Stories about History from April, 2010
Benin: Iyanda's diary in Benin
Funmi's diary about her visit and filming experience in Benin: “After all the mystery and hushed tones l had experienced during the research about the holy Aruosa church, l had expected a much more impressive building but the church was pretty nondescript.”
Azerbaijan: Dozens reported detained at anniversary commemoration
Twitter and Facebook users, as well as local news agencies, report that dozens of youth activists were today detained in Azerbaijan as they attempted to mark the first anniversary of shootings in Baku's Oil Academy which left 12 dead. Although not related to their online activity, among those detained were...
Russia: “Burnt By the Box Office”
Vadim Nikitin of Foreign Policy Association's Russia blog reviews the reactions to Nikita Mikhalkov's Burnt by the Sun 2, “Russia’s most expensive movie.”
China: The 42th anniversary of Lin Zhao's death
Lin Zhao (林昭）, a Peking University student, was arrested in 1960 during the Anti-Rightist Campaign launched by Mao Zedong in 1957 and sentenced to death on 29 of April (today) in 1968, 42 years ago at the age of 35. She could have exchanged for her freedom and life by...
Bahamas: Free Markets & the Environment
Bahama Pundit‘s Larry Smith blogs about Earth Day and free market environmentalism.
Africa: Driving With Fanon
Driving with Fanon is a new film by a South African artist Kwena Mokwena. It is about violence, memory and the human condition in post-colonial Africa.
Cuba: On Elections
Repeating Islands focuses on the Cuban elections here and here, while Generation Y explains why she has adopted “abstention as a form of protest.”
French West Indies, Haiti: Immigration then & now
Indiscrétions tells the story [Fr] of a Haitian girl deported from Guadeloupe by the French customs authority, for allegedly presenting fake identity documents at the airport, while Gwakafwika announces [Fr Cr] a conference about Guadeloupean immigration in Haiti from the 1800s to the 1900s.
Ukraine: Chernobyl's 24th Anniversary
April 26 marked the 24th anniversary of the 1986 Chernobyl disaster. Ukrainiana writes about a 1990 movie, “an irony-packed perestroika-era drama offers an X-ray of Soviet crisis mismanagement.” Chernobyl and Eastern Europe reviews three documentaries on the catastrophe. Michael Forster Rothbart‘s Chernobyl photography project is featured in zReportage online magazine...
Martinique, Guadeloupe: Celebrating two great women
Imaniyé pays homage [Fr] to Martinican-born actress, Jenny Alpha, who, at nearly 100 years of age, is the oldest French artist alive, while CaribCreoleNews announces [Fr] two events in memory of Guadeloupe's first female lawyer, communist and feminist activist, Gerty Archimede, who would have turned 101 this year.
India, Bangladesh: The Distinctiveness Between Two Bengals
Before 1956, Bengali cinema meant cinemas from West Bengal (India) but the trend become distinctive afterwards in both the Bengals. Fahmidul Haq at Communication and Culture of Bangladesh comments that “the distinctiveness between two Bengals is getting clearer as time passes.”
The Balkans: Thoughts on Slavenka Drakulić's 1993 Book
Filip Stojanovski shares his thoughts on Slavenka Drakulić's 1993 book, How We Survived Communism & Even Laughed.
Russia, Poland: The Truth About Katyn
Steve Bandera of Kyiv Scoop writes about Andrzej Wajda’s 2007 film Katyń, which has been shown twice in Russia in the past few weeks (reactions from the Russian blogosphere are here) – and comments that the truth about the massacre is “only coming out now in the former Soviet Union...
Trinidad & Tobago: Parties Unite
Trinidad and Tobago News Blog continues to report on the lead-up to the country's general elections on May 24, saying: “History was created at Charlie King Junction in Fyzabad when before a mammoth cheering crowd, the nation’s Opposition parties signed a historic ‘Declaration of Political Unity’, last night.”
Haiti: Part of History
The Haitian Blogger republishes an article by Melanie Newton which suggests that what happens in Haiti post-earthquake “is a question of world historical significance.”
Pakistan: Karachi Music Scene
“This is about a Karachi from a very different time. A Karachi that moved to a very different beat,” – comments Adil Najam at All Things Paksitan while discussing about the Karachi music scene from the 1960s into the 1970s.
Korean Pop
Ask a Korean! introduces the history and development of Korean Pop song.
Myanmar: Yan Byae Island
Speaking Out Loud writes about Yan Byae Island located near the coast of Rakhine State in Myanmar. The island was listed by a website as one of the “top ten places you don't want to visit in the world.”
Japan: People live longer, so do TV shows
Japan may be known for the longevity of its people, but the TV programs have a rich and long history as its population. There are some series that have been on air for more than half a century. What's interesting is its variety: everything from talk shows, news, and sports...
Guinea: Thierno Siré Diallo on Hunger Strike
Guinée50 wonders whether Thierno Siré Diallo hunger strike to raise awareness for all the Guineans who disappeared in the past 40 years is helping the reconciliation process or not (fr).
Laos: Song contest in honor of Ho Chi Minh
A song contest was launched in Laos to honor the 120th birth anniversary of Vietnamese leader Ho Chi Minh
