Stories about Migration & Immigration from January, 2009
Armenia: Diaspora Politics
tzitzernak2 comments on the role of the Diaspora in local politics in Armenia and raises concerns with the date of a conference to be held by one of the largest lobbying groups in the U.S., the Armenian Assembly of America. The blog says the timing of the event on the...
Georgia: Armenian Activists Detained
Blogian comments on the arrest of two ethnic Armenians in the Georgian region of Samtskhe-Javakheti allegedly for espionage and the formation of an armed gang. The blog says calls for autonomy or independence from Georgia are once again being heard.
Guadeloupe: Pépin questions national conscience
In the midst of the social unrest that has been shaking Guadeloupe for almost 11 days, Indiscrétions publishes writer Ernest Pépin's letter to his fellow Guadeloupeans.
Cuba: Hope and Change
On hearing the news that two black Cubans were arrested “after they were heard making favorable comments” about the Obama presidency, Uncommon Sense has these words for the new president: “Please do not let their faith in you, and their faith in real hope and change for their country, be...
Cuba: Raul in Russia
Child of the Revolution, Una Familia en Cuba [Sp] and Havana Times all blog about Cuban President Raul Castro's official visit to Russia.
Cuba: Human Rights & Political Prisoners
As The Cuban Triangle reports that Cuba is about to face a human rights review, Uncommon Sense says that women are also among the political prisoners on the island.
Trinidad & Tobago: Construction Confusion
“Some of the things being revealed are proving to be so massively embarrassing, so massively corrupt that it boggles the mind”: Trinidadian diaspora blogger Jumbie's Watch is following the Commission of Inquiry into the local construction sector.
Armenia: No PACE Sanctions
Life in the Armenian Diaspora comments on yesterday's decision by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe not to suspend Armenia's voting rights in the influential body. The blog says that promises to amend two articles of the Criminal Code remind it of moves to change legislation in Turkey...
Poland, UK: “Reverse Migration of Poles”
As more Poles are reportedly leaving the UK, the POLSKI blog notes that “it may imply that the era of cheap Polish labour – and jokes – might be coming to an end…”
Madagascar: “History repeats itself…as a farce” in recent unrest
On blogs and forums, reflections on the sources of the current unrest and the history of Madagascar's turbulent democracy.
Cuba: Political Prisoners
Diaspora blogger Uncommon Sense reports on the experience of some of Cuba's political prisoners because he believes that “it is a truth that one day will set them, and their country, free.”
Haiti, U.S.A.: Obama & Abortion
Haitian diaspora blogger Finian says: “This is where Obama loses my support. I believe abortion on demand is wrong.”
Poland: Back Home From the UK
the POLSKI blog writes that due to the crisis, many Poles are returning home from the UK – and others are encouraged to by a UK-based organization called “Poland Street.”
United States: Nedjo Ikonic's Deportation Case
Kirk Johnson of Americans for Bosnia writes that “the ever-vigilant Daniel at Srebrenica Genocide Blog has passed along a disturbing story about a US District Judge who evidently doesn't think that Federal law–at least not the Genocide Accountability Act–is something he should be bothering with”: “In short–faced with Serb illegal...
Trinidad & Tobago, U.K., Israel, Palestine: Objectivity?
In response to the BBC's decision not to broadcast an appeal for funds for Gaza, Notes from Port of Spain says: “Someone, somewhere, has been leaning heavily on this famously objective broadcaster, and it has caved in.”
Armenia-Turkey: Are We Hrant Dink?
Following the second anniversary of the murder of Hrant Dink in Istanbul, Unzipped comments on a recent piece by Glendal News Press’ Patrick Azadian on the ethnic Armenian journalist who stood for peace, democracy and human rights in Turkey. The blog despairs the fact that nationalists are attempting to hijack...
Ukraine, Canada: Crossword House, Varenyk and Pysanka
LJ user alex-pingvin posts a picture of a “crossword house” on Andrey Sakharov St. in Lviv. Flickr user mariyaz posts pictures of “the biggest dumpling ever (Ukrainian pyrogy) in Glendon (Alberta, Canada)” and of “a monument of Ukrainian Easter Egg in Vegreville (Canada).”
Cuba, U.S.A.: An Important Introduction
“The man is worth your support, and then some, especially after he was arrested while traveling to Havana to watch your inauguration as a guest of the U.S. Interest Section”: Uncommon Sense would like President Obama to meet Jorge Luis García Pérez “Antúnez”.
Jamaica, Barbados, U.S.A.: Bonne Chance!
Jamaican diaspora blogger Pamela Mordecai holds high hopes for the Obama administration and wishes the new President well, while Notes From A Small Rock [Barbados] sums up her sentiment like this: “Now we wait. We wait to see if the words match the deeds. We all want so much of...
Russia: Migration Issues
Window on Russia writes about a Ryazan Tajik activist's appeal to the Russian media to stop “fanning the flames of ethnic hatred against migrants” and the launch of the Migration-007 magazine, whose goal would be to “'change the stereotypes and myths’ that Russians have about migrants and that migrants have...
Armenia-Turkey: Genocide Historian Responds
My The Caucasian Knot details and comments on attempts by one group in the U.S.-Armenian Diaspora to silence a prominent Genocide historian. Coinciding with the second memorial of Hrant Dink's murder in Istanbul, Ara Sarafian was quoted by the Turkish media as saying it was ironic that many Armenians seeking...