Monthly Archives: October 2015

Race + Color + Ethnicity, Religion + Belief

Cambodia News | Montagnard Christians

Cambodia orders deportation of waves of Montagnards fleeing Vietnam
  • Montagnards, an ethnic confederation of indigenous peoples from Vietnam, have fled what they report has been religious and ethnic harassment and persecution at the hands of Vietnamese police.
  • Cambodia has only granted asylum to 13 of the approximately 200 who have crossed the border, designating most as economic migrants and scheduling their deportation.
  • The refugees have turned to the U.N.’s refugee organization for assistance, alleging that Vietnamese police have subjected them to ongoing interrogations and detentions because of their Christian affiliation.

Read more:
“Montagnards Flee Persecution in Vietnam For Unsure Future in Cambodia” (Radio Free Asia)
“Group of Montagnards heads back to Vietnam” (The Phnom Penh Post)
“Vietnam: End ‘Evil Way’ Persecution of Montagnard Christians” (Human Rights Watch)

(Image Credit: Radio Free Asia)

Gender, Nationality + Migration

Tanzania News | Burundian Refugee Women

Burundian refugee women in Tanzania face reduced access to reproductive healthcare as relocation looms
  • In Nyarugusu, the third-largest refugee camp in the world, an estimated 20,000 of the 100,000 residents are in need of reproductive care.
  • Overcrowding at the camp has led to plans for relocating a portion of the refugees to new camps, and with no health clinics currently built there, as many as 10,000 could face disruptions in healthcare.
  • More than 200,000 have fled Burundi in the wake of political unrest, with half of the refugees currently residing in Tanzania.

Read more:
“10,000 Refugees Are About To Lose Access To Reproductive Care” (BuzzFeed News)
“Thousands of Burundi Refugees to Move Out of Overcrowded Camp in Tanzania Amid Crisis” (VICE News)
Burundi Refugee Situation (UNHCR)

(Image Credit: Daniel Hayduk/AFP/Getty Images, via BuzzFeed News)

Ideology + Affiliation

Lebanon News | Activists & Critics

Protesters clash violently with police during Beirut demonstration
  • Police turned water cannons and tear gas on protesters after a security barrier was removed in downtown Beirut, and were in turn met with stones and other hurled objects from protesters.
  • At least seven protesters were wounded and 35 treated for tear gas inhalation, while 27 were arrested, according to protest organizers.
  • Protests have been ongoing in the country over the last three months after Lebanon’s main landfill was closed, causing a trash crisis in the country noted in the name of the protest organizers, You Stink.

Read more:
“Police attack on protesters triggers fresh clashes in Downtown Beirut” (The Daily Star)
“Tear gas and water cannons fired at Lebanese protesters” (Al Jazeera)
“Beirut protest turns violent, politicians postpone talks” (Reuters)

(Image Credit: Mohammad Akazir/The Daily Star)

Sexual + Gender Minorities

Malaysia News | Transgender

Challenge to ban on cross-dressing dismissed by Malaysian high court on technicality
  • Malaysia’s Federal Court rejected the challenge to the state of Negeri Semblian’s ban on cross-dressing, overturning a lower-court decision striking down the ban.
  • The case brought by three transgender individuals was dismissed by the court on a technicality, saying the case should have first been taken up by the Federal Court.
  • The rejection comes as Islamic conservatism increases in the Malay-majority country, with Shariah law a difficult hurdle for gender and sexual minorities to clear.

Read more:
“Court of Appeal wrong to declare religious law unconstitutional, rules Federal Court” (The Malaysian Insider)
“Transgender case: Federal Court overturns Court of Appeal’s decision” (Astro Awani)
“Malaysia court upholds ban on cross dressing by transgender Muslims” (Reuters)

(Image Credit: Olivia Harris/Reuters)

Race + Color + Ethnicity

Brazil Feature | Black Brazilians

Video

Brazilian TV’s Race Problem

With the slow emergence of a black middle class in the country, demands have grown for more and better media representation among Brazil’s majority black and mixed-race population. Television has become a prime battleground for visibility and equal representation as Brazil continues the difficult process of shedding its history of racial repression. The Guardian takes a look at Mister Brau, Brazil’s new musical comedy at the forefront of that battle, its popular stars, and the cultural landscape it’s making a statement in.

