to sanitize history or recording it in all its ugliness for the benefit of future generations? Can we ever liberate the...
Expat Life in China: A Review Of Unsavory Elements
Unsavory Elements is an anthology of true stories about foreigners “on the loose” in China. Through their stories, the authors and journalists from the book also explore illegality and ethics in China. As China Law Blog describes: Ranging from transactions and deeds that would raise the eyebrows of those enforcing America’s Foreign Corrupt Practices...
The Overlooked Crisis in Burundi
While neighboring Rwanda is making news with the commemoration of the 1994 genocide and the increased tension with France, Burundi is marred in an overlooked political crisis and surge of violence that opposes, again, Hutus and Tutsis. Tshitenge Lubabu in Burundi opines that the roots of the crisis [fr] are the current political leaders:...
France, the Czech Republic and Greece Under Scrutiny for Their Treatment of Roma Community
On International Romani Day (April 8) the French branch of Amnesty International wrote a statement entitled “Facing a spiral of violence, the Roma of Europe are demanding justice and protection”. The statement is especially critical of the treatment of the Roma community in France, the Czech Republic and Greece [fr]:...
Why Rwanda Accuses France of Aiding 1994 Genocide
As Rwanda pays tribute to the victims of the genocide 20 years after the tragedy, President Kagame states again that France must “face up to the difficult truth” of its role in the 1994 genocide [fr]. As a result of this statement, France has pulled out of the commemorative events...
Ministers’ Firing Sparks Debate about Women, Race & Politics in Trinidad & Tobago
Caste, misogyny and race are hot topics of discussion in the Trinidad and Tobago blogosphere, following the recent dismissal of two Ministers of Parliament.
