Stories about Ethnicity & Race from August, 2012
Russia: Putin Refuses Controversial Kiss From Priest
"Father Mefodii has shown the way to all citizens, including Pussy [Riot]. In order to be forgiven, all must kiss Putin on the hand." While Putin was greeting local priests in Karelia, one of them suddenly lunged forward and tried to kiss his hand, the President instantly recoiled.
Jamaica: The Caribbean-American Vote
“Even since I began the online petition for the exoneration of Marcus Garvey, I have been on a steep learning curve about politics”: Diaspora blogger Geoffrey Philp notices that when it comes to Caribbean-Americans, “it seems as if we are going into the next election, just giving away our votes...
Puerto Rico: Racist Tweets Against Obama Cause Outrage
Heidi Wys Toro, one of the advisors of the current speaker of Puerto Rico's House of Representatives Jennifer González, posted some racist comments about the president of the United States, Barack Obama, and his wife Michelle on Twitter. This is not the first time that Wys, who favors that Puerto Rico becomes a state of the United States, used this network to insult president Obama.
Bangladesh: Citizenship Rights for Myanmar's Rohingya?
Myanmar's Rohingya are stateless, not wanted by any country. The Rakhine Nationalities Development Party in Myanmar is calling for the segregation of Rohingya Muslims from ethnic Arakanese and the Bangladesh government recently ordered three international charities to halt aid to Rohingya refugees living in camps to stop their influx from Myanmar.
Colombia: Outrage Over Councilman's Racist Comment
Colombian netizens are outraged after a Bogotá councilman used a racist expression to call for order during a debate. Here is a sample of some reactions after a video of the councilman's comments began to spread on social networks.
Georgia: Civil Society Mobilizes After Armenia-Azerbaijan Clashes
With tensions between Armenia and Azerbaijan on the rise, civil society activists and journalists from both countries last month convened in a small ethnic Azeri village in neighboring Georgia.
Myanmar: Claims of Media Bias Towards Rohingya
Opinion is divided in Myanmar about the status of the Rohingya living in the western part of the country. Human rights groups have condemned the violence against the Rohingya and ethnic Rakhine. But some Myanmar netizens feel that international news networks have been distorting information about the situation in their country.
Caribbean: Marking Emancipation
Today, many Caribbean territories celebrate Emancipation Day, which commemorates the abolition of slavery. Each year, bloggers mark the occasion, but this year, online attention to the holiday is rather low-key, with only a handful of netizens mentioning it in their posts or tweets.
Mozambique: Meanings Behind Women's Traditional Mussiro Masks
In the northern coast and islands of Mozambique, it is very common to come across women with their faces covered of a natural white mask, called mussiro. The purposes of its use seem to have varied over time, but the tradition still survives.
Haiti: “Dear Ayiti”
The Fanm Kanson Network posts the first video from its “Dear Ayiti” project, which asks a simple question: If Haiti were a person, what would you say to her? Two Haitian Americans, one Haitian and a Grendadian share their thoughts.
