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Here at the Globe, we tend to veer towards the human angle of any given story. So while Covid-19 infection figures spiral worldwide, we’re getting back to the people behind the statistics and publishing stories from you, our readers, about day-to-day life across Southeast Asia during this global pandemic.
As part of a series looking at experiences across Southeast Asia during Covid-19, we aim to document life during this unprecedented time in human history. Whether a personal essay on the ways in which communities are banding together, a photo-essay on the now empty streets of once-bustling neighbourhoods, or even personal accounts of love and loss during these testing times, we’re publishing it all here for future generations to read.
Last week, Globe reporter Wanpen Pajai returned to her native Thailand from the Netherlands. Beyond bureaucratic hoops, stringent health checks and now state quarantine, along the way she has also encountered human stories from people impacted by the pandemic Read More
Globe staff members Andrew and Alexi made the trip back to Phnom Penh this week, in an aviation industry far different than before. Socially distanced boarding, face masks and dreaded swab tests, they recount the process of returning to Cambodia Read More
Singapore’s partial lockdown under “circuit breaker” mode has made the simple act of leaving the house a luxury for its citizens. For writer Toh Ee Ming, her long-ignored bicycle has become her lifeline, casting the city-state in a new light on her night-time rides Read More
Like many, Cambodian student Soun Phannaroat didn’t think much of December reports of a new virus spreading in Wuhan, the city in which she was studying. But as the weeks ticked on, the gravity of the situation became apparent, and she knew she needed to leave Read More
Mae Sot, a town on the Thai-Myanmar frontier home to a large Burmese migrant worker and refugee community, was hit hard in February when borders shut and supply routes were interrupted. Wayland Blue of the Shade Tree Foundation was part of an outreach team trying to mitigate these effects through a community outreach programme Read More
Singapore is a country famous for having among the most rigorous education systems in the world. So when all its schools were shut in recent months as the pandemic took hold, student Charmaine Sew acquired a valuable life lesson of her own Read More
Against the odds, Vietnam has become a global success story in combating Covid-19 as its started to open up once again. Hanoi resident Alex Sheal has been present for Vietnam’s latest “liberation”, and believes attitudes towards the humble face mask highlight the difference between his new home and the West Read More
The US has soared ahead to become the world leader in both Covid-19 cases and deaths. Courtesy of the Cambodian American Literary Arts Association, we hear from diaspora living across the country about the multitude of ways the virus is impacting their lives Read More
The conditions for 20,000 migrant workers in Singapore’s migrant worker dormitories has made headlines in the city-state in recent weeks. Bangladeshi writer Zakir Hossain Khokan offers his insight in the form of a poem on life for those inside Read More
Unknowingly contracting and spreading Covid-19 to loved ones is a fear many among us carry. So when Singaporean citizen Reuben Lim tested positive in March with virtually no symptoms, the thought he had put his family at risk was a guilt he struggled to process Read More
As much of the world struggles with enforced isolation to stem the spread of Covid-19, there is one group who are better prepared than most to weather this storm. Buddhist monk Bhante Subhūti gives an insight into how his monastery near Mandalay is coping with this not-so-slow pace of life Read More
Cambodia’s Siem Reap thrives and survives on its tourist industry, with millions flocking to the ancient Angkor Wat temple each year. But as Covid-19 halts global travel, writer Jonathan Evans describes life minus the tourists in this once-again sleepy little town Read More
Last week Singapore announced it was extending “circuit breaker” measures, severely restricting movement to stem the spread of Covid-19. Resident Gabrielle See describes how these measures, and the pandemic, have highlighted divisions in her family home, as well as Singaporean society more widely Read More
Each year, Ramadan witnesses one of the world’s great migrations of people as worshippers return home for the Islamic holy month. In Yogyakarta, Indonesia an unease about what people may bring with them is overshadowing this year’s celebrations Read More
With the Covid-19 death toll reaching into the hundreds-of-thousands, the people behind the figures become easily obscured. Here, the Globe’s editor Alastair McCready talks about losing his father this month, unable to speak to or visit him in the south London isolation ward where he passed Read More
In April, Singapore put several dormitories housing 20,000 migrant workers under lockdown to control the spread of Covid-19, prompting criticism about conditions. Writer and Bangladeshi migrant worker Md Sharif Uddin gives his account from inside Read More
On the outskirts of Malaysia’s capital Kuala Lumpur, Syahiirah Junaidi is closed off from much of the outside world. One of the few real-life connections she has left is the sound of sirens, reminding her just how many people are falling ill Read More
Singaporean Yong Han Poh has called Harvard University home for the past four years. But when the global pandemic hit, it all came to an abrupt end, with her forced to pack her life up and leave for good virtually overnight Read More
After coming down with a fever three weeks ago, an expat was admitted to Phnom Penh’s Khmer-Soviet Friendship Hospital. In the second of our personal essays looking at life during COVID-19, we publish their account of life inside a Cambodian government quarantine Read More
British citizen Gavin Wheeldon has been held in a Vietnamese government quarantine near Hanoi since March 14. Here he provides an insight on what day-to-day life is like under complete lockdown Read More
