When you work with asylum seekers you hear horrific stories every day. Hearing those stories was not enough for me to understand. I wanted to see the countries and places these people are fleeing from. I wanted to see their homes and meet their families. Eat their food and sleep in their beds. I wanted to look at their persecutors. I wanted to feel the pressure of their oppressive governments. I wanted to understand better. I wanted to know more. The next logical step for me was to travel to the countries asylum seekers are fleeing from.
The Displaced People of Asia Series is a record of my explorations of the refugee camps of Thailand and Bangladesh, the civil wars and ethnic tension of Burma, and the displaced people’s camps of Sri Lanka. These experiences made me reflect on how little I knew about so many of these conflicts and yet I had been publicly speaking about refugees with such authority. I hope I never spoke beyond my expertise of Nauru.
