Beyond Borders | Let's Talk Sustainability, A Rohingya Voice and More

A post-COVID-19 world is not quite within our sights, but what is already in our midst are conversations around sustainability that the pandemic ignited further.

Have a look at the first stories in our Sustainability Series, which looks into different facets of this buzzword. These report on how COVID-19 has helped conservation campaigners in Vietnam, as well as how some Filipino consumers are combining their shopping bug with an awareness of the environmental footprint of fast fashion.

In Myanmar, many stories and activists’ statements have been made about the Rohingya - but what has often been missing or secondary - is the voice of the community itself. In the Q &A below, former refugee and Rohingya advocate Hafsar Tameesuddin shares what life is like inside Myanmar - no education, restricted mobility, life in IDP camps, and being at the bottom of the refugee resettlement ladder. The piece is also in Burmese, with Myanmar’s majority population in mind.

Meantime, the number of arrests of journalists and media staff in Myanmar has just crossed 100, as seen in our infographic below. It’s super cool to see our data used in various news reports in Myanmar and elsewhere, including Asia Undercovered , the Mekong Review and most recently, by the International Federation of Journalists. Yesssss!

The Splice guys and I recently discussed journalism, thinking Southeast Asia and the beginnings of Reporting ASEAN in this Splice Lo-Fi podcast Episode 16.

And ….. Thanks to the Heinrich Boell Foundation Southeast Asia for its support on the Sustainability Series, and to the Sasakawa Peace Foundation for our Lens Southeast Asia series.

Stay well -

Johanna Son

Editor/founder, Reporting ASEAN reportingaseandesk@fastmail.net