· July, 2007

Stories about Ethnicity & Race from July, 2007

“Welcome to Japan”? Kurdish refugee family leaves for Canada

  22 July 2007

Few people, including Japanese themselves, are aware of the dismal record of Japan's treatment of refugees, particularly its treatment of Kurdish refugees. After struggling for many years to make a home in Japan, Erdal Dogan and his family, who fled Turkey amid religious and ethnic persecution, have finally been forced to leave, luckily having been accepted as refugees in Canada. Japanese bloggers reflect on the departure with sadness and frustration.

Bahrain: Does A PlayStation 2 Gun Count As A Weapon?

Bahrain's bloggers have moved on this week to comment on a protest held outside the Iranian Embassy in protest against an editorial by Iranian editor Hossein Shariatmadari, which started that Bahrain should become a part of Iran. Others talk about Embassy interviews for Visas, the release of a Guantanamo detainee, why Bahrain is vying to build the highest skyscraper and preparing for the new release of Harry Potter.

Kurdistance: The Price of Oil

The oil control issue in the Northern Iraq/Southern Kurdistan city of Kirkuk is again at the forefront of Kurdish bloggers' fingertips. With large oil companies and the US pushing for the passing of a regulatory oil law in Iraq, fears reignite that a sinister "Plan B" might be launched in order to gain control of the oil reserves...involving a Turkish incursion into the region.

Africa: save the dirty little African children

  18 July 2007

A UNICEF Germany campaign that will definitely anger many Africans and friends of Africa: This is an actual ad-campaign by UNICEF Germany! This campaign is “blackfacing“ white children with mud to pose as “uneducated africans“. The headline translates “This Ad-campaign developped pro bono by the agency Jung von Matt/Alster shows...

South Africa: Happy Birthday, Nelson Mandela

  18 July 2007

Happy Birthday, Nelson Mandela, writes guest blogger Rethabile on Black Looks: “When Nelson Mandela was released, I was on a sofa in a small French village called Lamorlaye, staring at the telly. We waited quite a long time because something wasn’t right or wasn’t ready, and we waited. I was...

India: Thank you, come again.

  17 July 2007

A stunt pulled by Seven Eleven stores in the US stirs controversy as it relies on the character of Apu (of The Simpsons fame), provoking Greatbong to comment on whether or not the use of the character is racist or offensive.

Lusophony Day: Learning Through Connectedness

  17 July 2007

We wanted to celebrate the Lusophony Day, as an opportunity to post about the recent launching of the Global Voices website in Portuguese. A quick googling around the keywords brought up the July 17th inspired on CPLP‘s foundation, but as we kept searching other dates appeared like the May 31st...

Japan: We Can't Trust The Testimony Of Black People

  16 July 2007

Debito reports on a court case about a Nigerian, UC Valentine, being denied of medical treatment after police abuse in 2003. Consequently, his leg injury became so medically traumatized that it required complex hospital operations. The case was put on court in 2005 but a testimony of an African was...

Japan: The psychology of right-wing nationalist intellectuals

  15 July 2007

Blogger Niphonese writes about the phenomenon of Japanese going to study in Europe, then returning to Japan and joining right-wing nationalist groups [Ja]: “After experiencing discrimination in Europe, these Japanese people think to themselves: ‘Westerners talk about these things like human rights and so on, pretending like they don't know....

Bahamas: Literary Ethnicity?

  13 July 2007

“When I gave my reading…someone remarked that my poetry was not ‘street’. Well, I wondered, why should it be?” Nicolette Bethel examines the role ethnicity plays in literature.

Expat Ethiopians reflect on the sounds and smells of home

  12 July 2007

The ties that bind expatriate Ethiopians to their home country dominated the Ethiopian blogosphere over the past few weeks. Ethiopians living in the US, Europe and Asia came up with a series of emotional posts, exploring childhood memories, local food, music and the broader subject of national identity.