Lula is an actress to the bone, “flirtatious, fond of cosmetics, she pays attention to her gait and the tone of her voice”. A true life story from Chechnya, told by Mainat Kourbanova for the readers of Osservatorio Balcani e Caucaso
The Armenian genocide – a look from inside a family. Two 15-year-old survivors meet in an orphanage. Sharing the pain is impossible, even with descendants. Therefore, a young university student tells the real story of her grandparents on 24 April, Memorial Day
The Bosnian political crisis in the election year. The European Court of Human Rights' statement on the Dayton Peace Agreement, the force of the Ethnopolis
There has been a strong reaction in both Turkey and Switzerland to the Swiss vote banning the construction of new minarets in the Confederation. A look at the significance of the referendum for migrant workers, the views of political parties and institutions such as “the House of the People” in Zurich, and the public debate
In Kosovo many buildings, mostly belonging to Serbian citizens, are occupied or sold illegally in the owners' absence. Swindlers often use false documents and conniving officials, unveiling the weakness of the rule of law. The case of Peja/Pec
There are roughly 90,000 Moldovans living in Italy - with numbers growing fast, as shown by a recent report by Caritas-Migrantes. Among the many difficulties of living abroad, one problem is spreading very quickly: the Italian syndrome, a depressive form that affects illegal immigrants and their children
In Bulgaria, a few months after the fall of the Wall in 1989, the Communist regime triggered the exodus towards Turkey of 360,000 Bulgarian citizens of Turkish ethnicity. The mass exodus, gone down in history as the "big excursion", has left deep scars on the people who lived it. Our reportage
Street violence, cancellation of the gay pride, attacks on foreigners. But it was only with the death of a French football fan beaten by Serbian hooligans that Belgrade felt under siege and tried to react. Brice Taton, the young French football fan who was brutally beaten by Serb hooligans before the match between Partisan and Toulouse, died of injuries on September 30th
Twenty years after the fall of the Wall, the controversial lustration process - the epuration of those who cooperated with the police of Communist regimes - is still in deep waters. And many wonder whether rummaging archives still makes sense. A contribution from our dossier ''The long-lasting '89''
It was a lot more than a missed opportunity. The cancellation of the gay pride parade in Belgrade exposed the weakness of the state in the face of extremist groups and their threats of beatings and violence. A commentary by our correspondent
Sexual minorities may not be the most fashionable topic in international cooperation, but there is quite a lot more that Europe can do - and in a better way. Human rights, the NGO sector, and neo-colonialist ghosts in a conversation with Svetlana Ðurković
What is behind the adoption and discussion of anti-discrimination laws in SEE? LGBT rights, EU conditionality, and international cooperation in an interview with Lilit Poghosyan, ILGA-Europe's Programmes Officer for the Balkan region
Woodstock meets No Global in a week of activism and debates at the No Border camp on the island of Lesvos, first step of many migrants' journey to Europe. A reportage
An urban-renewal plan for Istanbul has been destroying entire neighbourhoods and expelling residents to the city's periphery. The Roma population has been expelled from their ancient neighbourhood, Sulukule, where a third bridge will be built on the Bosphorus
Two thousand years ago, pirates held Julius Caesar captive on Farmakonisi, a big rock in the middle of the Aegean Sea. Today migrants land on the small, uninhabited island before transfer to the crowded Greek detention centres
Berisha's proposal to legalise same-sex marriages caught everyone by surprise. Yet, the main motivation for the Albanian prime minister and other politicians in the region to engage with radical reforms in the field of civil rights may just be...getting Brussels to notice
Macedonia is almost the last country in Eastern Europe, together with Albania, to pass legislation on lustration. Under the law's provisions, practically every public officeholder will have to swear they had not worked for the secret services
A few days before Easter, the Macedonian constitutional court cancelled a law enacted by the VMRO-DPMNE led government introducing optional religious education in public schools. This act marked the beginning of the fiercest dispute between the executive and highest judiciary institution
After the elections' violent ending, that saw the symbols of the official power devastated and a violent repression of young protesters, political opponents, and independent media, an equally tense aftermath threatens to polarise Moldovan society
It was 1999 and refugees from Kosovo began to pour into a disoriented and torn-apart Albania. The 1999 crisis was a human drama, but it was also an occasion for two communities, divided for decades, to come together and tear down some national-romantic myths
She came to Greece seven years ago as a migrant. Ever since, she has been fighting for the rights of the "modern slaves", the cleaners. Until a dramatic attempt to silence her forever. This is the story of Konstantina Kuneva, the symbol of 8 March in Greece
With Obama's first days in the White House comes hope for a new direction in human rights protection after the Bush era. The case of the "Six Algerians" kidnapped in Sarajevo in 2002 and held in Guantanamo for 7 years. A comment by former UN High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina Wolfgang Petritsch
They risk imprisonment of 23 to 58 years. They are minors and Kurds. They are awaiting trial for their participation in the protests against the Turkish government last October. The debate concerns minors involved in political protests and violations of the rights of children by police and the judiciary
The government of Skopje is trying hard to pay respect to diversity. Some analysts argue that, despite a difficult start, Macedonia remains the only viable example of successful ethnic co-existence in the Balkans. This may also be an exaggerated statement, but it is worth thinking about it
For the first time in German history, an ethnic Turkish son of a gastarbeiter migrant worker, will lead a political party. Cem Özdemir, 42 years old and a former MP in the German Bundestag, is the new German Obama. With 80% of the party convention vote in his favour, he will lead the German Greens together with Claudia Roth
It was a witch hunt, or more exactly, a hunt of the "other". The first queer festival in Sarajevo ended before it had even begun. Fifteen persons were injured or were subject to threats by hooligan gangs and Wahhabi groups. In addition, Iggy Pop cancelled his upcoming concert in Sarajevo
This year marks the 60th anniversary of the exodus of the "refugee children" from Aegean Macedonia (Northern Greece). They fled their homes amidst a civil war and when they became adults, could not return to their homes nor claim their land. For the first time ever, the Macedonian government endorsed their demands
Public and private space. The latter eats up the former, chewing away bits of freedom and identity. The collective dimension overwhelmed by traffic and private property. A sociological reflection on urban planning in Tirana
After seven years of legal odyssey, 16 Macedonian journalists won a civil case against the state last month, claiming damages for being subject to systematic wiretapping. The day of the verdict, although greeted in moderate spirit, is still something to rejoice
There are 54.000 Roma in Macedonia (a questionable piece of statistics as the identity declaration of Roma can be quite ambiguous). Of them, 17.000 are unemployed and 14.000 cannot afford the basic necessities. Another statistics says that 85% of the Roma in Macedonia receive social welfare
