Stories about History from April, 2014
Trinidad & Tobago: The Implications of Style
When you see your reflection, are you seeing you or an amalgamation of your racial, historical and social complications? Tillah Willah blogs about the “self-schism that exists [and the] ways that this affects [her] as a black woman living in the west.”
When Will Impunity End for Slave Traders in Mauritania ?
A protest coordinated by several Mauritanian civil society organizations and political parties was held on April 29, 2014 in Nouakchott. The protest was initiatied by members of Haratin tribe who demand more rights and the enforcement of existing laws. This protest marks the first anniversary of the Haratin Manifesto [fr]. The...
‘There Was No Palestine'?
A number of Twitter users are challenging the common Israeli discourse that Palestine never existed through the hashtag: #there_was_no_Palestine.
Win Tin: Myanmar’s Longest-held Political Prisoner Dies at 85
Burmese journalist and activist Win Tin is one of the leaders of the pro-democracy movement.
Cycling to Save Archeological Heritage
(Links are in English, otherwise noted [es] for Spanish) How can two apparently very distinct interests, such as cycling and archeology, come together? Nils Castro shares his experience in an article [es] as a guest blogger on Lima Milenaria. Niles mentions that even though he had already created the Facebook group...
Guyana: The Walter Rodney Enquiry
Two different narratives are taking hold in Guyana when it comes to the Commission of Enquiry into the death of political activist Walter Rodney: Barbados Underground reports that the Guyana Trades Union Congress is looking after its interest in arriving at the truth, while propaganda press, which is not in...
Caribbean: The Writing & Politics of Gabriel García Márquez
The literary fraternity is only just starting to adjust to the idea of life without “Gabo” – the inimitable Colombian-born author who was beloved by the world – Gabriel García Márquez, who passed away last Thursday in Mexico City. Awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1982, García Márquez left...
An African Tale of The First Love Story Ever Told
The website Histoire Africaine/African History [fr] narrates the tale of the oldest love story ever told, the story of Osiris and Isis [fr] and explains what makes it stand out [fr] from the other love stories. Osiris was the king god of Egypt and Isis his queen. Set, his brother, murdered...
The Africanized Experience of Lisbon
The media and racial stereotypes [pt], through the perspective and experience of two specialists in the area of the study of race, both Afroportuguese, born in Lisbon, Portugal. is the topic of a new podcast. An interview with Grada Kilomba, academic of Santomean origin at the Humboldt University Berlin, translated into...
Philippine Jeepney: World War II Surplus Vehicle that Became a Cultural Icon
The jeepney is the undisputed ‘King of the Road’ in the past half-century in the Philippines. Check out some creative designs and practical uses of this famous vehicle.
Bangladeshis Mourn Gabriel García Márquez, the ‘Magician Of Words’
"No, I will not cry. As I believe that he will live at least a few more centuries with resonant words of love, how could I cry mourning his death?"
Historical Overview of Cambodia's Land and Housing Problem
Hallam Goad analyzed the problems and issues that plagued Cambodia's urban development in the past two decades: Phnom Penh has followed the clichéd patterns of newly emerging nations almost to the letter with the urban poor shouldering many of the downsides. What few people recognise is that most of it...
Indians in the Caribbean
Active Voice reviews Gaiutra Bahadur’s book Coolie Woman: The Odyssey of Indenture and wonders whether “banning words or proscribing them ever achieves the desired outcome”: Should we be trying to sanitize history or recording it in all its ugliness for the benefit of future generations? Can we ever liberate the...
Graphic Novel “Los Once” Remembers History Through Fiction
Los Once is a graphic novel that recreates the seizing of Colombia's Palace of Justice from the point of view of the families affected by the violence.
Documentary Unearths the Story of Eminent Puerto Rican Ramón Emeterio Betances
Despite being considered one of “the fathers of the homeland,” Puerto Rican official history barely mentions him, and many people on the island perhaps only know his name.
The Overlooked Crisis in Burundi
While neighboring Rwanda is making news with the commemoration of the 1994 genocide and the increased tension with France, Burundi is marred in an overlooked political crisis and surge of violence that opposes, again, Hutus and Tutsis. Tshitenge Lubabu in Burundi opines that the roots of the crisis [fr] are the current political leaders:...
A 80 Year-long Wait: Niger Gets its First Train Station
On April 7, Niger inaugurated in the capital Niamey its first train station ever [fr]. The authorities already projected the construction of the train station 80 years ago but the project never took off. The event will kick start the construction of railroads between Niger, Benin, Burkina Faso and Côte d'Ivoire....
Cambodia's Angkor Wat Now on Google Street View
We can now explore the ancient city of Angkor Wat in Cambodia through Google Street View. This video highlights some of the stunning temples of Angkor Wat.
Video Shows How the U.S. Dropped 2.5 Million Tons of Bombs on Laos
Mother Jones uploaded a video which simulates the 600 bombing missions conducted by the United States in Laos between 1965 to 1973 during the Vietnam War era.
Songkran Water Festival Goes Waterless in Singapore
Thailand's New Year celebration, Songkran, is globally famous for its water splashing activities. But Singapore will celebrate Songkran this month without water to emphasize water conservation.
We Love to Talk, But Do We Speak Out?
What's lies at the root of the Trinidadian reluctance to speak out publicly on matters discussed so energetically in private?
