Stories about Human Rights from August, 2011
Colombia: Art NGOs Receive Threat from Paramilitary Group
The blog El salmon [es] reports [es] that on August 23, 12 Art NGOs received death threats from the paramilitary group “Black Eagles“. The threat indicated they were to leave the capital, Bogotá, in less than 8 days. The blog includes a statement written [es] by Edwin Almed Domínguez, Member...
Blog Carnival: Mexico – Is Mexican Society Violent by Nature?
This summary of our Blog Carnival: Mexico - Citizenry, Violence and Blogs looks at what Mexican bloggers think about their society which is sometimes described as violent by nature. Bloggers also shared some artistic work related to violence.
China: 77-year-old female kneels down, naked, in front of courthouse to protest land grab
Ministry of Tofu translates a human rights protest story from Canyu.org [zh], with a video showing a 77-year-old female kneels down, naked, in front of the Shanghai courthouse to protest against illegal land grab.
India: Reaction To The Kashmir Mass Graves
Dilip D'Souza at Death Ends Fun reacts to the news that more than 2,000 bullet-riddled bodies were found in mass graves in Kashmir.
India: Acid Survivor Denied Access To Mumbai College
Shirin Juwaley, an acid attack survivor, writes in her blog that she was recently denied entry to a Mumbai college. Dheera Sujan writes an open letter to the principal who didn’t want her students to see Shirin's face and get scared of marriages.
Latin America: Remembering the Missing on the International Day of the Disappeared
August 30 is the International Day of the Disappeared; The Latin Americanist blogs about current cases of disappearances in Mexico and Argentina.
Cuba: Sixth Sunday vs. Women
“This Sunday August 28th was the 6th consecutive Sunday in which dozens of dissidents -mainly women- have been violently attacked by the regime’s forces. And, each passing day, the methods of repression are more ‘sophisticated’”: Pedazos de La Isla explains.
Trinidad & Tobago: Saving a Life
Tattoo puts out a moral test because of recent events that allegedly led to the current state of emergency.
Cuba: Las Damas & the Archbishop
Uncommon Sense says that the fact that the leader of The Ladies in White has had to approach Havana's cardinal “to intercede…to halt the summerlong repression of the Damas and their allies…reveals everything there is wrong with the prelate.”
Blog Carnival: Mexico – Citizen Media on the Scene
This second post reporting on the 2011 Blog Carnival, summarizes opinions of Mexican bloggers on the way media covers violence, and above all, on the role of citizen media in this violent context.
Philippines: Human Rights Documentation Project
Testigo is an online human rights documentation system that seeks to monitor and gather human rights related information in the Philippines.
Spain: Racism and Intolerance Advance Relentlessly
In Europe, xenophobia advances at an immense rate. Author Ana Lucía Sá writes about the situation of immigrants in Spain, the invisibility of the issue of racism and hate crimes in public discourse, and offers comments and analysis from bloggers and organizations that work against racism.
Blog Carnival: Mexico – Verbalizing the Violence
Our first 2011 Blog Carnival had the theme "Mexico - Citizenry, Violence and Blogs". In this first part of the final summary, we showcase what Mexican bloggers thought about past violent events happening in their country and how they handle and express their pain when violence has affected them.
China: Soaring number of female political prisoners
The Dui Hua Foundation's Human Rights Journal explores the issue of the fast growing number of female political prisoners in China. This presents unique challenges, including male-on-female violence, childbirth in prison, and the overcrowding of women's prisons.
Cameroon: Deeply homophobic laws
Talking about risk of toughening the law on homosexuality in Cameroon, the bonaberi.com site reveals [fr] that: “While the first paragraph of Section 347-1 of the penal code banned homosexuality, the second and third sections state sentences of up to eight years for homosexuality committed by minors between 16 and...
Egypt: Victories of Civilians Against Military Trials
Activists are pulling all the stops online - and on the ground - to draw attention to civilians put on trial in military courts, following the Egyptian revolution. Nermeen Edrees brings us the story.
Bahrain: “By our silence we also incur a share in the guilt”
“By our silence we also incur a share in the guilt. This is why we have to support Bahrainis in their quest for freedom,” blogger Lina Ben Mhenni writes on A Tunisian Girl, reminding us of a forgotten and savagely repressed part of the Arab Spring.
Cuba: Woman Evicted
Pedazos de La Isla highlights the case of Mercedes Reyes, who was evicted from her home, allegedly for the purpose of turning the property into a Civil Registry Office, saying: “Another victim of eviction and injustice turns to the Cuban resistance to channel their denouncements, their complaints. And the world...
Cambodia: Prey Sar Prison Blog
Titled “life in 1 square meter”, the blog is allegedly created by a prisoner inside Cambodia's Prey Sar prison. It's no longer online but it has been widely discussed by mainstream media and in online forums.
Trinidad and Tobago: State of Emergency, Day 4
With a national state of emergency — declared by the government to combat rising crime — now in its fourth day, bloggers and other social media users in Trinidad and Tobago express doubts about the effects of the emergency measures and respond with humour to the inconvenience of a nighttime curfew.
Ukraine: Yulia Tymoshenko's Case
At OpenDemocracy.net, Valery Kalnysh explains in detail the case against Ukraine's former PM Yulia Tymoshenko.
