· May, 2012

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.

31 May 2012

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.

29 May 2012

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.

28 May 2012

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.

26 May 2012

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.

23 May 2012

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...

21 May 2012

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.

18 May 2012

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...

17 May 2012

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.

11 May 2012

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.

10 May 2012

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.

10 May 2012

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…

9 May 2012