Read more:
“Brazilian television slowly confronts country’s deeply entrenched race issues” (The Guardian)

Other coverage:
“Groundbreaking New Series – ‘Mister Brau’ – Gives Afro-Brazilians Representations to Cheer Despite Flaws” (Indiewire)

(Image Credit: Corbis & Getty Images, via The Guardian)

Ideology + Affiliation

China News | Academics

2,000 march in silent protest against rejection of Hong Kong professor for top leadership position
  • In a controversial decision, University of Hong Kong law professor Johannes Chan was rejected for the university’s pro-vice-chancellor post.
  • Supporters viewed the denial as an encroachment of the Chinese government and Hong Kong’s chief executive on academic freedom in Hong Kong, with some calling for a judicial review of university governance structures.
  • Students, professors, and staff gathered in a massive silent march through the HKU campus before student leaders and academics spoke out against the decision.

Read more:
“Thousands protest at HKU to defend academic freedom” (Hong Kong Free Press)
“Hong Kong Academics in Silent Protest Over ‘Political’ Row Over Top Job” (Radio Free Asia)
“Hong Kong university protests over academic freedoms” (ChannelFree Asia)

(Image Credit: Hong Kong Free Press)

Gender, Nationality + Migration, Sexual + Gender Minorities

Global News | LGBT Ugandan Women

Ugandan LGBTI rights activist wins “Alternative Nobel Prize”
  • Kasha Jacqueline Nabagesera, a Ugandan lesbian, won the International Right Livelihood Award, known informally as the “Alternative Nobel Prize.”
  • Nabagesera has won recognition for challenging anti-gay activity through legal challenge, including suing a tabloid that had published the names of suspected LGBT individuals as well as the Minister of Ethics for violations of LGBT advocates’ freedom of assembly.
  • She is also the founder and executive director of LGBT rights charity Freedom & Roam Uganda.

Read more:
“Ugandan gay rights activist wins Right Livelihood Award” (Deutsche Welle)
“Ugandan gay rights activist wins ‘Alternative Nobel Prize’” (PinkNews)
Right Livelihood Laureate: Kasha Jacqueline Nabagesera

Nationality + Migration

Turkey News | Syrian Refugees

1 Comment
Syrian refugees struggle to integrate into Turkish society
  • Turkey has become home to 2.3 million Syrians, making it host to the largest refugee population in the world.
  • With opportunities in refugee camps limited, most have taken to cities in search of stability, but have found cultural barriers, few legal employment opportunities, limited healthcare access, and increasing resident suspicion.
  • While the E.U. has drafted a proposal for funding assistance to Turkey, officials have mulled several options as integration has stalled, including establishing a safe zone in northern Syria to which refugees could return or refugee-only cities in Turkey.

“I regret coming here. If I can’t survive I’ll go back to Syria and die with dignity. We didn’t come to Turkey to be beggars.”

Read more:
“Tensions simmer as Turkey struggles with burden of refugees” (Reuters)
“Migrant crisis: EU plan offers more money for Turkey camps” (BBC)

(Image Credit: Murad Sezer/Reuters)

Race + Color + Ethnicity

U.S. Feature | Native Americans

Unmasking Addiction in Native Communities

The long-entrenched belief in Native Americans’ genetic susceptibility to alcoholism has for decades obscured the underlying social and psychological causes of high addiction rates in the community. The Verve takes a look at the science of addiction and the presence of its effects in Native communities, from poverty and disenfranchisement to familial precarity and unemployment.

Read more:
“No, Native Americans aren’t genetically more susceptible to alcoholism” (The Verge)

(Image Credit: Kimery Davis via The Verge)

Race + Color + Ethnicity

Ecuador News | Afro-Ecuadorians

Ecuador government passes resolution to include Afro-Ecuadorian history in textbooks
  • As Ecuadoreans around the country celebrate National Day of the Afro-Ecuadorian People, the government announced the new education measure to foster inclusion of Afro-Ecuadorians in the nation’s history.
  • Afro-Ecuadorians number more than 600,000 in the country, but continue to face discrimination and economic difficulty.
  • The National Day of the Afro-Ecuadorian People began with the 1997 congressional declaration of the National Day of the Black Ecuadorian, symbolized by celebration of fugitive slave leader Alonso de Illescas and Afro-Ecuadorian history and culture.

“On this day we have to remember all the contributions we have made as a people and bring it, together with our history, to the rest of the people because many don’t know it, which enables a lot of forms of discrimination.”

