· April, 2009

Stories about Human Rights from April, 2009

Sri Lanka: Living In Fear

  30 April 2009

Indi.ca sheds a light on the lives of Tamils in Colombo as some of them are living in fear of being arrested for questioning without prior charges. The bloggers comments: “Perhaps this is necessary in the short-term (this being my lifetime) but it’s important to remember that this is a...

Malaysia: Humans as Commodities

  30 April 2009

In early 2009, Malaysia had the dubious privilege of being investigated by the US senate for the trafficking of humans. News reports stated that the migrants involved were mostly from Myanmar, but other foreigners were also allegedly taken by the government officials to the Malaysian-Thai border, where they were extorted or sold to human trafficking syndicates.

Egypt: Plans for Sexual Harassment Film Unveiled

After the success of Egypt's Anti-Harassment Day, Egyptian blogger Asser Yasser invited women to share their personal experiences with this issue. Women and young women will be filmed going about their everyday lives, registering the different forms of harassment they are subjected to. Marwa Rakha has the story.

UAE: Torture video sends shock waves around the world

Last week, a grainy video from 2005 made headlines, shaking up viewers around the globe. The video, first shown on U.S.-based ABC News, showed Sheikh Issa bin Zayed al-Nahyan - brother of UAE's crown prince torturing an Afghan grain farmer, attacking him with a cattle prod then literally pouring salt on his wounds. Jillian C. York brings us reports from the blogosphere.

Egypt: Stigmatized by AIDS

A group of Egyptian bloggers and independent media personalities are putting their hands together in support of the “Openness” initiative, which aims at anti-stigmatizing AIDS patients, and calls for integrating them in the society instead of alienating them further by educating people on how to deal with them to avoid getting infected, reports Marwa Rakha.

Egypt: Interviewing a Baha'i Assailant

Egyptian blogger Ibn Rushd interviewed one of the Baha'i assailants. Marwa Rakha translates the interview, in which the assailant admits to his role in the burning of six homes belonging to Baha'i families in the village of Shoraneya, from Arabic.

Cuba: Right to Travel

  28 April 2009

“Hasn’t it been said already—by enough voices—that the requirement for permission to leave and enter Cuba has to be repealed?”: Generation Y wants to know “What more has to happen to stop them from hijacking this right from us?”

China: A citizen campaign to reveal the forgotten dead

  28 April 2009

从车上下来的高举冲锋枪的警察高喊“把手举起来,原地不要动”这个只有大片中才有的场景让我有些不知所措。 The police rushing down from the car with a sub machine gun at hand shouted at me, ‘put your hands up, freeze!’ It was so astonishing a scene that I had only seen at American blockbuster. In his blog, Li Peifeng so recalled his encounter with the police in...

Central & Eastern Europe: Racism Roundup

  28 April 2009

The beatroot writes about Poland's boycott of the UN conference on fighting racism; Hungarian Spectrum writes about the Hungarian Guard and Holocaust denial; coverage of Slovenia's neo-Nazis – here and here, by Sleeping With Pengovsky, as well as here, by Piran Cafe; Borut Peterlin posts photos from an anti-fascist rally...

Qatar: Video of Unpaid Workers Sparks Debate

The harsh realities facing migrant workers in Qatar was at the centre of a discussion on Qatar Living after an Al Jazeera English report highlighted their plight recently. The video zooms in on the lives of construction workers, whose livelihood was impacted by the economic crisis, some of whom haven't be paid for up to four months.

Cuba: Strike of the Period?

  27 April 2009

Cuba's ration market for feminine hygiene products is not always reliable, prompting Generation Y to envision “a ‘Strike of the Period,’ a massive protest marked by the ovulation cycle.”

Haiti, U.S.A.: TPS for Haitians

  27 April 2009

jmc strategies reports that ” the New York City Council adopted…a resolution urging Congress to pass legislation granting Temporary Protected Status (TPS) to Haitian nationals in the United States.”

South Africa: UnFreedom Day in South Africa

  27 April 2009

Sokari writes about Fredom Day in South Africa: Today is Freedom Day in South Africa. However for many in SA the notion of freedom is as illusive as ever as under the new apartheid where the poor are disenfranchised and excluded through the Kwa Zula-Natal Slums Act.

Russia: Sochi Mayoral Election

  26 April 2009

James writes this about the mayoral election in Sochi at Robert Amsterdam's blog: “It can be tough work to continue coming up with new ways to fake the democratic process … after a while, the voters seem to wonder ‘why bother?'” Russia! reports on the detention of journalist Keith Gessen...

Armenia: Obama recognizes Genocide… kinda

  25 April 2009

The Stiletto comments on yesterday's statement by US President Barack Obama on the 94th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. The blog rounds up different reactions to the statement and also examines what this means for the president nearly 100 days into office.