Stories about History from August, 2012
Controversial Tibet Theme Park Project Launched
Tibetan dissidents have described the USD 4.7 billion Chinese project as the “Disneyfication of Tibet.“ The park will first be used to shoot 'Princess Wencheng', a film about the niece of a Tang-dynasty emperor who married a Tibetan king.
Save Syria's Threatened Heritage Sites
Alongside the mounting death toll, a massacre is being perpetrated against Syria's heritage. Little is being said about this issue in both mainstream and social media, writes Thalia Rahme.
Are Ethiopians the Most Secretive People on Earth?
After weeks of rumors about the health and whereabouts of Ethiopia’s Prime Minster Meles Zenawi, the government finally announced his death from an "undisclosed illness" on August 21, 2012. There are many previous examples of such secrecy from Ethiopia, such as when Emperor Haile Selassie I tried to hide the 1973 famine, while Emperor Menelik II's death in 1913 was hidden from the public for years. Are Ethiopians the most secretive people in the world?
East Timor: Return Trip of an Indonesian
Dalih Sembiring, an Indonesian journalist and travel blogger, wrote “Postcards from Dili“, on a trip he did to East Timor 16 years after he left the country. On his post he republishes an article he wrote for the Jakarta Globe “focusing on how [he] reacquainted with a special person in Bairro...
Russia: State-Owned TV Caught in Anti-Semitism?
Writing on Openspace.Ru, Oleg Kashin discusses [ru] a short-lived but disconcerting report [ru] from state-owned Vesti.Ru about Patriarch Kirill's recent trip to Białystok, Poland, where he visited the Nikolsky Cathedral — home to the relics of Gavriil Belostoksky, the patron saint of children in the Russian Orthodox Church. Vesti.Ru temporarily featured language endorsing the...
Georgia: Ancient Fortress Discovered in Tbilisi
During construction to one of Tbilisi's main streets, parts of a 5th century fortress used to defend the city were unearthed. The Young Georgians has a series of photos of the remarkable discovery, which appears on Georgian cartographer Vakkshuti's map of the capital from 1735.
History of Cambodian Comics
John Weeks created a slideshow presentation about the history of Cambodian comics in the past half century.
Brazil: Land Dispute Between Slave Descendants and the Navy
An online petition [pt] demands the suspension of the order of eviction of Quilombo Rio dos Macacos, one of the oldest slave descendent communities in Brazil. A Technical Identification and Delimitation Report from the National Institute of Colonisation and Agrarian Reform (Incra) determined that the territory belongs to the quilombola...
East Timor: Hundreds of Resistance-Related Images on Facebook
“East Timorese media organisation Tempo Semanal published almost 900 resistance-related images on its Facebook fan page. The photographs appear to range in time from 1975 to the early post-1999 referendum period. They include many portraits of Falintil leaders and troops and life in resistance areas”, blog Timor Archives informs. Falintil,...
Jamaica: Garvey's Nerve
Jamaica Woman Tongue reminds us why Marcus Garvey is a national hero.
Trinidad & Tobago: 50, but not really Independent
Trinidad and Tobago's upcoming 50th anniversary of independence prompts aka_lol to suggest that “we have become a nation so taken up with running our own affairs our National Watch Words have unofficially become ‘Run Something Nah’.”
Vietnam: Unpublished Letter of Hồ Chí Minh
Matthew Parsfield discusses the historical importance of the discovery of an unpublished letter of Hồ Chí Minh, Vietnam's nationalist hero and statesman.
Malaysia: History of Islamic Education
Azmil Tayeb gives a brief overview of the history of Islamic schools in Malaysia. The author also discussed the role of the state in providing Islamic education in the country.
The Nazi Past of the Father of Colombian Anthropology
Cristina Vélez posts [es] her thoughts about “Nazi intellectuals” in her blog after it was revealed [es], at an academic Congress in Vienna, that Austrian-born Gerardo Reichel-Dolmatoff (1912-1994), considered the “father of Colombian anthropology,” had been a member of the Nazi party and the SS in Germany before World War...
Video: What Egypt, Congo, Uganda and Colombia Have in Common
The search for justice in the wake of conflict is what Egypt, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda and Colombia have in common. The Case for Justice is a series of videos debating on the relevance of what is known as transitional justice, a set of systems that is put into place to allow for accountability in the wake of massive human rights violations.
Egypt: Essential Academic History Book Banned
The Egyptian authorities have banned the import of A History of the Modern Middle East by eminent academics William L Cleveland and Martin Bunton without giving reasons for the ban. On Twitter, @Milllyz reacts: “Now that they have banned William L. Cleveland's “A History of the Modern Middle East”, all...
Pakistan: Fighting Stereotypes and Celebrating with India on Independence Day
Pakistan's mainstream and social media is usually fraught with issues ranging from terrorism and sectarianism to economic and power crisis. However, there comes a day, once every year, when even the most cynical tend to let go of their skepticism and dwell in a rather romantic notion of hope. That day is August 14, the day Pakistan got its independence from British Raj.
Oil Exploration Prompts Lake Malawi/Nyasa Ownership Dispute
News that Malawi is exploring oil on Lake Nyasa (also known as Lake Malawi) has attracted hot debate. While the Malawian government claims exclusive ownership, Tanzania is pressing for recognition of some earlier ownership of half of the lake.
Argentina: Football, the ‘Evita Cup’ and New Security Measures
Following the violence at football matches, President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner signed an agreement with the Argentine Football Association to control the entry to stadiums. She also proposed a new name for this year's Argentine Football Championship.
Trinidad & Tobago: Dark Cloud, Gold Lining
Heavy floods pounded the northwestern part of Trinidad yesterday morning, as two rivers burst their banks following torrential rains from a tropical depression. But the nation's spirits were to be lifted - at least for a while - as the country won Olympic gold for the second time in its history, thanks to the efforts of Keshorn Walcott in the Javelin Throw.
Cameroon: Giordano Bruno as an Example of Intellectual Courage
In an article entitled “The real map of Africa hidden for 600 years“[fr], Jean-Paul Pougala, an author from Cameroon, writes that: “25 years ago I chose Giordano Bruno, philosopher of the Italian Renaissance, as my mentor. His writings helped me grow intellectually, his courage to completely take responsability for his...
