· December, 2011

Stories about Ethnicity & Race from December, 2011

Italy: African workers renew their call for open dialogue

  29 December 2011

Following the murder of two Senegalese men in Florence, Italy, migrant African workers released an open letter on the web [it] to renew their call for dialogue with citizens of Rosarno, where in January 2010 violent riots took place. ‘Those that in the past few days have spread fear when...

Sri Lanka: Learning Lessons By Counting Costs

  28 December 2011

Mahesan Niranjan at Groundviews writes a satire, with hard-hitting underpinnings, on the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) set up by the Sri Lankan government – to look into the events of the Sri Lankan Civil War during the period between February 2002 and May 2009.

Peru: Afro-Peruvian Christmas Music

  27 December 2011

Christmas, a Christian celebration that arrived in Perú with the Spaniards at the beginning of the sixteenth century, was adapted over the years by different Peruvian communities. The black community also managed to incorporate its own individuality in the festivities, expressing its particular experiences in the artistic creations made to honor the holiday.

Peru: Blogger Discusses Discrimination in Interview with Indigenous Peruvians

  26 December 2011

Blogger Carlos Quiroz from Peruanista interviewed three indigenous Peruvians living in Lima, including Julián Apaza, whose brother, Ricardo Apaza, recently suffered from discrimination at a Lima movie theater. In the video interview [es] they discuss racism, Andean indigenous cultures, what it is like to be of native descent, and whether...

Chile: If You Are a Maid, Identify Yourself

  26 December 2011

Class discrimination or simple rules of a private club? A golf club's regulation forbidding maids or nannies to enter the pool zone and forcing them to dress so they can be clearly identified has sparked numerous reactions in the Chilean cyberspace.

Kuwait: Online Advocacy for the Stateless Bidoun

  22 December 2011

Since hundreds of Kuwait's 100,000 strong Bidoun were attacked by police for protesting in support of others detained earlier in the year, a number of bloggers and international organizations have been stepping up their support for the stateless people in the hope of drawing attention to their plight.

Armenia-Azerbaijan: Garlic Wars

  21 December 2011

With tensions high between Armenia and Azerbaijan as a result of a still unresolved territorial dispute, the appearance of Azerbaijani garlic in Armenian supermarkets has made some local media hysterical.

Kuwait: Stateless Protesters Attacked for Demanding Rights

  21 December 2011

Arrests, beatings and harassment face protesters championing for the rights of 100,000 stateless in Kuwait, struggling to have the rights to documents, education, health care, employment, and most importantly naturalization. Mona Kareem takes a look at protests over the past few days in Kuwait and the police crackdown that followed.

Peru: Racism Debated on Social Networks

  21 December 2011

A recent incident at a Lima movie theater has turned a spotlight on the issue of racism. Netizens are commenting on this and other similar incidents and on the bigger issue of racism in a multicultural society like Peru.

Mexico: The Results of a Racism Experiment with Children

  20 December 2011

The video by 11.11 Social Change is simple: Mexican children sit in front of two dolls identical save for two things: one is light skinned and blue-eyed and the other is dark skinned and brown eyed. Then they are asked to pick which one of the dolls is ugly, nice,...

Estonia: Language and History

  12 December 2011

Giustino of Ithing for Eestimaa discusses Estonians’ obsession with language – and especially their own as opposed to Russian – against the backdrop of a recent interview with the country's president Toomas Ilves.