Life

Putting people at the heart of the story.

Life • STORY OF THE DAY • Jun 16, 2020 • 4 min read

Online activism In Thailand, activists flood online to protest Wachalearm disappearance

By Wanpen Pajai • Jun 16, 2020
With the whereabouts of missing activist Wanchalearm still unknown, protestors in Thailand are turning to social media to express their grief and start hashtags as platforms like Twitter continue to adopt an increasingly significant role in the kingdom's political discourse

Life • STORY OF THE DAY • Jun 15, 2020 • 6 min read

Opinion Khmer community – It is time for us to say Black Lives Matter

By Joan Chun • Jun 15, 2020
As Black Lives Matter protests gathers momentum globally, Deputy Director of the Cambodian American Literary Arts Association Joan Chun says the Khmer community must examine its own attitude to blackness and throw its support behind the movement

Life • STORY OF THE DAY • Jun 12, 2020 • 7 min read

Human rights In the furnace: Why is Cambodia’s brick kiln child labour persisting?

By Alexi Demetriadi • Jun 12, 2020
Last year, the Cambodian government set out to put a permanent end to child labour in the country’s brick kilns by 2020. But as the problem persists, experts believe the remedy will have to tackle the systemic issues causing children to head to the furnaces

Life • Jun 12, 2020 • 3 min read
Human rights

Child Labour Index: Cambodia highest risk in region for underage workers

Consulting firm Verisk Maplecroft has ranked Cambodia 28th in the world and the highest risk in Southeast Asia for the use of child labour in its 2020 index. The Southeast Asia region as a whole faired poorly, with seven countries deemed at 'extreme' or 'high' risk
By Alexi Demetriadi and Alastair McCready • Jun 12, 2020

Life • Jun 11, 2020 • 1 min read
History

Sepia-drenched photographs of Vietnam’s colonial past

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
By Saigoneer • Jun 11, 2020

Life • Jun 11, 2020 • 3 min read
Tourism

Thai elephants’ mass migration to village brings new stress

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
By Pitcha Dangprasith and Sophie Deviller/AFP • Jun 11, 2020

Life • Jun 10, 2020 • 8 min read
Covid-19

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

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
By Zibang Xiao • Jun 10, 2020

Life • 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

Life • 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

Life • 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

Life • 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