Read more:
“Ecuador to Include Afro-Ecuadorean History in Textbooks” (teleSUR English)

(Image Credit: El Telegrafo, via teleSUR)

Religion + Belief

South Korea Feature | Jehovah’s Witnesses

South Korea’s Prisoners of Conscience

South Korea leads the world in the incarceration of conscientious objectors, jailing hundreds each year who refuse the country’s manditory military service on the basis of conscience and belief. The vast majority of the imprisoned are Jehovah’s Witnesses, members of a Christian sect that has seen tens of thousands jailed in the half-century following the 1953 truce that ended the Korean War. The New York Times profiles the ongoing struggles of the community and recent developments that could finally see movement in the fight for their freedom of conscience.

Read more:
“South Korean Jehovah’s Witnesses Face Stigma of Not Serving in Army” (The New York Times)

Other coverage:
“South Korean conscientious objectors keep up fight against military service” (The Los Angeles Times)
“South Korea, world’s top jailer of conscientious objectors, resists giving them alternatives” (Fox News)

(Image Credit: Jean Chung/The New York Times )

Race + Color + Ethnicity

Israel & Palestinian Territories News | Israelis & Palestinians

Palestinian teen dead, Israeli teen wounded as violence grows in Jerusalem and the West Bank
  • A Palestinian teenager was killed as Palestinians clashed with Israeli forces during a police operation in the West Bank town of Tulkarm.
  • Following the murder of two Israeli men in Jerusalem, a follow-up stabbing by another Palestinian wounded an Israeli teenager.
  • As Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for the knife attack, PM Benjamin Netanyahu announced the homes of attackers would be destroyed and access to the Old City in Jerusalem limited.

Read more:
“Violence intensifies in Jerusalem, West Bank, raising security concerns” (Reuters)
“Jewish Teen Moderately Wounded in Latest Jerusalem Stabbing Attack” (Haaretz)
“Israel bans Palestinians from Jerusalem’s Old City after knife attacks” (The Guardian)

(Image Credit: Atef Safadi/EPA, via The Guardian)

Race + Color + Ethnicity

U.K. Research | Ethnic Minorities

Sports Participation Among Minorities in Wales

Sports Wales recently conducted a study of Black, Asian, and ethnic minority participation in sports in Wales and found disproportionately low levels of engagement. The research found that ethnic minorities were less likely to participate as players or as volunteers, administrators, or spectators, causing concern because of the traditional conception of athletics as an inclusive cultural activity.

4.5%

Percentage of Wales’s population that is of a minority ethnic background

Lower incomes, limited time, limited mobility, limited facilities, racism, and language barriers

Reasons study cites for lower levels of participation

£3 million

Amount of funding earmarked for tackling inequality in sports (with £1.5 million specifically targeting racial and ethnic inequality)

Read more:
“Black and ethnic minorities face barriers to sport, report says“ (BBC)
“BAME communities in Wales face sporting barriers” (The Voice)
Calls 4 Action: Black and Minority Ethnic Pupils – what do we know? (Sports Wales)

Nationality + Migration, Race + Color + Ethnicity

Israel & Palestine News | Israelis

Four Israelis dead following dual attacks in the West Bank and Jerusalem
  • An Israeli couple was killed in the West Bank near the Israeli settlement of Itamar while their three children remained unharmed in the backseat.
  • The murder was followed by another attack on an Israeli family in East Jerusalem, leaving two men dead and a woman and child injured in violence claimed by the Islamic Jihad organization.
  • Riots by Israelis and Palestinians in the West Bank followed, with outraged Israeli officials condemning Palestinian authorities for lack of response.

Read more:
“2 Israeli men killed in Jerusalem attack were Nehemia Lavi, Aharon Benet” (The Times of Israel)
“Palestinian Gunmen Kill Israeli Parents of 4 in West Bank” (The New York Times)
“Thousands attend funeral of murdered Israelis as tensions flare in W. Bank” (i24 News)
“Israéliens tués: des colons réclament vengeance” (Radio France Internationale, in French)

(Image Credit: via The Times of Israel)

Gender

Turkey Feature | Women

Turkey’s Chic Women

Women from around Turkey converged on Istanbul and 9 other cities across the country for the third-annual Chic Women’s Bicycle Tour, a solidarity bike ride to promote transportation equality for women as well as sustainable transportation options in cities riddled with motorized vehicular traffic. Decked out in a colorful potpourri of dresses, hats, flowers, and balloons, the women dressed in resistance to attempts by conservatives to dictate to women how they should dress and act in public. Al-Monitor spoke with organizers about the history and mission of the ride, while Hürriyet provided a vibrant gallery of event attendees.

Read and view more:
“Pedal power gets Turkish makeover” (Al-Monitor)
“‘Chic women’ across Turkey’s western coast cycle for sustainable transportation” (Hürriyet News Daily)

(Image Credit: AA Photo, via Hürriyet News Daily))