Stories about Ethnicity & Race from February, 2010
Armenia: Homophobia Hall of Shame
Following even more examples of homophobia in the media in Armenia, Unzipped: Gay Armenia has started a Homophobia Hall of Shame. In the first new posting for the list, the blog details the homophobia of the head of one major local radio station and advises international donors to choose wisely...
Armenia: Eurovision blog
Despite the controversy following Sunday's national song contest to determine Armenia's entry into this year's Eurovision Song Contest in Oslo, Norway, still lingering, the successful entrant, Eva Rivas, has launched a blog to accompany her bid at http://eva-rivas.livejournal.com/.
Burqa Strains Multicultural Australia
Since the proposed bans on the wearing of the burqa in France, the issue has been simmering in the Australian blogosphere. An Australian radio shock-jock, and ex-police officer, drew criticism recently over his opposition to the wearing of the burqa in public.
China: The Party’s Policies are yakexi
C. Custer from ChinaGeeks blogs about a new buzz word, yakexi, in Chinese Internet community. It is an Uyghur word for good and recently used to praise Chinese policies in the Spring Gala. But the word has been re-iterated to mock at the political propaganda.
Africa: Colonialism alive and well after 50 years of independence
2010 will mark the 50th year of francophone African countries' independence from Belgium and France. While official celebrations are under way, debate about colonialism, past and present, is simmering on blogs in North, Central and Western Africa.
Georgia: Friends of Freedom for Peace
MrAshn [AZ] posts a video of members of the Azerbaijani Dalga Youth Movement with Armenian support holding a small flash mob in Tbilisi, Georgia, to mark their fifth anniversary and call for peace in the South Caucasus. The region has been riven by ethnic conflict, especially between Armenia and Azerbaijan....
Azerbaijan: Interview with Feride Sadikhova Buyuran
Women's Forum interviews culinary blogger Feride Sadikhova Buyuran while her AZ Cookbook posts a recipe for lemon upside down cake.
Macedonia, Turkey: Connected, not Divided by History
Chris Deliso, a travel writer and founder and director of Balkanalysis.com writes in an oped in Today's Zaman about the mutual fondness between citizens of Macedonia and Turkey, which is there despite the fact that one century ago, “Macedonia suffered tremendously during anti-Ottoman rebellions.” He sees potential for using the...
Armenia: Eurovision National Competition
Armenia tonight chose its entry for the 2010 Eurovision Song Contest in Oslo, Norway. Twitter users provided an online summary of the national competition televised inside the country while some blogs offered reaction to the successful entry.
Malaysia: Racist remarks of a public official
A special officer of the Prime Minister of Malaysia has tendered his resignation after allegedly issuing a racist remark against Indians and Chinese in a forum.
Haiti: Why All The Stories About Orphans?
A month after a seven-point earthquake destroyed much of southern Haiti, the fate of children, and particularly orphans, has become the main story in many corners. But Haitian voices on the topic have been few...
Hungary: Report on Acceptance of Right-Wing Extremism
Hungarian Spectrum reports that, according to the recent findings of a Hungarian think-tank, “in Turkey, Ukraine, Bulgaria, and Hungary the impulses toward the acceptance of right-wing extremism are the strongest.”
Mozambique: Have African people been ‘Cursed'?
Custódio Duma wonders whether Africans have been ‘cursed’, leading to servitude of black people worldwide. He mentions biblical perspectives and says [pt]: “It's from Africa that most resources that keep the capitalism machine working comes from. Yet, Africans almost do not profit from them. […] But who has cursed Africans?”
Pakistan: Beware Of The Nationalist Campaign
Sana Saleem at Mystified Justice comments on ‘Wake Up Pakistan’, a new nationalistic campaign spearheaded by Zaid Hamid targeting the youth: “Pakistan should wake up, but not to a new dawn of racism and bigotry.”
Pakistan: Two More Blasts In Karachi
Five Rupees reports that two more suicidal blasts targeting Shia mourners rocked busy streets of Karachi taking scores of lives.
Cuba: Identifying with Mandela
Cuban diaspora blogger Uncommon Sense reports that “3 Cuban political prisoners this week delivered their congratulations to South African patriarch Nelson Mandela on this month's 20th anniversary of his release from prison”, and notes that they “identify with Mandela's own 27 years in prison, his lifelong struggle against an illegitimate...
Bosnia: Croats call for secessionist referendum?
M. Bozinovich of Serbianna reports on an alleged plan among Bosnian-Croats to have a referendum on secession from Bosnia-Herzegovina.
China: Race and racial conflicts
C. Custer from ChinaGeeks interviewed famous Chinese blogger Hecaitou on race issue in China.
Hungary: Re-Educating the Roma Population
Hungarian Spectrum writes that “the Roma (Gypsy) situation is the gravest social problem today in Hungary” and in “the whole region,” points out to similar problems in the United States in the 1960s, and describes a successful re-education project for some 60 Roma families living in the town of Monor.
Armenia-Azerbaijan: Twitter Diplomacy
With a peaceful resolution to the conflict over Nagorno Karabakh as elusive as ever, Armenians and Azerbaijanis are unable to visit each other’s country or communicate through traditional means such as telephone or mail. Can new and social media step in to fill the gap to break the information blockade?
Spain: Indigenous Film Festival
Canal Solidario writes about the Indigenous Film Festival which will take place in Sevilla, Spain. During the screening, films from indigenous communities inside Nicaragua, Canada and Brazil will be shown and participants will also discuss the role of multimedia and internet tools in protecting cultural diversity.
