Stories about Indigenous from July, 2008
Saudi Arabia: Is Divorce an Easy Word?
With divorce rates soaring to an all new high in Saudi Arabia, Saudi blogger 3abira Sabeel [Ar] asks: “Has divorce become such an easy word?” Amira Al Hussaini translates 3abira's post from Arabic, which discusses how different today's women are from their grandmothers and why young women and men find it easy to dissolve their unions.
Iraq: Thousands of Visitors
Iraqi blogger Najma, A Star from Mosul, gives us a brief run down of her life over the previous two years – where they literally had thousands of visitors in their home.
Jamaica, India: Signs of the Times
The recent bombings in India trigger Jamaican blogger Annie Paul‘s memory about “one piece of graffiti by a Muslim group that had struck me with the simple force and stridency of its message.” In examining the many murals around Kingston, she wonders if “the signs are on the walls.”
USA: Longest Walk 2 for Native Americans rights
An 8,000-Mile Walk for Native American Rights, Environmental Protection, and to Stop Global Warming reached its destination in Washington, DC. A successful example of community-building and citizen media usage - including first-hand reports and poignant comments.
Western Sahara: Introducing the Sahrawi Blogosphere
On July 5, Global Voices started its coverage of the Sahrawi blogosphere. Jillian York looks at Sahrawi blogs in English this week.
Costa Rica: Indigenous Communities in the Media
Alejandro Vargas Johannsen publishes a list of recommendations created by students from the Costa Rica University for communicators in how they write about indigenous communities without negative stereotypes [es] and to, “remember their contributions to natural medicine, spirituality, arts, and the conservation of natural resources, especially water.”
Bahamas: Cultural Pride
“If you’re in doubt about Bahamians’ lack of pride in our culture, you shoulda been there”: Nicolette Bethel was as Ronnie Butler's farewell concert and writes an homage to the “entertainment maestro”.
Saudi Arabia: What's Your Mother's Name?
“What's your mother's name?” Thamer Al Marzooqi [Ar], from Saudi Arabia, challenges his readers – in a culture where women's names are considered to remain in the private domain.
Jamaica: Patois Parlance
Transition Sunshine says that “all Jamaicans are multilingual, and while some may not speak patois, they all understand it”. Posted with video to prove her point.
Saudi Arabia: The Black Garbage Bag
American Sabra is in Saudi Arabia … and has to do what the Saudi women do when it comes to covering up from head to toe when outside her house. See what she thinks of the black garb worn by women and how Saudi men react when they come face to face with flesh.
Heiva i Tahiti 2008, Festival of Traditional Dance
Jean-Marc posts photos of this year's Heiva i Tahiti, Tahiti's biggest festival of traditional dance. La Danse Tahitienne blogs commentary on each group's performance [Fr].
Ecuador: Learning Kichwa
Angel Gualán provides two lessons on his blog for those interested in learning an Ecuadoran indigenous language of Kichwa, which is also spoken by his group the Saraguros.
Saudi Arabia: Keep out of my space!
Nzingha is used to people keeping a physical distance from each other in Saudi Arabia – but she says that in Bahrain those boundaries of personal space are not respected.
Western Sahara: Poetry and Spanish – The Permanent Links
For some cultures, it is food, for others it is music, and many cultures show their character in their architecture. For Western Sahara, one of their cultural characteristics is the oral tradition, and poetry is meaningful for Sahrawis.
Summer Early in Kuwait
With the mercury increasing as the summer sets in in Kuwait, bloggers are busy looking for distractions this summer vacation. Among them is Zdistrict, who goes on a trip to Kubbar Island. He writes: This was a bit of a hot weekend and going to Kubbar didn’t seem like a...
Ukraine: Photos of Crimean Tatars and Crimea
Marusia of My Simferopol Home posts an update on her life in Crimea and links to Alison Cartwright's photographs of Crimean Tatars, their land and their homes – here, here, here, and here.
