Stories about Human Rights from November, 2008
Singapore: Economy and rights
Singapore Democrats tackles the economic crisis and its impact on workers’ rights.
India: Terror attacks continue in Mumbai
In what appears to be a surreal sense of reality, television channels are airing footage from the various places in Southern Mumbai that are being attacked. Ultrabrown writes – A large-scale S. Bombay terrorist attack is going on right now using automatic weapons, hand grenades and possibly a taxi bomb....
India: Blasts, Gunfire and Terror in Mumbai
In a series of blasts and shoot outs, the city of Mumbai appears to have come under attack. According to the news, there appear to be at least seven different locations in the city that have been attacked. In an unprecedented sort of terror, a combination of gun fire, blasts,...
Haiti: Non-Violence
Haitian blogger Wadner Pierre strongly advocates the path of non-violence.
China: Roadmap to Tibet Independence
Sun bin introduces Wang Lixiong's recent article on the Roadmap to Tibet Independence. The Chinese version is re-posted at inmediahk.net, while an ongoing English translation is here.
China: Yang Jia is dead
Yang Jia (杨佳), who killed 6 police officers at Zhabei District police station in Shanghai on July 1, 2008, was executed this morning (26 of Nov, 2008). A twitter account, foreveryangjia, has been set up to express grievance towards this legendary figure. Upon receiving the news from Yang's mother about...
Pakistan: A Dancer’s Perspective on Pakistan
CHUP! – Changing Up Pakistan posts an interview of Sheema Kermani, a classical dancer, teacher, drama artist and women’s rights activist. Sheema describes how art and music have traditionally been viewed in Pakistan and what obstacles women face in Pakistan.
Cuba: To Choose
“First there were the elections in the United States and now the issue has been revived with what happened on Sunday in Venezuela. It’s as if at the end of the year everything conspires to remind us of our condition as non-electors, our limited experience in deciding who leads us”:...
DRC: Didace Namujimbo Radio Okapi Journalist Murdered
Cedric Kalonji writes about the tragic shooting death of Didace Namujimbo [Fr], the second Radio Okapi journalist to be murdered in Bukavu: “After learning this news, I was torn between pain, sadness and anger. I asked myself how a democracy can last in a country so visibly allergic to independent, professional journalists....
Malaysia: The Plight of Penan
The Penan tribe, indigenous people of East Malaysia, have taken quite some press and blog space this year. Bloggers react to stories of abuses committed against the Penan Tribe.
China: Citizen reporter Zuola becomes a potential threat to state security?!
Three days ago, on Nov 20th, Zuola sent out a twitter message reporting that he could not get through the Customs from Shenzhen to Hong Kong: I can't get in Hongkong, not allow me leave from China, I don't konw why. And I call somebody for ask help. May be...
Egypt: First Human Rights Film Festival
Seven films about human rights are being showcased at the first Cairo Human Rights Film Festival, which continues until Thursday (November 27). Marwa Rakha previews blogger reactions on the event.
Peru: Against Child Pornography and Prostitution
Juan Arellano of Globalizado [es] is joining in the international campaign against child pornography, and links to some blogs that talk about child prostitution in Peru.
Egypt: Uproar as Lawyer Suggests Raping Israeli Women
Voice of Egypt is ashamed of Egyptian Lawyer Nagla Al Imam, the same lawyer who made Egyptians angry, for encouraging Arab men to sexually harass Israeli women during her interview on Al Arabia TV (Ar). Marwa Rakha translates from Arabic.
Saudi Arabia: Dreaming of change
Hala, a Saudi blogger currently in the US, was invited to give a talk about the kingdom: “I wanted to say that we are moving in the right direction, faith practices are not forced on people, women are treated equally to men, we have money and we use it correctly...
Armenia/Azerbaijan: Journalists Under Attack
Beaten in Armenia and imprisoned in Azerbaijan, journalists in the ex-Soviet South Caucasus know the price of freedom. Some of them are even fighting from prison cells, wrestling state persecution and challenging societal intolerance for dissent. Bloggers tell the story of free speech in the South Caucasus.
Humanitarian crisis in south Philippines
The fighting between government troops and Muslim separatist rebels in the last three months has not stopped. More than 610,000 people have been displaced already. The situation of refugees is deteriorating. Children are among those who are suffering the most.
Hungary, Slovakia: Tense Relationship
On Nov. 15, Slovak prime minister Robert Fico and his Hungarian counterpart, Ferenc Gyurcsány, met in the border town of Komárno, Slovakia, in an attempt to ease nationalist tensions that have escalated due to Nov. 1 football game violence in Dunajská Streda, Slovakia. Eva S. Balogh of Hungarian Spectrum has been blogging a lot recently about the Slovak-Hungarian relations, and here are some of the highlights.
Cuba: Love and Marriage
“With the love nest located in the parents’ house and with a salary that’s not enough to buy any durable or transferable goods, the signed paper and legal stamp that attest to the marriage are of little importance”: Generation Y says that Cubans are experiencing “a loss of the sense...
Anguilla, The Cayman Islands: Children's Rights
“Child abuse and neglect is no less a serious and widespread problem in Anguilla than it is in the Cayman Islands”: Corruption-free Anguilla praises the efforts of a Caymanian woman who is asking that the government implement the recommendations of a report linked to the UN's Convention on the Rights...
Cuba: “Black Spring” Prisoners
Cuban diaspora blogger Uncommon Sense focuses the spotlight on two of the “Black Spring” political prisoners, here and here.
