Deciding what to write about while here in Kuala Lumpur has been difficult. On the one hand, I feel I should take advantage of the opportunity to share the stories and experiences of the people I am working with, and on the other, I want to be able to show things through my own perspective, and to share the stories of my friends as I know them. I think that on the surface, it probably seems that these two options are not contradictory, and perhaps they aren't really, but when it comes to 'refugees' finding a balance of how to represent people and events can be very complicated.

Pretty much everywhere, there is a great deal of prejudice against asylum-seekers and refugees. In Australia a few years ago, there were many asylum-seekers on temporary visas, many of them young Hazara men who had fled because they were targeted by the Taliban. I remember hearing of an anthropologist who had been doing research with them, and found that they when they were doing interviews or being photographed for the media, they were all reluctant to have it revealed that they owned mobile phones. They were well aware of the perceptions of the general public and knew that something as simple as owning a mobile phone could be skewed in the minds of many to mean that they weren't 'real' refugees, or in need of help. Of course the idea that owning a mobile phone has anything to do with political persecution is absurd, but their concerns were entirely valid - because statements to the effect that 'they own mobile phones' were used in the media and among the public with the implicit meaning that the asylum-seekers could not be sincere.   more »

That's what being in Malaysia has been like so far. In Chiang Mai, I would sit on the floor at my Kachin friends' house, and Naw Kham would tell me traditional stories from the Jinghpaw, their tribe. Here in KL, I sit in the kitchen of the CRC offices and Zaw Zaw, a guy about my age who teaches the Chin children math in the afternoons, tells me stories about the times they'd all been arrested by the 'rayalah'. Somehow they are humorous stories. Like the time Roy, a skinny guy with dimples who laughs at nearly everything, escaped one of the raids after the rayalah officers had rounded up a group of people. Standing in the middle of the group, he slowly inched his way toward to the edge, where he ducked into the crowd of spectators and disappeared. Of course, retelling the story is not as funny as imagining Roy's face as he escapes with a sort of exaggerated nonchalance like a character in a black comedy. Roy has already been arrested twice in raids on the CRC office.   more »

So far, this hasn't been much of a personal blog, but having recently arrived in Kuala Lumpur to do some actual work, I don't have the time it takes to sort and read through the news for blogging. But that's okay - I'm an interesting person, you'll like my stories.

I haven't done much in the way of work yet, but being in KL has been a bit of a whirlwind. I arrived Wednesday afternoon from Chiang Mai, and finally got to meet Simon, the coordinator here at the Chin Refugee Committee. Simon is also Chin, and like all the other Chin he helps, is also lacking legal residency here. His English is excellent, and he has been generous in sharing his personal story with me. He's been in Malaysia for over 10 years I beleive, and spent many of those years working in construction. He now spends all his time on the phone, meeting with UNHCR and embassy representatives, assisting people in filing their refugee applications, getting to clinics, getting to interviews. He negotiates with the police whenever someone is arrested, even though he too could be arrested. He is a busy busy man.   more »

As if the secretive Dr. Evil style operation to build nuclear weapons in Shan State, the death threats sent to ILO representatives, and the accusations that Bush is planning on conquering Asia weren't enough evidence that the Generals have gone completely insane, they are now in the midst of relocating the nation's capital to their personal jungle resort.   more »