Stories about Ethnicity & Race from January, 2010
Avatar: For or Against Indigenous Rights?
Bloggers worldwide are discussing the themes in the wildly successful film Avatar by James Cameron. Is it racist in its depiction of an extra-terrestrial indigenous tribe?
India: Caste Discrimination
Sparsh comments on the still persisting caste discrimination in India: “I always ask elders that society has become more feudal, caste oriented and communal than 60 years ago. No clear cut answers. People still ask with smile surname to map out the caste and ancestry in their minds.”
Japan: Witnessing a Tibetan sky burial
Blogger Huixing assisted to witnessed a Tibetan sky burial [en] in Litang. At his blog [ja] a sequence of pictures document the traditional funerary practice wherein a human corpse is exposed to birds of prey.
Caucasus: New media bringing people together
Julien Frisch Watching Europe comments on a recent attempt to use new and social media to overcome negative stereotypes in the South Caucasus. The blog details how online services such as Twitter meant he discovered the project, but also asks when will the traditional media also cover such stories.
Morocco: First Indigenous TV Channel Launched
The View from Fez reports on the launch of a long-awaited Amazigh language TV channel by the Moroccan government on Wednesday. It is the first government-funded TV channel in the region broadcasting exclusively in languages spoken by indigenous Berber populations.
Azerbaijan: Chess victory
Thoughts on the Road says that while there might be a military stalemate between Armenia and Azerbaijan still locked into a state of war over the disputed territory of Nagorno Karabakh, chess teams from the two countries this week met to compete against each other in the World Chess Championship...
Caucasus: Unity in Diversity
With three unresolved conflicts and a local media that often self-censors, blogs comment on an online project hoping to break stereotypes by reporting on examples of ethnic groups otherwise in conflict in the South Caucasus co-existing peacefully together.
India: On Racism In Australia
Madhavi at The Trajectory comments on the Government of India’s advisory for ethnic Indians in Australia and questions – who is over-reacting on the racism issue: India or Australia?
South Africa: A glowing tribute to Dennis Brutus
The News of the death of Dennis Brutus came as a rude shock to many, not just in South Africa but to the world at large who knew him for his poetry and activism against the Apartheid system in South Africa in the 1960s and his fight for social justice throughout his life.
South Asia: Looking Back At 2009 (Part 2)
This is the second part of our retrospection of some of the major events, which took place in 2009 in the South Asian countries, seen through the eyes of the citizen journalists.
Australia: Indian Homicide Reignites Racism Ruckus
The murder of an Indian migrant in Melbourne has reignited the debate about racism in Australia and the safety of overseas students. It has also severely strained relations between Australia and India. GV author Kevin Rennie gathers the reactions of bloggers in Australia
Azerbaijan: Winter blues
Linda in Azerbaijan details the downside of being a Peace Corps Volunteer in the South Caucasus. Based in Azerbaijan, she says that winters can be particularly depressing and fitting in with the local culture sometimes frustrating.
Turkey: DTP party ban triggers mass protests over Turkish Kurdistan
The Kurdish Democratic Society Party (DTP) was shut down by the Constitutional Court of Turkey, unanimously, sparking mass protests. Raphael Tsavkko Garcia takes a closer look at Kurdish blogs for reactions.
Poland: Social Network's Logo “Raises Controversy”
Polish social network Nasza-Klasa seems to be doing a re-branding, but some of its users - and some in the Polish media, too - seem to see something of a conspiracy there. Sylwia Presley explains the situation.
Slovakia, Hungary: Happy New Year!
The relations between the two neighboring countries, Slovakia and Hungary, went bad last year - but some Slovak and Hungarian citizens are trying to improve the situation by launching an online campaign called "Štastný nový rok, Slovensko! / Boldog Új Évet Magyarország!" ("Happy New Year, Slovakia!/Happy New Year, Hungary!).
Trinidad & Tobago: Attillah in Manningland
“I am glad I came to see what is inside these walls. Being inside makes me feel even more of an outsider in this PNM black elite universe”: Thanks to an unlikely cocktail party invitation, Trinidadian blogger and activist Attillah Springer ventures down the rabbit hole, right into the Prime...
