Monthly Archives: October 2015

Age, Gender, Ideology + Affiliation

Netherlands News | Women & Youth

European court rules brothel owners in Amsterdam must share language with sex workers
  • The European Court of Justice ruling sided with the city of Amsterdam, which blocked the application of a brothel owner to run a Red Light District window rental space because the owner could not communicate in the language of some of the workers.
  • The business owner had his business plan denied because he rented to Hungarian and Bulgarian immigrant workers who did not speak Dutch and whose languages the owner did not speak.
  • The court cited the safety of women, human trafficking vulnerability, the prevention of sex work by minors, and pimping deterrence as justifications.

Read more:
“Court: Amsterdam brothel owners must speak prostitutes’ language” (The NL Times)
“Double Dutch barred in Amsterdam brothels” (AFP, via Yahoo! News)

(Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons/LeDeuxAlpe, via The NL Times)

Gender, Religion + Belief

Canada News | Muslim Women

Pregnant Muslim woman targeted by youth in Montreal
  • Oumessad Khoufache, 31 and four-months pregnant, was approached by two teenage boys on bikes, who tore at her hijab, causing her to lose her balance and fall.
  • Police are reluctant to investigate it as a hate crime because no hateful words were expressed, but Khoufache’s husband believes the teens’ specific attack on her hijab says otherwise.
  • The incident takes place in the midst of a national debate on the ability of Muslim women to wear niqabs during citizenship oath ceremonies, with public vandalism and other forms of anti-Muslim sentiment having appeared as the debate has worn on.

«Reste qu’il y a une montée médiatique ces temps-ci qui peut alimenter [la haine contre les musulmans]. J’espère que ce n’est pas un acte haineux, car cela voudrait dire que des enfants sont déjà alimentés sur des fausses idées sur le voile»

Translation: “The fact remains that lately there has been a rise in media that can feed [hate against Muslims]. I hope that this isn’t a hateful act since that would mean that some children are already fueled by mistaken ideas about the veil.”

Read more:
“Une femme voilée et enceinte agressée par deux ados” (Le Journal de Montréal, in French)
“Pregnant Muslim woman attacked by Montreal teens, police say” (CBC News)
“Montreal’s Muslim community feels ‘used’ by political parties” (CBC News)
“Has the NDP’s campaign become tangled up by a niqab?” (Montreal Gazette)

Nationality + Migration

Japan Research | Foreigners

Japan’s Tourist Chase

As the Japanese government works to make Japan a more tourist-friendly nation, it undertook an opinion poll to survey citizens’ attitudes about the societal impact of tourism. Respondents were asked to provide their opinions about the benefits and drawbacks of tourism as well as ways to increase tourism and tourist integration.

50% (economic benefit) / 46.3% (mutual, intercultural understanding)

Positive attitudes towards tourism cited by Japanese nationals (multiple answers allowed)

29.5% (security fears) / 25.5% (culture clash) / 20.0% (communication difficulties)

Negative attitudes towards tourism cited by Japanese nationals

Sample: 3,000 adults

Read more:
“Japanese expect tourism boom to lift economy, but some fear culture clash: survey” (The Japan Times)

Nationality + Migration

Bangladesh News | Japanese

Japanese man killed by unidentified gunmen in northern Bangladesh
  • Bangladesh-born Kunio Hoshi, 65, was murdered in the district of Rangpur after being stopped on his rickshaw by three men on a motorcycle.
  • Four men were detained for questioning for killing Hoshi as authorities investigated the regional Islamic State affiliate’s claim of responsibility for the attack.
  • Following the similar death of an Italian national days earlier, international embassies began issuing alerts and international groups and schools in the country began restricting their activities.

Read more:
“4 detained over Japanese national murder” (Dhaka Tribune)
“Japanese man shot dead in Bangladesh; Islamic State link probed” (The Japan Times/Reuters)
“Second foreigner killed in Bangladesh” (The Guardian)
“Hoshi murder: US urges quick probe; Japan, S Korea issue alert” (Dhaka Tribune)

(Image Credit: Ripon Islam/AP, via The Guardian)

Nationality + Migration

U.S. Research | Immigrants

Becoming American: 50 Years of Inroads

Immigration has had a tremendous impact on U.S. demographics since the passage of the landmark Hart-Celler Act in 1965 amending the earlier Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952. The proportion of immigrants in the country has grown from 4.8% in 1965 to 13.9% today (just below the historic high of 15% around the turn of the 20th century), and is only expected to increase. A recent Pew Research study broke down how immigration has contributed to the diversification of the country and how the dynamics expected to drive population growth over the next 50 years. Here are highlights from the extensive report:

45 million (2015) vs. 9.6 million (1965)

Number of foreign-born U.S. residents

72 million (55%)

Contribution of immigrant population to overall U.S. growth over last 50 years

26% (Asian) / 47% (Hispanic) / 8% (Black) / 18% (White)

Racial makeup of immigrant population in 2015

11% (Asian) / 9% (European) / 22% (African) / 37% (Latin American) / 39% (Middle Eastern)

Percentage of Americans who view region’s immigrants as having mostly negative impact on American society

34% (make worse) vs. 18% (make better) vs. 45% (not much effect)

How Americans perceive the impact of immigrants on U.S. social and moral values

Read more:
Modern Immigration Wave Brings 59 Million to U.S., Driving Population Growth and Change Through 2065 (Pew Research Center)
Top Countries of Origin by State of Settlement, 1850-Present (Pew Research Center)

Health + Ability

Kyrgyzstan Feature | People with Disabilities

The Uphill Battle for Accessibility

Estimated to be 160,000 in strength, Kyrgyzstan’s disability community has long faced domestic confinement, public misinformation and shaming, and structural exclusion due to lack of governmental and business commitment to accessible spaces and protocols. Recently, around 300 took to the streets of Bishkek, the capital, for an annual march in support of increased accessibility in the country. EurasiaNet takes a look at the obstacles and initial victories that are driving the community to push forward.

