Stories about Ethnicity & Race from September, 2009
Azerbaijan: 9/11 and Islam
A day before posting, Scary Azeri tweeted that she needed to sleep on today's entry for the anniversary of 9/11. To mark the tragic event, the blogger takes a look at perceptions towards Islam in Azerbaijan and the U.K.
South Korea: Prosecution for racist remarks
Korea Beat translated a news story on the country's first prosecution case against a Korean man for using racist remarks towards an Indian, Bonojit Hussein, who is teaching in a local university.
Hungary: Finno-Ugric or Indo-European?
Hungarian Spectrum writes about disagreements on the origin of the Hungarian people and the Hungarian language.
Israel: An Open Letter To Jane Fonda
Hatim Kanaaneh, blogging at A Doctor in Galilee, writes an open letter to Jane Fonda.
Hungary: Budapest Gay Pride Parade Protected
Marietta Le reports on the blog coverage of the 14th Gay Pride March, which took place in Budapest on Sept. 5 under increased police protection.
Palestine: Travelers Say Israel is Illegally Denying Access
Travelers to the Palestinian West Bank are now facing new restrictions. Visas obtained from Israeli consulates for their visit are stamped "Palestinian Authority areas only" in violation of the 1995 Oslo II Accords which allow unhindered movement for foreign travelers to Israel. Jillian C. York reports.
Eastern Europe: WWII and the Jews
The Foreigner's Guide to Slovakia writes about WWII and the Jews of Slovakia. CzechFolks.com writes about the rescue of hundreds of Czechoslovak Jewish children by Sir Nicholas Winton in 1939. Polandian writes about “the crazy idea of moving Eastern European Jews to Madagascar” that was considered by Poland in 1937.
China: Considering Han chauvinism
"Within the ranks of CCP cadres, it's not only ethnic minorities who have been deprived of their religious rights, but the Han majority too...As a Han born and raised in China, we really don't see any so-called Han chauvinism!"
Bermuda: Gambling Shooting
As a Bermudian man fights for his life after being shot at a gambling event, Catch a fire, who is “particularly concerned about the prevalance of organised gambling”, also acknowledges the bigger issue: “We currently live in an increasingly atomistic society, a collection of households rather than a neighbourhood, workers...
Martinique: Gas Station Assault
Repeating Islands republishes writer Raphaël Confiant's account of his experience of “physical aggression at a service station in Martinique.”
China: Are syringe attacks terrorism?
Fresh protests broke out in Xinjiang this week following news that Uighurs had been attacking people with syringe needles. Is this terrorism? Why resort to a tactic like this? Just some of the questions being asked of the autonomous region, still disconnected from the Internet after two months.
Bulgaria: Racism; Busmantsi Detention Center
Petya of How to Marry a Bulgarian writes about racism in Bulgaria and follows up with a post on the Busmantsi detention center for “illegal immigrants or people whose application for refugee status was rejected and are waiting to be deported” – described by some as “the Bulgarian Guantanamo.”
Jamaica: Conformity?
“The Caribbean is, according to Rex Nettleford, the ideal model of what the world is trying to achieve through globalisation: different people and cultures and races melted into one big pot, sharing the same geographical space” – but to Jamaican blogger Ruthibelle, “it seems…that this quest for one region, for...
Azerbaijan: Detained video bloggers go on trial
Despite significant international outcry from leading human rights and freedom of expression advocates, detained video blogger youth activists Adnan Hajizade and Emin Milli today went on trial in Azerbaijan. Supporters live tweeted proceedings.
Commonwealth suspends Fiji
The Commonwealth of Nations has suspended Fiji from the 53-nation body for failing to hold elections by October 2010
India: The Young And Fair International Actresses In Bollywood
Santosh at Über Desi finds that almost all foreign actresses recently introduced in Bollywood movies are young fair skinned attractive females. The blogger opines that: “an unhealthy obsession with skin color is not a new phenomenon to Indian society, a deep rooted post-colonial hangover, that seems to manifest itself in...
Jamaica: The Beauty Battle
Although Long Bench is not a fan of beauty pageants, she finds “some of the criticisms about this year’s selection rather disingenuous and void of basic historical perspective. To suggest that a light-skinned woman is not authentically Jamaican – ie. is a foreigner – and therefore should not even be...
China: Shanghai “black girl” abused by racist netizens
Fauna from ChinaSMACK translated a forum post full of abusive and racist comments against Lou Jing, whose is the offspring of an extra-marital relation between her mother and a black American.
South Korea: 3 bills regarding native English teachers
Matt from Gusts of popular feeling discusses the three bills submitted by Democratic Party representative in the national assembly. The bills require foreign English teachers to have criminal record and health and drug checks before being hired at public or private schools.
Azerbaijan: Protest rap
My Frontline Club blog looks at the emergence of socially and politically conscious rap in Azerbaijan in support of democracy and freedom in the country as well for detained video blogger youth activists Adnan Hajizade and Emin Milli who face trial this week in Baku.
Brazil: Can black people drive luxury cars?
A black man was assaulted in a supermarket car park in São Paulo when security guards accused him of planning to steal his own car, fuelling a debate by bloggers about the myth of Brazil as a racial democracy.
