Image by Arzu Geybullayeva This story was first published on OC Media’s website. An edited version is republished here under a content partnership agreement. The ruling Georgian Dream party is risking the country's European aspirations ahead of the October parliamentary vote after proposing constitutional amendments that would outlaw queer “propaganda,” including banning public demonstrations or publications that it deemed to “popularize same-sex family or intimate relations.” The proposed changes would also ban gender transitioning. Pundits say the ruling party is throwing the country's EU as...
Global Voices
Image by Noopura Liyanage via Groundviews, used with permission. This article by Noopura Liyanage was originally published on Groundviews, an award-winning citizen media website from Sri Lanka. An edited version is published here as part of a content-sharing agreement. Our journey began with a seven-hour drive from Colombo. As we travelled, the scenery transformed from verdant mountains to emerald plains bordering the Uva province, located in southeast Sri Lanka. We reached the solitary stretch between Padiyathalawa town and Bibile town, dotted with unfinished houses standing far apart. Here, ...
Global Voices
Masquerader Sherry-Ann Guy (L) and Carnival designer Peter Minshall (R) with some of the trophies honouring the costume ‘From the Land of the Hummingbird,’ one of his presentations for the Trinidad and Tobago 1974 Carnival season. Capture of existing archival photo by Janine Mendes-Franco, used with permission. Fifty years ago, during Trinidad and Tobago's 1974 Carnival season, designer Peter Minshall forever changed the collective sensibility regarding what was possible with masquerade. It wasn't that the stage at the Queen's Park Savannah — the mecca of the Carnival experience in the heart o...
Global Voices
Image by Arzu Geybullayeva On March 31, millions of Turks head to the polls to elect district mayors, metropolitan municipality mayors, provincial assemblies, and neighborhood and village representatives in local elections. The results of the race, especially in the country's biggest cities where the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) is trying to win back the seats it lost in 2019, will shape Turkey's future, including economy, governance, and international position. Although not racing himself, President Erdoğan has been at the forefront of his party's election campaign trail. As poi...
Global Voices
Mohammed at the site of his destroyed lab in May 2021. It was bombed in an Israeli strike, destroying with it his years of patient work in medical innovations. Photo provided by Mohammed, used with permission. I met Mohammad in 2018 while interning at a digital fabrication lab in Amman, Jordan. It was late afternoon, and the lab was almost deserted. Two men were playfully experimenting with the laser cutter, trying to figure out how it worked while sharing a moment of fun. Intrigued, I approached them to see if they needed any help figuring it out. They seemed to have navigated their way aroun...
Global Voices
UK-born, Jamaica-based educator, writer and theatre director Brian Heap. Photo previously supplied by Heap; used with permission. On March 24, England-born educator and stalwart of Jamaican theatre Brian Heap died at the age of 73. The Jamaica Gleaner newspaper reported that he “had been quietly ailing since September last year [and] passed away while in hospice care.” Heap is being mourned by many in Jamaica’s theatre world and beyond. In 2020, he was selected as the Caribbean regional winner of the prestigious Commonwealth Short Story Prize for his powerful story of grief and family entitled...
Global Voices
Photo by Joakim Honkasalo on Unsplash The right-wing Finnish government has recently proposed a law restricting asylum-seekers from applying for refuge on the Finnish borders under the pretext of national security. As a group of human rights and migration researchers, we explain how this law violates Finland’s international obligations and human rights law. Last autumn, after witnessing an increase in the arrival of asylum seekers who lack the necessary travel and identity documents at Finland’s eastern border, the Finnish Government (a coalition between the National Coalition Party, the Finns...
Global Voices
Fifteen-year-old Islam Khalilov led more than 100 people out of Crocus City Hall during the terrorist attack. Screenshot of YouTube video by BakuTV YouTube Channel. Fair use. Russia is mourning after the largest terrorist attack in years occurred in Moscow on the night of March 22, leaving over 143 people dead, according to the latest official figures. Experts predict that the xenophobia and racism that are rampant in Russia will become even more pronounced now, as the individuals detained for the terrorist act are allegedly Muslims related to the Islamic State. As the exiled independent Russi...
Global Voices
Screenshot ofYouTube video of the song “Can I Come With You” from Arseniy's YouTube channel . Fair use. Holod Magazine published an article about viral TikTok song that accompanies videos about homeless animals, a song that was initially about emigration from Belarus. A translated and edited version is republished by Global Voices/ The song “Can I Come with You” has gone viral on Russian language TikTok: users of the social network are sharing stories about homeless animals they decided to take in from the streets. The author of the song is Belarusian Arseniy Kislyak (AP$ENT), and his track is...
Global Voices
Illustration by Daniyar Mussirov. Used with permission. This article was written by Almas Kaisar and Nazerke Kurmangazinova for Vlast.kz. An edited version is published on Global Voices under a media partnership agreement. Ethnic Karakalpaks living in Kazakhstan have become the target of detentions and pressure after the July 2022 protests in Nukus, the capital of the autonomous region of Karakalpakstan in Uzbekistan’s northeast. Uzbekistan’s government demanded that activists detained in Kazakhstan be extradited, after accusing them of “calling for mass riots” and “attacks against the constit...
Global Voices
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