Stories about Ethnicity & Race from July, 2010
Kyrgyzstan: Divergent discourses suggest more is yet to come
“Forgive one another, we’re all guilty”, begs a sticker and poster campaign doing the rounds in Kyrgyzstan following recent tragic events in the south which have claimed over 1,000 lives. The campaign's website, which seeks grounds for a common approach to the problem, has been largely eschewed by local internet users in favour of partisan efforts such as Osh Reality.
India: Fair, Lovely and Facebooked
A new Facebook app has been creating some controversy in India. The app lets users lighten the skin colour on their profile pictures. Bloggers discuss the complexity of the issue especially the fact that the app is targeting men instead of women.
Bahamas: on “race”
“Please. Don’t call me white.” Nicolette Bethel writes about the intricacies of race, history and politics in the Bahamas. “The ‘race’ that has historical significance and the ‘race’ that we appear to practice today are two very different animals.”
India: Caste Factor In Politics
Ram Bansal at India In Peril explains the caste factor in Indian politics.
Armenia-Azerbaijan: Bloggers build dialogue
Although a recent conference held earlier this month highlighted some of the shortcomings and dangers of using new and social media in conflict resolution, there is no doubt that online tools have moved in to fill a gap left vacant by a usually politically polarized and propagandist media in the South Caucasus.
Russia: “Why Did They Kill Yuri Volkov?”
The murder of a TV journalist and football fan Yuri Volkov in the centre of Moscow on July 10, 2010, became a widely discussed event in the Russian blogosphere. A complicated topic, dealing with hostile ethnic stereotypes, crime, police corruption and Russian subcultures, has generated nearly 7,000 comments, tweets and blog posts.
Armenia-Azerbaijan: There is only humanity…
Ianyan makes a guest post on Armenia-Azerbaijan relations in the context of the still unresolved conflict over the disputed territory of Nagorno Karabakh as part of a series of entries using new and social media to bring the two sides closer together. The blogger says that these new tools have...
Guyana: Party or Country?
“The fastest route for Guyana to get to the point of being a prosperous country is to find a leader who rejects disunity in all its forms…and embraces the diversity of this beautiful country”: The Guyana Groove wants to know whether people are loyal to party or country.
Trinidad & Tobago: Colourful
“The rich and various colours of our people are one of the things I like about this place. We are not homogenous”: Lisa Allen-Agostini is colour conscious.
South Korea: A National Mourning on A Vietnamese Bride's Death
A young Vietnamese bride was killed by her Korean husband in Korea. Korean bloggers express their condolences to the tragic death of a young wife while urging the government to eradicate the human rights's blindspot, the foreign wives.
Kazakhstan: Bloggers see China’s “weaponless invasion”
Posts about China-related topics are quite frequent in the Kazakh language blogs. Here are some of them, the most recent ones.
Israel: Conviction of “rape by deceit”
Sabar Kashur, an Arab resident of East Jerusalem, was charged with rape for posing as a Jewish bachelor in order to seduce a woman. He has been convicted to 18 months prison. His conviction has proved controversial with many outraged at the judge's decision; others feel it is the correct application of the law. In this post, Katharine Ganly presents some of these opinions.
Azerbaijan: Caucasus Women
CauCasuSWomaN takes a look at the rights of men and women in Azerbaijan (and the Caucasus) in the context of actual attitudes to gender and says that education is key to changing existing values and perceptions.
Armenia-Azerbaijan: Thoughts on the ‘other’
Global Chaos makes a guest post on Armenia-Azerbaijan relations in the context of the still unresolved conflict over the disputed territory of Nagorno Karabakh as part of a series of entries using new and social media to bring the two sides closer together. The blog says that it is difficult...
Lebanon: The Rule of Dinosaurs
Shortly after the recent cyber censorship incidents in Lebanon, the term "The Rule of Dinosaurs" started to be used by the e-activists in their campaign against this invasion of their cyberspace. Lebanese blogger Tony explains what it means.
Slovakia: Hungarian School Trips
Tibor Blazko compiles Slovak netizens' reactions to a new Hungarian law that would bring Hungarian schoolchildren to parts of the neighboring countries that in the past belonged to Hungary.
Russia: Roadtrip to Caucasus
Popular bloggers tema [RUS], nl [RUS] and others [RUS] (9 bloggers in 3 cars) post pictures and short notes from the roadtrip to Caucasus, that started on July 15th, 2010. So far, they travelled through the North Caucasus republics and are planning to go to Azerbaijan, Armenia and Georgia.
Armenia-Azerbaijan: Sometime in my lifetime
Scary Azeri makes a guest post on Armenia-Azerbaijan relations in the context of the still unresolved conflict over the disputed territory of Nagorno Karabakh as part of a series of entries using new and social media to bring the two sides closer together. Noting the popularity of her own posts...
Global Lives: Revisiting the project recording people's lives
Two years ago we wrote about a project in its initial stages: Global Lives set out to record a day in the life of 10 people from all over the world. Today we revisit the project and check up on how they're coming along.
Guinea: Awaiting the Second Round of the Elections Amidst Fraud Allegations
A historical presidential election is underway in Guinea as the official results of the first round [fr] are about to be made official. Despite the allegations of fraud, the overall sentiment is that of relief for the absence of turmoil and a remarkable turnout. The Guinean blogosphere was also actively involved:
Lebanon: Swimming Pool Discrimination
“A group of independent activists organized a direct action on a number of touristic resorts that adopt racist policies towards migrant workers in Lebanon on the basis of color, race, and class.” The video in this post shows activists trying to get a migrant domestic worker (an activist of the Madagascari...
