Tag Archives: Discrimination/Terror/Hate Crimes

Class + Socioeconomics, Ideology + Affiliation, Race + Color + Ethnicity

Brazil News | Farmers & Indigenous

Increasing violence plagues Brazilian land rights activists
  • After 50 died in 2015, at least six activists were killed in the first two months of 2016 as land rights groups report increased intimidation, criminalization, and violence committed against them.
  • Activists have sought reform to protect the at times conflicting land rights of small farmers and indigenous communities, particularly in rural states.
  • Brazil has some of the highest land-proprietary inequality in the world, with 1% of the population owning nearly 50% of the land and single families subject to payments from as many as tens of thousands of property owners thanks to a colonial-era law.

Read more:
“Brazil land activists facing ‘increased intimidation’ with six killings in 2016” (The Thomson Reuters Foundation)
“Indigenous Continue to Face Violence in Reclaiming Territory in Brazil” (Indian Country Today)
“Journalist survives shooting at his home in northwestern Brazil” (Journalism in the Americas)

Additional reading:
“For Brazil’s 1 Percenters, The Land Stays In The Family Forever” (NPR, August 2015)

Ideology + Affiliation, Sexual + Gender Minorities

Bangladesh News | LGBT

LGBT magazine editor murdered in Dhaka home as killings continue in Bangladesh
  • Xulhaz Mannan and a visiting friend were hacked to death by a group of youth posing as couriers to gain access to Mannan’s home.
  • Mannan was the editor of Roopbaan, Bangladesh’s only LGBT magazine, and a USAid worker.
  • The murders are the latest in ongoing attacks against minority intellectuals and follow the detention of LGBT activists attempting to march in Bengali New Year festivities.

Read more:
“Editor of Bangladesh’s first and only LGBT magazine killed” (The Guardian)
“LGBT magazine Roopbaan editor hacked to death” (The Dhaka Tribune)
“LGBT activist among two hacked to death in Dhaka” (The Hindu)

(Image Credit: via The Guardian)

Nationality + Migration, Race + Color + Ethnicity, Religion + Belief

France & U.K. Feature | French Jewish Immigrants

The Exodus of French Jews

A rise in anti-Semitic sentiment and attacks in France has left many French Jews in fear of their future in the country. As the U.K. debates its European Union status, French Jews have leveraged the free mobility that comes with E.U. membership to cross the English Channel and build a new life in London. Thousands of Jewish families have reportedly fled France for the U.K., now the second-most popular destination for French Jews after Israel, according to the Jewish Agency. Better economic opportunities have amplified immigration to London, where rabbis have reported significant increases in the numbers of French Jews in their synagogues and Jewish schools. The New York Times and BBC investigate the causes of the exodus and how the largely Sephardic French Jews have been integrated into London’s predominantly Ashkenazi Jewish community and multicultural society as a whole.

Read:
“London Becomes a Leading Destination for French Jews After Attacks” (The New York Times)
“Why French Jewish people are moving to London” (BBC)

Additional reading:
Breaking the Cycle of Violence (Human Rights First report)
“Anti-Semitic Incidents Explode in France — Report” (Forward)
“6 in 10 French people think Jews are responsible for anti-Semitism, survey finds” (The Independent)
“Jewish Leaders in Paris Speak of Community in Fear” (VICE News)

(Image Credit: Andrew Testa/The New York Times)

Ideology + Affiliation

Bangladesh News | Intellectuals

Professor murdered in northwest Bangladesh as attacks on intellectuals continue
  • Rezaul Karim Siddiquee, an English professor at Rajshahi University, was found nearly decapitated near his home after neighbors heard screams and alerted his family.
  • Siddiquee is the latest in a series of attacks by fundamentalist militants against academics and writers with progressive leanings.
  • Three other professors at the university have been murdered by fundamentalists since 2004.

Read more:
“RU Professor Rezaul Karim hacked to death” (Dhaka Tribune)
“Bangladesh Police Suspect Islamist Militants in Professor’s Killing” (The New York Times)
“Bangladesh professor hacked to death by Islamist militants” (Reuters)

(Image Credit: Md. Abdullah Iqbal/Agence France-Presse/Getty Images, via The New York Times)

Sexual + Gender Minorities

Russia Feature | LGBT

Homophobia in the Heartland

As international media attention to the plight of LGBT Russians has waned, advocates have found themselves stretched thin trying to support embattled community members while responding to declining visibility and police intimidation. From ongoing violence against transgender Russians to attacks on private clubs and homes, support organizations like Avers have struggled to create stopgaps for the deteriorating conditions plaguing the Russian LGBT community. A Coda Story report highlights the difficulties the community faces in attempts to organize and resist both ongoing state persecution and everyday threats that burden life in Russia’s hyper-conservative heartland.

