Archive: Jun 2020



STORY OF THE DAY • Jun 11, 2020 • 1 min read

History Sepia-drenched photographs of Vietnam’s colonial past

By Saigoneer • Jun 11, 2020
The work of French photographer Paul Gastaldy provides a rare sepia-drenched insight into the history of Vietnam, with his collection of photos, taken over the course of a decade between 1922 and 1932, depicting daily life for people in the colony

STORY OF THE DAY • Jun 11, 2020 • 3 min read

Tourism Thai elephants’ mass migration to village brings new stress

By Pitcha Dangprasith and Sophie Deviller/AFP • Jun 11, 2020
As the pandemic paralysed global travel, Thailand's some 3,000 domesticated elephants working in "sanctuaries" have been unemployed since their closure in mid-March. With their incomes vanished and risk of starvation growing, more than 1,000 elephants and their mahouts have returned to their villages in the past two months

STORY OF THE DAY • Jun 10, 2020 • 6 min read

Analysis As Thailand recovers from Covid-19, its volatile domestic politics returns

By Sek Sophal • Jun 10, 2020
While the Covid-19 crisis has placed life on hold in Thailand in recent months, the country's chronically tumultuous domestic political scene is rearing its head again. Researcher Sek Sophal discusses what the kingdom's post-virus political landscape could look like

STORY OF THE DAY • Jun 10, 2020 • 8 min read

Covid-19 Far from home: Foreign students reflect on Singapore during the pandemic

By Zibang Xiao • Jun 10, 2020
Thousands of foreign students choose to study in Singapore for its high-quality universities. Staying in the city-state during the pandemic, unable to leave, they offer their reflections on what recent months have taught them about life and governance in the Republic

Jun 09, 2020 • 13 min read
Indigenous groups

Grounding of the sea nomads: Virus allows Moken to return to the water

The nomadic lifestyle of the Moken people and their unique relationship with the environment has been encroached upon by governments and the modern world. But as the pandemic has taken hold, space has opened for these seafarers to return to the water
By Lee Ying Shan • Jun 09, 2020

Jun 09, 2020 • 2 min read
Thai dissidents

Cambodia to probe Thai democracy activist’s alleged disappearance

Cambodian police have said they will investigate the alleged abduction of Wanchalearm Satsaksit, a critic of the ex-general Prayut Chan-O-Cha's Thai government, who witnesses say was dragged into a black car in Phnom Penh on June 4
By Agence France-Presse • Jun 09, 2020

Jun 08, 2020 • 3 min read
Editorial

Chef Bourdain and revival of the Moken

This week we pay tribute to the late, great Anthony Bourdain. Two years since his sudden passing, the chef's legacy across Southeast Asia is still visible to this day. We also turn to the Moken people of the Andaman Sea, a culture of sea nomads that has found a new lease of life through the pandemic.
By Alastair McCready • Jun 08, 2020

Jun 08, 2020 • 11 min read
Food and culture

Remembering Anthony Bourdain and his love affair with Southeast Asia

The late, great chef-come-writer Anthony Bourdain travelled and worked extensively throughout Southeast Asia before his sudden passing in 2018. Two years on, the Globe reflects on his enduring legacy in the region
By Alexi Demetriadi • Jun 08, 2020

Jun 08, 2020 • 7 min read

Will COVID-19 shine a light on the importance of early childhood care and education in Southeast Asia?

The socio and economic fallout of the current health crisis is already threatening to undo the gains made to address poverty, hunger, education, good health and well-being in recent years. While the pandemic disrupts almost every facet of life around the globe, Aide et Action poses the question if this disruption could in fact propel early childhood education rather than set it back
By Christine Redmond • Jun 08, 2020

Jun 05, 2020 • 9 min read
Covid-19

Pandemic creating conditions ripe for human trafficking, experts fear

As Southeast Asia remains locked down, efforts to prevent human trafficking are slowing. But the economic fallout of the Covid-19 pandemic poses particular threats to vulnerable communities across the region, as it heightens the appeal of a better life elsewhere
By Gerald Flynn and Andreas Schloenhardt • Jun 05, 2020