Read more:
“Kyrgyzstan: Disabled Battle for Acceptance and Access” (EurasiaNet)

(Image Credit: EurasiaNet)

Age, Gender, Nationality + Migration, Race + Color + Ethnicity

U.S. News | Haitian Immigrant Youth

In Search of Home

After the 2010 earthquake that devastated much of their country’s infrastructure, thousands of Haitians immigrated to the U.S. in search of a place to rebuild their lives. However, the traumatic psychological and material effects of the catastrophe made integration into their new homes difficult. PRI profiles efforts in Boston, home to one of the biggest Haitian-American communities in the U.S., to provide a space of transition for Haitian boys in search of familiarity.

Read more:
“A ‘home’ away from home is helping young Haitians in the US cope with trauma of 2010 earthquake” (Public Radio International)

(Image Credit: Rupa Shenoy/WGBH, via PRI)

Religion + Belief, Sexual + Gender Minorities

Kenya News | LGBT Christians

Open-Door Ministry

While Kenya has been under fire for its unwelcoming and at times dangerous attitudes towards its LGBT citizens, pockets of haven and inclusion have sprung up, particularly in Kenya’s urban centers. In a brief feature, Voices of America highlights a minister and lesbian Christian in Nairobi who are bucking resistance in providing and occupying spaces of union between the church and the LGBT community.

Read more:
“Kenyan Church Welcomes LGBT Members” (Voices of America)

(Image Credit: R. Ombuor/VOA)

Age, Gender

Malawi News | Girls

Malawi program promotes girls’ sexual and reproductive rights by stepping up health education
  • The Unite for Body Rights program was launched as a coalition of sexual rights organizations under the Center for Youth Empowerment and Civic Education in three districts (Dedza, Mangochi, and Chikhwawa).
  • Promoting family planning, re-enrollment for dropouts, and the reporting of sexual and domestic abuse, the program works to combat child marriage and educational disengagement among girls.
  • Thousands of peer educators along with teachers, church leaders, and health service providers have been targeted and trained in the provision of comprehensive sexual and reproductive education, with gains tentatively seen in implemented districts.

Read more:
“Stepping up game in girls’ sexual health and rights” (Mana Online)
Unite for Body Rights, Malawi

(Image Credit: via SRHR Alliance)

Race + Color + Ethnicity

Sri Lanka News | Tamils

Sri Lanka announces reconciliation measures to facilitate civil war resolution
  • As part of the reconciliation process following the country’s 26-year civil war, the government will provide certificates acknowledging the forced disappearance of thousands, many of whom were ethnic Tamils abducted by security forces.
  • In addition to an Office of Missing Persons, Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera promoted the establishment of a truth commission, Office of Reparations, and new constitution as part of the resolution process.
  • The announced measures follow a survey of families of the missing conducted nationwide, with more than 20,000 complaints have been filed with the government over such disappearances since 2013.

Read more:
“Sri Lanka plans new statute to redress Tamils’ grievances” (The Hindu)
“Sri Lanka to issue missing certificates to families of civil war disappeared” (The Guardian)
“Sri Lanka Prepares ‘Certificates of Absence’” (Inter Press Service)

Race + Color + Ethnicity, Religion + Belief

Hungary News | Muslims & Roma

Muslims and Roma bear brunt of anti-immigrant rhetoric in Hungary
  • Anti-immigrant sentiment fueled by xenophobic government rhetoric has led to harassment and assault of Hungary’s established minority populations, including Muslims and Roma people.
  • Politicians have drawn parallels between migrants and its own Roma population, painting the Roma minority as a situation to be “handled.”
  • While Muslims began immigrating to Hungary after World War II, the Roma have been present in the land now known as Hungary since the Middle Ages.

“I wish the government would think more carefully before starting campaigns like this. … It’s our wives who get spat on and have their veils ripped off in the street.”

Read more:
“Hungary’s minorities bear brunt of anti-migrant rhetoric” (Reuters)

(Image Credit: Leonhard Foeger/Reuters)

Ideology + Affiliation

Turkey News | Journalists

Turkish journalist attacked outside home
  • Ahmet Hakan, a prominent government critic and journalist affiliated with secular media organizations Hürriyet and CNN Turk, was followed home by four men and beaten.
  • The event followed an attack on Hurriyet offices by nearly 100 government sympathizers last month after being accused of supporting the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), with whom the government is locked in conflict.
  • The anti-journalist climate in Turkey has led Reporters Without Borders to rank the country 149th out of 180 countries for press freedom.

Read more:
“Anti-government Turkish journalist injured in Istanbul attack” (AFP, via Yahoo! News)
“Attack on Hürriyet columnist condemned after latest blow to press freedom in Turkey” (Hürriyet News Daily)
“Document shows gov’t ignored attacked journalist Hakan’s security request” (Hürriyet News Daily)
“Hürriyet attacked again after gov’t fails to condemn first attack” (Today’s Zaman)

(Image Credit: Bulent Kilic/AFP, via Yahoo! News)