Stories about Migration & Immigration from May, 2012
Cuba: Bloggers Discuss Mariela Castro's US Visit
On the heels of United States President Barack Obama's support for gay marriage, Mariela Castro, the daughter of Cuban President Raul Castro and Director of the country's Centro Nacional de Educación Sexual (National Center for Sex Education), has been addressing gay rights activists during her tour of the United States. Her trip has been stirring up some controversy in the Cuban blogosphere.
China: Netizens Want Confucius to Return Home
A new visa policy was announced on May 17, 2012 by the U.S State Department which put the Confucius Institute under the spotlight in the Chinese blogosphere. Chinese netizens take the opportunity to ask Confucius to return home and teach the poor Chinese kids instead.
Palestine: Remembering the Nakba
May 15 is Nakba Day, when Palestinians commemorate the displacement and dispossession that took place at the time of Israel's establishment in 1948. In this post we look at how the day was marked by Palestinians on blogs and Twitter this year.
Cuba: The State of Human Rights
The recent request for information by the United Nations‘ Committee Against Torture with regard to alleged abuses in Cuba has got bloggers talking about the human rights situation on the island.
Video: How Societies Work – a Look at Unconventional Arrangements
The VJ Movement has partnered with the London School of Economics to bring us videos and stories that attempt to show how societies in conflict and crisis-affected areas across the globe are facing their futures.
China: Campaign to Clean ‘Foreign Trash’ Out of Beijing
A campaign to rid Beijing of illegal foreign residents has created controversy in China, with Chinese people expressing widely differing viewpoints on social media. A famous television host has labelled a reporter for Al-Jazeera as 'foreign trash' and invited police to run background checks on the blogger who has criticised his xenophobic remarks.
Guadeloupe: “Political Manipulation”
In a post entitled “On Kalkil Politik” [Cr], Guadeloupean blogger Gwakafwika explains his complete distrust in the recent appointment of 1 Guianese and 2 Guadeloupean-born Ministers in the new socialist French government. He calls it a political manipulation.
French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Martinique: Ministers Appointed for Skills or as Tokens?
With a great majority of voters for candidate Hollande in the French presidential elections hailing from the overseas regions, French-Caribbean bloggers were impatient to see which French Guyanese, Martinican or Guadeloupean politicians would be assigned a key government ministry.
Israel: Increase in Racism Against African Asylum Seekers
In the past few weeks two cases of rape of Jewish women by Eritrean and Sudanese asylum seekers have been reported in the Israeli media, prompting a new wave of racism against asylum seekers in Israel.
Mayotte: Capsizing Boat Kills at Least 5 Economic Refugees
Malango Actualité provides the social context [fr] related to the sinking of a boat that killed at least 5, including 3 children and an infant. The fishing boat was carrying 43 people from Comoros to the French territory of Mayotte. It is the third disaster of such kind in 2012 for Comoran...
Cape Verde: Encouraging Storytelling and Creative Writing
Set over the course of seven weeks, a creative writing competition promoted by the young Cape Verdean journalist Odair Varela on his blog, has led a dozen word lovers to get behind their keyboards and let their imaginations flow. The winners have already been announced and this article provides an overview of the stories told.
China, Singapore: Reaction on Ferrari Crash
Recently a rich Mainland Chinese man killed three persons (including himself) in a Ferrari car crash in Singapore because of drunk driving. The incident has resulted in anti mainland Chinese sentiment in Singapore, Peter Barefoot from ChinaSMACK translated netizens’ reaction from China.
Spain: “Neighbor, Wake Up, Evictions at Your Doorstep!”
As part of the profound socioeconomic crisis, home foreclosures and evictions are rampant in Spain. Author Elena Arrontes covered the eviction of a Bangladeshi family from its home in the neighborhood of Lavapiés, Madrid. Neighbors and other members of the community immediately acted in solidarity with the family.
China: Foreigner beaten by Beijingers for sexually assaulting a woman in public
A video, showing a drunken foreigner beaten up by a number of passersby for sexually assaulting a woman in public, has been circulated widely on line. Ministry of Tofu translated some of the online comments.
Singapore: Population, Migration, and Women
Syahidah Ismail provides an overview of various issues faced by Singapore women in the past half century. The author discussed some of the controversial population and migration policies adopted by the government in the past decades.
Greece: Police Violence Against Immigrants on the Rise
Greek social media has been in uproar over a video posted on Facebook and Twitter, showing police officers overtly abusing a detained immigrant in downtown Athens. Racist and police violence in Greece has been on a worrying rise in recent years, while the promised administrative police reform is still pending.
Cuba: Remembering the Dissidents
This week, members of the Cuban diaspora have been blogging about two main things: the one-year anniversary of the death of dissident Juan Wilfredo Soto, and the re-arrest of human rights activist Jose Daniel Ferrer Garcia.
Venezuela: Video ‘Caracas, City of Farewells’ Sparks Discussion on Emigration
It only took a matter of days before the Venezuelan blogosphere heaped an avalanche of criticism and mockery on the video documentary "'Caracas, ciudad de despedidas" ("Caracas, City of Farewells"). The video compiles 17 minutes of interviews focused on emigration in Venezuela and the reasons which have pushed many to join the growing Venezuelan diaspora.
Europe: Economic Crisis Fuels Rise in Anti-Immigration Politics
The French presidential election may be over, but the fact that outgoing president Nicolas Sarkozy chose immigration as the core theme of his campaign is still the subject of much debate on the Web. Many netizens have wondered whether his choice to flirt with the far-right wing of his party helped temper his defeat or whether, on the contrary, it was one of the reasons his electorate deserted him.
Trinidad & Tobago: Three Score and Ten
Two Trinidadian bloggers - one living on island and the other a member of the diaspora - have come to the difficult realisation that their parents are growing old. In this post, they discuss the issue of ageism while sharing their mixed emotions and fears…
Video: Adobe Youth Voices Aspire Awards Voting Open
Young underprivileged youth learning multi-media tools are showcasing their work through The Adobe Youth Voices Aspire Awards. Entries include documentaries, music videos, poetry, audio, graphic design, narrative, animation and photography.