Read more:
“Gay clubbing and stoic activism in Russia’s homophobic heartland” (Coda Story, via The Guardian)

Additional:
Russian LGBT Network

(Image Credit: Zuma/Rex Features, via The Guardian)

Gender, Nationality + Migration, Religion + Belief

Latvia News | Muslim Women

Latvian ministry plans proposal to ban niqab despite paucity of affected individuals
  • The Ministry of Justice is crafting legislation to ban the niqab, though only a handful of women among the country’s estimated 1,000 practicing Muslims wear the full-body veil.
  • The proposed legislation is a part of Latvia’s widespread anti-immigration reaction to the surge of migration to Europe, framed as a preventative measure as the country prepares to take in 776 refugees over two years (of whom only six have arrived).
  • The legislation does not criminalize the wearing of hijab, but Latvian Muslims have reported public discrimination and vocal prejudice despite the absence of explicitly discriminatory laws.

Read more:
“Latvia Wants to Ban Face Veils, for All 3 Women Who Wear Them” (The New York Times)
“Latvia mulls face veil ban – but only 3 women wear them” (Al Arabiya)
“Latvia wants to become the third country in Europe to ban the face veil” (Al Bawaba)

(Image Credit: Reinis Hofmanis/The New York Times)

Age, Gender

South Africa News | Youth

Hundreds of protesters clash with police at campus rape protests in southeast South Africa
  • Police used rubber bullets, stun guns, and pepper spray to disperse hundreds of protesters at Rhodes University in Grahamstown.
  • The protests erupted after the names of 11 alleged perpetrators of sexual violence were circulated on campus and via social media.
  • Demonstrators disrupted lectures and organized the #RUReferenceList and #Chapter212 campaigns to call for a reform of the campus sexual assault policies and trauma services, leading to an indefinite shutdown of academic activity.

Read more:
“Protesters demand reform following release of #RUReferenceList” (Mail & Guardian)
“South Africa police fire rubber bullets to disperse protesters at Rhodes University” (Reuters)
“Academic activities disrupted at Rhodes University” (SABC News)

(Image Credit: Sophie Smith/Mail & Guardian)

Ideology + Affiliation, Religion + Belief

Bangladesh News | Secular Writers

Protests planned after secular Bangladeshi blogger killed by suspected Islamist militants in Dhaka
  • Nazimuddin Samad, a law student at a Dhaka university, was attacked at night by a group of machete-wielding men while returning home from class.
  • An online activist group described Samad as “a loud voice against all injustice and also a great supporter of secularism,” and students at Jagannath University have called for demonstrations in protest of his murder.
  • The murder follows six similar killings in 2015 and attacks on foreign nationals in Bangladesh.

Read more:
“JnU student killed in suspected militant attack” (Dhaka Tribune)
“Liberal Bangladeshi blogger killed by machete-wielding attackers” (Reuters)
“Strike at Jagannath University on Sunday to protest Nazim murder” (bdnews24.com)

(Image Credit: via Dhaka Tribune)

Sexual + Gender Minorities

U.S. News | LGBT

Mississippi governor signs sweeping anti-LGBT bill into law
  • House Bill 1523 allows for businesses and government workers to set religiously based workplace policies and refuse service to LGBT and unmarried cohabitating individuals on religious grounds, including public accommodations, adoption, foster care, counseling, and marriage certificate registration.
  • Governor Phil Bryant claimed the law didn’t conflict with federal laws but merely provided protection for persons who for religious reasons wished to refuse service to LGBT customers and clients.
  • The bill declares the government cannot discriminate against such “persons,” which includes a “sole proprietorship, or closely held company, partnership, association, organization, firm, corporation, cooperative, trust, society or other closely held entity.”

Read more:
“Mississippi Governor Signs Sweeping Anti-LGBT Bill Into Law” (BuzzFeed News)
“LGBT couples can be refused service under new Mississippi law” (The Guardian)
“Religion law adopted in Mississippi over gay rights protest” (Reuters)

(Image Credit: Rogelio V. Solis/AP, via BuzzFeed News)

Nationality + Migration

Canada News | Immigrants & Refugees

Canadian government warns refugees and other immigrants about phone scams
  • Extortionists have targeted new arrivals, homing in on those with non-English/French last names and demanding money to avoid denaturalization, passport seizure, or deportation.
  • Total complaints—including new arrivals—reached 15,000 in 2015, ten times more than the previous year, and already number more than 5,000 in 2016.
  • More than 1,100 victims, native-born and immigrant, have lost more than C$3.5 million (US$2.68 million) since 2014.

Read more:
“Canada warns refugees, immigrants about phone extortion scams” (Reuters)
“RCMP warn of phone scam targeting and threatening immigrants” (CBC News, January 2015)
“Phone scam targets immigrants across Canada” (Global News, January 2015)

(Image Credit: via CBC News)

Age, Gender

Cameroon Feature | Women & Children

The Weaponized Girls of Boko Haram

As Boko Haram’s successes in northeastern Nigeria have been rolled back, the extremist group’s attentions have turned elsewhere in the region, including neighboring Cameroon. Rare in other global terrorist activity, female suicide bombers between 14 and 24 years of age have formed the lion’s share of suicide attacks in Cameroon, comprising some 80% of incidents. Female suicide bombers have also been deployed in Nigeria, most recently in Maiduguri. Reuters investigates the pipeline from abduction to sexual slavery to suicide attacks that women captured by Boko Haram have found themselves caught up in.

