Stories from June, 2020
Harrowing tales from African domestic workers in Lebanon
African domestic workers are essentially slaves in the Gulf and Arab countries, under the Kafala sponsorship system that allows this exploitation and abuse to continue.
Nationalists in North Macedonia use border closures to sow confusion and mistrust
Local media and politicians have distorted reopening policies in neighbouring countries for political gain.
Thailand's ‘youthquake': Activism in the time of COVID-19
Pro-democracy flash mob protests rocked Thailand in January and February. COVID-19 has shifted acts of resistance to cyberspace.
Afro-Czechs on visibility, racism and life in the Czech Republic (Part II)
"For Czech society, accepting that a non-white person can be Czech is too unusual and often not digestible."
WHO urges Pakistan to reimpose lockdown after surge in cases
Pakistan has implemented new lockdown restrictions after a letter from the WHO urged the country to improve testing and control outbreak numbers.
Afro-Czechs on visibility, racism and life in the Czech Republic (Part I)
The Czech society started discussing ethnic discrimination and diversity after the fall of Communism, which had erroneously claimed to have eradicated racism.
Old statues, new maps
"It's not an action that Columbus' local devotees ever imagined enacting: for them, the old map not only rules, but should always rule, no matter how much blood drenches it."
People with disabilities left stranded during national lockdown in Uganda
In Uganda, the needs of marginalized people — especially those of persons with disabilities — were conspicuously absent in President Yoweri Museveni’s COVID-19 directives.
Beach destinations in Albania face an unusual summer tourist season
Last month Global Voices looked at preparations for an unusual tourist season in Albania. Now it is underway, with mixed results.
In the wake of Black Lives Matter's protests, death of black 5-year-old becomes symbol of Brazil's racism and inequality
Miguel plunged from the ninth floor of a building while under the care of his mother’s white employer
Remembering Amadou Diallo, a Guinean victim of police brutality in the USA
Amadou Diallo, a Guinean in the USA, was shot 41 times by NYC police. His family sued the city and settled for $3 million and created the Amadou Diallo Foundation in 2005.
Wikipedia project boosts Taiwan's hundreds-strong Sakizaya-speaking community
Along with six other indigenous languages in Taiwan, Sakizaya is classified as “critically endangered” by UNESCO.
New law forces Hungarian transgender people to choose exile
Transgender people told Global Voices that Brussels has failed to stand up to Budapest on the issue.
Sri Lanka prepares for twice-delayed poll amid militarized COVID-19 response
"The government will not hesitate to arrest opposition activists and voters for violating this or that anti-virus rule while giving a free pass to its own supporters."
Timor-Leste plans to restore criminal defamation law amid concerns about its free speech impact
"This draft law threatens everyone, particularly vulnerable people without political connections or financial resources. "
Viktor Tsoi: The undying icon of Soviet dissident rock
Fans of Soviet rock star Viktor Tsoi mark his birthday, June 21, remembering his freedom-loving songs that still resonate three decades after his death in 1990.
Who are the ‘rioters’ facing jail time after the anti-China extradition protests in Hong Kong?
Around a third of the 612 rioters currently awaiting trial are younger than 20, while at least 14 are under 16-years-old.
Fish prices spike as Cameroon’s mangroves face total depletion
Cameroonians rely heavily on mangroves for fish and firewood, but exploiting its resources has pushed it to the brink. A spike in fish prices is largely blamed on mangrove depletion.
The Kano COVID-19 deaths: Forced relocations and disinformation creates widespread confusion (Part II)
Forced relocations of children contributed to the possible spread of COVID-19 and online disinformation along ethnoreligious lines added to the general confusion surrounding mass deaths in Kano State, Nigeria.
The Kano COVID-19 deaths: Stories untold (Part I)
Our research reconstructed the failure of authorities to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 in Kano, which resulted in hundreds of deaths despite persistent mass media and social media documentation.
As election looms, Serbia's leading party wants to defend citizens from dinosaurs
"When you can't pay the rent, the only thing left for you to do is build a time machine, go back in time and vote."