Stories about History from October, 2015
Mainstream Media Comes Under Fire for ‘Biased’ Coverage of Shia Religious Event
Every year, millions of Shia mark the anniversary of the martyrdom of Imam Hussain bin Ali, killed 1,300 years ago. Netizens hit back on how mainstream media get it wrong.
Women Survivors Speak Out About Indonesia’s 1965 Mass Killings
“I was told I was only being taken in for questioning. It turns out I would be held for 14 years. From 1965 until December 1979. We never got justice."
On the Eve of Elections, Côte d’Ivoire Tries to Move on From Its Violent Past
On October 25, Côte d'Ivoire is going to hold presidential elections. As the last elections in 2010 ended in a civil war, the current atmosphere in the country is tense.
At 81, a Japanese Woman Tweets to Remember the Terror of War
"On June 5, 1945, when I was in fifth grade, our family went to an air raid shelter after the sirens sounded. Oh no! Our house would be burned down!"
You May Not Know It—But If You Speak Spanish, You Speak Some Arabic Too
Joy Diaz speaks English and Spanish. When she met her daughter's Arabic-speaking teacher, she realized how many Arabic words she also knows.
Tanzanians Remember Their Nation's Founding Father With #DearNyerere
"#DearNyerere, in your day, popularity was based on good deeds towards your country, but nowadays it is the number of followers on Instagram and Twitter."
Myanmar ‘Cartoonists Have Been on the Side of the People’
"Many say that cartoonists or journalists should not be biased, but must be neutral. It is wrong. They should have bias. They must. By bias, I don’t mean prejudice."
Latin America and Spain Come Together on Columbus Day to Discuss Past and Present on Twitter
"In 1492 the indigenous peoples were expelled from their lands. In 2015, the same. There is still so much to do."
Did Pelé Stop the Bloodiest Civil War in Nigeria's History for 48 Hours?
Is it true that the Brazilian king of soccer ushered in a 48-hour ceasefire in Nigeria's bloody civil war? One writer did the research and has reason to doubt.
Belarusian Author and Journalist Svetlana Alexievich Wins 2015 Nobel Prize in Literature
Alexievich is the 14th woman to win a Nobel Prize in Literature, and the first Russian-language author to be granted the honor since 1987, when Joseph Brodsky received the prize.
Jamaicans to UK Prime Minister: Get Over Slavery? ‘You First.’
"David Cameron must listen with an open heart and mind to the call for reparations, and have the courage to do what is right."
Jamaicans Are Unimpressed With the UK's Pish-Posh Attitude on Slavery Reparations
Bob Marley's famous "Redemption Song" called for self-emancipation from mental slavery, but Jamaica is asking for financial reparation from the United Kingdom for its role in the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade.
Property Tycoon Angers Ideologues by Saying China's Communism Has a Long Way to Go
"We’ve been deceived for years. The Cultural Revolution only let me know the class struggle under a proletarian dictatorship. And that there is no next generation of communism."
