Stories about Migration & Immigration from April, 2009
Caribbean: Keeping Track of Swine Flu
As concerns over the Swine Flu outbreak continue to mount, Caribbean bloggers are educating themselves, just in case...
Malaysia: Humans as Commodities
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.
Antigua & Barbuda, U.S.A.: Kincaid Honoured
Repeating Islands learns that Antigua-born author Jamaica Kincaid “is among the 231 new members chosen to join the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2009.”
Armenia: Shooting the Messenger
Security, in the Caucasus and beyond…. comments on the tendency for nationalist voices in Armenia and the Diaspora to shoot down any proposals intended to promote peace and reconciliation with Turkey by discrediting them and preventing any open discussion or independent thought.
Cambodia: Road accidents
Road and traffic accidents have been increasing in Cambodia, especially in the capital city of Phnom Penh.
Armenia: Joke of the Day
Unzipped says joke of the day in Armenia is news that the Armenian Revolutionary Federation — Dashnaktsutyun (ARF-D) are now calling themselves an opposition political party. Having left the ruling coalition government yesterday in protest at talk of possible reconciliation between estranged neighbors Armenia and Turkey, the blog says that...
Trinidad & Tobago: What's Happening?
Trinidad diaspora blogger Jumbie's Watch is not pleased with recent developments in his home country: “Have criminals become so hardened that they wage war on children now?”
Czech Republic: Blog Roundup
A Czech roundup: Czechmatediary – on the new translation of the Bible into contemporary Czech and on Albert Einstein's Prague connection; CzechFolks.com – on xenophobia, job market, and the Brno Expats Forum online community; The Journeys of Captain Oddsocks – on bone churches and the liberation of Plzeň 64 years...
Jamaica: Gas Tax
“I've come to the conclusion that there is some irrational link between the price of gas in Jamaica and public tolerance levels”: Annie Paul thinks that the imposition of the gas tax is “long overdue”.
Azerbaijan: Back in Baku
Scary Azeri in Suburbs returns to her native Baku. Posting photographs of the Azerbaijani capital, the blogger, now resident in the U.K., says that the city is full of contrasts and changes.
U.K.: London Armenian commemorative march
Unzipped posts photos of yesterday's commemorative march held on the occasion of the 94th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide.
Russia: Baymurat (aka Jimmy) Singing Bollywood Song
Videos of a rendition of a Bollywood song by Baymurat (aka Jimmy) – an ethnic Uzbek from Tajikistan, a gastarbeiter in a town near Moscow, and a YouTube celebrity: one of the earlier versions is here, and the performance at Asian Dub Foundation's April 4 gig in St. Petersburg, Russia...
Armenia: Obama recognizes Genocide… kinda
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.
Armenia: Debate over campaign promise overshadows 94th anniversary of WWI killings
Yesterday marked the 94th anniversary of the massacre and deportation of as many as 1.5 million ethnic Armenians living in the Ottoman Empire. Bloggers react to a statement made by U.S. President Barack Obama marking the occasion, but which avoided directly referring to the WWI events as genocide.
Kosovo: The Language Issue
The Unforgiving Minute writes about “the language issue” in Kosovo.
Sri Lanka: The Pros And Cons Of International Attention
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) are holding on to to just a sliver of land in the north of Sri Lanka, but the United Nations is estimating that 50,000 people are still trapped in the warzone. As fighting surges in the final throes, concerns for civilians is growing and calls for international attention and understanding abound on the Internet and in the streets of cities around the world, such as London, Berlin and Paris.
Cuba: Female Political Prisoner Released
Diaspora blogger Uncommon Sense reports that “perhaps the best known female political prisoner in Cuba” has been released.
Trinidad & Tobago: Solo Signature
Trinidadian blogger B.C. Pires says the real reason that the signing ceremony for the recently-concluded Summit of the Americas was important “was to justify the scandalous costs of the Chinese-built Great House…a pity our Big Cheese signed alone; makes that whole firetrucking International Important Monkeys In Jackets Liming Spot seem...
Cuba, U.S.A.: What Next?
“After a week in which President Obama announced new Cuba policy measures and discussed Cuba policy at the Trinidad summit,” The Cuban Triangle asks: “Where do things stand?”
Jamaica: Read a Book
Jamaican litblogger Geoffrey Philp recognizes World Book and Copyright Day.
Russia, Turkey: Circassian Diaspora
Window on Eurasia writes about the Circassian diaspora in Turkey and Russo-Turkish relations.
