Portfolio

Here is a sampling of stories I have written or worked on:

Far Eastern Economic Review

Investigative Report: Colombo’s Secret War on Terror
March 6, 2009

Colombo — The Sri Lankan government is on the cusp of achieving what once seemed impossible. Its armed forces are crushing the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam on the battlefield, having pushed the rebels out of their northern stronghold and surrounded them in a few coastal villages. The administration of President Mahinda Rajapaksa hopes that destroying the Tigers’ organization will bring an end to the 26-year civil war that has claimed more than 70,000 lives.

News Feature: Colombo Blacklists Outside Observers (also in the Wall Street Journal)
June 5, 2009

In Sri Lanka’s final push to rout the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), information about what was happening on the front lines was hard to come by. The last week of major military action focused on just a sliver of land in the northeast which was still occupied by what remained of the LTTE. But on May 11 the United Nations estimated that 50,000 civilians were still caught between government forces and the rebels. Gordon Weiss, U.N. spokesperson in Colombo, warned the world that the final surge, and shelling from both sides, was a “bloodbath scenario” coming true. And while Sri Lankan government officials decried what they saw as an alarmist and false analysis, international organizations and journalists were not allowed to see for themselves what was happening on the ground.

News Feature: Colombo’s Rough Justice for Tamils
September 4, 2009

People mill about an office complex in Colombo, waiting for appointments with lawyers who are crammed into small cubicles. In one corner office, mothers and grandparents, wives and siblings, stream in one by one. Sometimes they have long, convoluted stories; sometimes their stories are very simple. One woman says her son was detained in a police search and cordon operation. Another traveled from London in search of her brother whom she believes is in police custody. One man says his cousin was arrested while buying a SIM card for his cell phone. There is, however, a common thread: They are all Tamils with family members who have been detained without charge.

The China Beat

Feature: The Best Reporting on the Sichuan Earthquake You’ll Never See
October 25, 2008

Busan, Korea – Pan Jianlin’s documentary about the earthquake that struck Sichuan province on May 12 made a quiet debut on a Sunday morning, at 10 a.m., the third day of this year’s Pusan International Film Festival. With its not-so-great timing and grim title, Who Killed Our Children was a blip on the festival calendar’s 315 films and 85 world premieres. And if you happened to miss the documentary in Korea, it’s possible you will not have an opportunity to see it again.

Book: Contributer to China in 2008: A Year of Great Significance (Rowman & Littlefield Publishers)

The Great China Roadtrip

Photography/Travel: Stories that aren’t about the Olympics
August, 2009

I joined Anka Lee on his great roadtrip during the 2008 Beijing Olympics — only to avoid the Olympics altogether and get a glimpse of China’s changing cities. The essays and photos were published and seen on Anka’s blog as well as on the website of NBC11 in Northern California. You can see all the photos on my Flickr page.

Asian Geographic

Magazine Feature: Treading Water: A North Jakarta Neighbourhood’s Struggle Against the Flood [PDF]
March, 2008
with photos by Jacqueline Koch

Jakarta — There is a neighbourhood in North Jakarta that stretches from a fish market in the south, and then around the Jakarta Bay to a waduk (man-made lake) in the north. It sits between the West Canal and the Muara Angke River. But it is not the kind of waterfront property that sets Jakarta’s hungry developers drooling.

Asia Pacific Arts

Culture: West by Way of East: Chandni Chowk to China
Jan. 23, 2009

A lot is riding on Warner Brothers’ culture crash Chandni Chowk to China. When the dust and incense clears, the surprise is that everyone leaves unscathed.

Culture/Multimedia: Infected by the Fever
Oct. 19, 2007

In the midst of touring and showcasing their new documentary, Dengue Fever invites APA to lounge in their shed-turned-studio, as the band experiments with beats and explains how Cambodianization breeds musical haikus.

AsiaMedia

Feature/Multimedia: Sixty-two years ago today
Aug. 3, 2007

Steven Okazaki brings the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki into the present in his new documentary about survivors.

News Feature: Thailand’s former foreign minister looks to the future
Nov. 3, 2006

Kantathi Suphamongkohn says he saw the coup coming, but does not yet know what his next move will be.

Editing: Sri Lanka’s Presidential Election: Tamils explain why they will not vote
Nov. 16, 2005

In this investigative report, winner of first prize in the New Media category from the South Asian Journalists Association (SAJA), Arthur Rhodes reports on Tamils in the north of Sri Lanka, for whom a ceasefire does not mean peace and an election does not mean change.

UCLA International Institute
News Feature: New Life for Indian Music at UCLA
Oct. 6, 2005

Visiting artists celebrate endowment of the Sambhi Chair in Indian music, bring more than music to courses.

Global Voices

Blogging: Reports and roundups of perspectives from a world of bloggers

ABCDLady

Editing: Brides from Abroad
Nov. 2004

Manu Raju’s report on how immigration laws sanction domestic violence in South Asian American homes, which won a South Asian Journalists Association (SAJA) award in the New Media category.

Here’s a more complete list of publications I have written for:

And here is an appearance I made on the Asia Society’s “Weekly Fix” podcast:

In Sri Lanka, the Net Draws Tighter (mp3)
Presented with the Far Eastern Economic Review
Mar. 17, 2009

As the Tamil Tigers struggle to avoid defeat in northern Sri Lanka, concerns are growing about the fate of civilians trapped in the shrinking war zone. We talk to FEER contributor Angilee Shah about the deteriorating security situation—and the international reaction.

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