Stories about Ethnicity & Race from December, 2010
Jamaica: Kartel & Cake Soap
“I never understood Bleaching, I can't understand how this is an actual phenomena in the same place that gave birth to Marcus Garvey”: The Phoenix in a Gas House explains.
Bahrain: Naturalisation Cap?
Naturalisation is a thorny issue in Bahrain. Mahmood Al Yousif speaks out about the issue here.
Azerbaijan: Hospitality vs. privacy
Aaron in Azerbaijan [Eng] shares his thoughts on the local practices and traditions relating to hospitality in Azerbaijan, comparing them to those found in the West. The blog notes how perceptions of hospitality differ from culture to culture.
Czech Republic: Present and Future of the Far-Right
Dr. Sean's Diary analyzes the present and the future of the Czech far-right.
Russia: Commentary on Dec. 11 Moscow Rioting
Reactions to the Dec. 11 xenophobic riots in downtown Moscow – by Vadim Nikitin, Miriam Elder, Natalia Antonova, Robert Amsterdam's blog, and The Power Vertical.
Armenia: Facebook Storytelling
Writing for Ararat Magazine, Global Voices author Simon Maghakyan says that that one Facebook Group is attempting to use the popular social networking site to teach children Armenian history. The post wonders if this might turn out to be a revolutionary way to get them interested in such subject matters.
Armenia: Smoking the Pipe of Peace
Ararat Magazine features a post by Global Voices’ Caucasus editor on Calumet, an ethnic lounge bar in Yerevan, the Armenian capital. Offering a laid back environment for local civic activists, artists and musicians, as well as foreigners, to unwind in, it concludes that the recently opened venue is a breath...
Russia: More Photos of Nationalist Riot Near Kremlin
LiveJournal-user Zyalt [RUS] and DervishRV [RUS] published more photo reports of riots of soccer fans and nationalists that took place next to the Kremlin's wall in Moscow. After the protest has been dispersed the crowd started to attack everyone with non-Slavic look on the streets and in the metro.
Armenia: Police target Emos
Although understood to be a fairly conservative and traditional country, reports that police in Armenia were targeting Emos, a stereotypically melancholic sub-culture associated especially with teenagers, caused alarm and outrage among bloggers and Facebook users.
Azerbaijan: Stepanakert
Marut's Blog posts photographs taken during the Soviet era of Stepanakert, capital of the breakaway territory of Nagorno Karabakh. An autonomous oblast situated within Azerbaijan before the collapse of the Soviet Union, the region declared itself independent in 1991, but remains internationally unrecognized. Negotiations between Armenia and Azerbaijan to determine...
Botswana: President in racist outburst against Kalahari Bushmen
In an astonishing outburst, Botswana’s president has today described the Kalahari Bushmen as ‘primeval’, ‘primitive’ and ‘backward’.
Jordan: Time for the Palestinian Jordanian Conversation
From Jordan, Naseem Al Tarawneh gives us an insight on chaotic football and the much needed Palestinian Jordanian identity conversation. “If there was ever a time for the taboo chains to crumble, the chains that have long ensnared any attempts to host a national dialog over the issue of identity...
Macedonia: Introducing the Hunza Affair
On the Nationalities Blog, Anastas Vangeli, aka Vuna, analyzes from the perspective of Orientalism an ongoing Macedonian political affair: fraternization with the “Hunza people” from the remote mountainous region of Pakistan, who claim ancestry from the soldiers of Alexander the Great.
Côte d'Ivoire: Anger and Sarcasm in Citizen Media after the Elections
After a hopeful start, the presidential elections in Cote d'Ivoire took a dramatic turn that led the country in a seemingly hopeless political stalemate. While the crisis persists, the Ivorian blogosphere seems to be split between either taking the events with a hint of humor and sarcasm or debating passionately the political and legal implications of the latest events. Julie Owono explains:
Russia: Photos and Videos of Soccer Fans Protesting in Moscow
Blog of Novaya Gazeta [RUS], Radio Liberty [RUS], aleshru [RUS], and vadimb [RUS] share pictures and videos from the mass protest action of soccer fans in the center of Moscow. It is the second public event since the murder of one of the fans this week. Snob.ru hosts [RUS] discussion on the political consequences of...
Belarus: Search for National Identity
At OpenDemocracy.net, Natalia Leshchenko writes that “Belarusians have come to the point where they need a shared, universally accepted, veritable and satisfying understanding of themselves as a nation, and a common vision of their goals and priorities of development.”
Russia: Soccer Fans Block Moscow Streets in Protest Against Murder
Corrupcia.net, bb-mos, podkradyha, and harfang83 share pictures of the soccer fans blocking Leningradskiy prospekt, one of the major Moscow streets, to protest against the murder of their colleague Yegor Sviridov. Killers of Sviridov were released soon after the murder. Most of those who participated in the street action are afraid the...
Sao Tome & Principe: “Africa is your Home”
Santomean sociologist Humbah Aguiar tells a story on colonialism and the repression of the African people. Part I, II and III [pt] from “Africa is your home” can be watched at his Youtube channel.
Bermuda: The Black Male Perspective
Breezeblog directs “anyone concerned about where Bermuda is headed amidst the spiralling gang violence, social dysfunctionality and hypocrisy” to an article written “from the perspective of a young black man”.
Azerbaijan: Armenia's Wikileaks?
The Önər Blog [AZ] comments on claims in Azerbaijan that Wikileaks cables painting the country in a bad light are the work of Armenians. In fact, the blog notes, at the same time as the media in Azerbaijan highlights the poverty, corruption and human rights abuses in its neighbor, how...
Brazil: The only black woman in a beauty pageant
Cris Rodrigues, from blog Somos Andando [We Are Walking, pt], writes about racial prejudice in a beauty pageant in the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul, where only one black woman competed among 29 other “white, tall, skinny and straight haired” contestants. She considers that the sample is not...