Sri Lanka

A pic from Reuters. For work, I monitor the situation in Sri Lanka, writing press releases, statements and participating in advocacy campaigns. Besides a blown out civil war between the government and rebel Tamil Tigers, the whole institutional structure that could protect the people (judiciary, Human Rights Commission, police) has imploded. It is now a common example of a failed state in Asia. People are abducted and killed in broad daylight; the culprits are mostly paramilitary, LTTE and government. It is so easy to kill people in Sri Lanka that abductions and disappearances are an industry for bribe-money. This pic is from a protest that took place in SL.

Mae Sot: Thai/Burma border

After a 8 hour overnight bus ride, my friend and I show up, with a roll mentality...hence why I look pretty roughed up. Since Mae Sot is the border town with Burma, it has a huge Thai military presence. I forgot my passport (wickedly unintelligent, I know) but managed to pass through 6 military checkpoints on my Canadian friend's passport...I don't know how we pulled it off.


This is under the bridge passing into Burma. You can see Burma on the other side of the river. Our friend who lives here is a former fighter with the Shan army (forced recruitment). He is a recognized refugee but has no citizenship status. He spends all his time promoting human rights for Burmese refugees...an amazing person. He took us to the refugee camp for various Burmese, mostly ethnic minorities. I have no pics of the camp....they made us dinner later....which included pork intenstines...wasn't going to say no!

What the??

We looked out the window while at work, to see a plume of yellowish smoke coming our way...think it was a chemical explosion of sorts. Made the day interesting, anyway.

Hua Hin

Went to Hua Hin, a traditional Thai beach town...more Thais, less tourists...better! It is only a couple hours south of Bangkok. We took a train down though, that took about five hours, and bantered with a drunk Laotian the whole way. Bus next time, I think.

The new family member

I know everyone out there is oh-so-concerned, but my life is now full of renewed joy....A new radio!!!! with tape player!!!!! I now go to the flea market and find goodies like: led zeppelin, hendrix, nirvana, fleetwood mack, sonic youth, Tu pac, snoop dog, Brasil!, Cuba!, Beastie Boys. A motely collection, but hey, the best I could do. The best one is the Brasil! tape, compilation of brazilian songs. Yup.

Kanchanaburi # 3

Went to Kanchanburi again, in early May. It was all together exciting, mostly cuz my friend and I rented bikes (yip yip) and rode around all day. A luxury not to be had in traffic logged Bangkok, which includes twelve year old kids riding around on motorcycles with their baby brothers strapped to the back. Small town central Thailand is amazing, especially because of the low tourist population and friendlier people.