Read:
“Weakened Boko Haram sends girl bombers against Cameroon civilians” (Reuters)

Additional:
“Video: The war against Boko Haram’s suicide bombers in Cameroon” (France24)
“Nigeria mosque hit by Maiduguri suicide bombers” (BBC)

(Image Credit: Joe Penney/Reuters)

Class + Socioeconomics, Gender, Ideology + Affiliation

South Korea News | Sex Workers

South Korean sex workers protest court ruling upholding criminalization of sex work
  • Pro-sex work activists protested the Constitutional Court’s decision to uphold a 2004 law that set punishments for both sex workers and customers, arguing it unfairly limits women’s economic opportunity and punishes poor clientele while paid relationships among the wealthy persist.
  • Sex workers and consumers face up to a year in jail or a fine of 3 million won ($2,600).
  • Activists say the ruling violates their right to work and announced intentions to petition the United Nations.

Read more:
“South Korean Court Upholds Ban on Prostitution” (The New York Times)
“South Korea prostitutes decry court ruling, demand right to work” (Reuters)
“South Korea Upholds Tough Anti-Prostitution Laws” (AP via ABC News)

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

Nationality + Migration

Japan News | Korean Immigrants

Japanese study finds anti-Korean demonstrations subsiding but still ongoing
  • The government study found that Zaitokukai, an anti-Korean nationalist organization, and other ultraconservative groups held 347 rallies in 2013, 378 in 2014, and 190 through September 2015.
  • Anti-Korean sentiment has been fueled by territorial disputes, North Korea, and ongoing disagreements over the Korean woman enslaved as “comfort women” for the Japanese in WWII .
  • In 2014, the Osaka High Court ordered Zaitukukai to pay ¥12 million following hate rallies in front of a Korean school in Kyoto.

Read more:
“Japan’s first-ever hate speech probe finds rallies are fewer but still a problem” (The Japan Times)
“Abe eager to tackle hate speech” (The Japan News)
“Osaka assembly passes nation’s first ordinance against hate speech” (The Japan Times, January 2016)

(Image Credit: Satoko Kawasaki/The Japan Times)

Sexual + Gender Minorities

Myanmar Feature | LGBT

Burmese, LGBT, and at the Threshold of a New Era

With a non-military political party now leading Myanmar for the first time in decades, Burmese citizens are looking forward to democratic reforms to make the political process more inclusive of its diverse population. Historically, LGBT security in Myanmar has been minimal to nonexistent: colonial-era anti-homosexuality laws are still on the books and arbitrarily exercised, police extortion is rampant, trans individuals are targeted for violence and fetishization, and widespread conservative attitudes promote anti-LGBT discrimination. But now that newly empowered politicians have made promising (if vague) expressions of support for diversity and burgeoning advocacy groups have begun generating visibility and awareness, the LGBT Burmese community has expressed hope that the first signs of a more secure future have appeared.

Read more:
“Snapshot: LGBTI rights in Myanmar” (The Star Observer)
“The brutal reality transgender women face under Myanmar’s ‘darkness law’” (Mashable)
“Gay People In Myanmar Can’t Live Openly. Here’s Why” (The World Post)
“Myanmar’s transgender people not just chasing rainbows in fight for equality” (The Guardian)
“LGBT group to battle homophobia in Myanmar with information” (mizzima.com via Gay Asia News)
“Myanmar LGBT film festival raises visibility, challenges taboos” (Washington Blade)

(Image Credit: Joshua Carroll/Mashable)

Sexual + Gender Minorities

U.S. News | LGBT

Georgia governor announces veto of anti-LGBT bill
  • Republican Georgia governor Nathan Deal announced he would veto House Bill 757, a bill introduced to protect faith-based organizations from anti-discrimination lawsuits.
  • Governor Deal’s announcement came in the wake of boycott threats from businesses and prominent entertainers as well as national backlash over the passage of a more extensive anti-LGBT bill in neighboring North Carolina.
  • Some Georgia senators have announced their intention to attempt an override, although successful veto overrides are rare in Georgia’s history.

Read more:
Transcript: Governor’s remarks on HB757 (Georgia Office of the Governor)
“Georgia Governor Rejects Bill Shielding Critics of Gay Marriage” (The New York Times)
“Georgia Governor blocks anti-gay law after boycott threats” (PinkNews)
“Senators calls for override of Deal veto of religious liberty bill” (The Atlanta Journal Constitution)

(Image Credit: David Goldman/Associated Press, via The New York Times)