Adam Bemma

  • Airport Asylum Seekers Find Freedom – Southeast Asia Dispatches

    BANGKOK – In the past year Southeast Asia provided temporary shelter to two asylum seekers from the Middle East fleeing persecution. Hassan Alkontar and Rahaf Mohammed Alqunun plead for asylum from Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok airports. They were resettled to Canada. But this has led to a backlash online in Malaysia, Thailand, and Canada — where…

    Adam Bemma

  • Proud to be LGBT in Laos – Southeast Asia Dispatches

    VIENTIANE – Anan Bouapha is the founder of Proud to be us Laos, the country’s first LGBT group. He uses his persuasive soft power to establish an advocacy network on behalf of gay, bisexual and transgender Laotians at the Lao Women’s and Youth Unions – two state-run organizations. Laos is a communist country that views human…

    Adam Bemma

  • Mai Khoi vs. Vietnam’s Cyber Law – CBC The World This Weekend

    HANOI – Mai Khoi is a Vietnamese dissident artist, activist and musician. She’s been called Vietnam’s Lady Gaga for her pop star persona. But recently her music and art has become more like Pussy Riot, the Russian punk protest band. Mai Khoi is protesting against Vietnam’s new cybersecurity law that would allow authorities to monitor…

    Adam Bemma

  • Taiwan’s ‘9-in-1’ Election and 10 Referendums

    TAIPEI, Taiwan – The local “9-in-1” elections and 10 referendums took place Saturday, Nov. 24, 2018. Taiwanese were voting for all nine administrative levels, with 10 referendum ballots included. The referendum was mainly about gay marriage. Five questions out of 10 on the ballot dealt with its adoption – five against it and two for it.…

    Adam Bemma

  • Bangkok Street Food Clearance Campaign – Southeast Asia Dispatches

    BANGKOK – Some argue that Bangkok’s charm is in its bustling streets and abundance of cheap Thai food. But the authorities want to change that. Street food is rapidly disappearing in the Thai capital. Sidewalks are being cleared of food carts and street hawkers in an attempt to modernize the city and attract investment. The…

    Adam Bemma

  • Thailand’s Underground Hip Hop – Southeast Asia Dispatches

    BANGKOK – Last Monday, a Thai hip hop collective released Rap Against Dictatorship, a new song and video critical of the country’s military rulers. The artists may be summonsed and charged for uploading the video to Youtube if the police find them in violation of Thailand’s Computer Crimes Act. But that isn’t the only case of…

    Adam Bemma

  • Bangkok Says Goodbye to Cheap Pad Thai – CBC The World this Weekend

    BANGKOK – The Queen of Thai street food, Bangkok’s Jay Fai, was awarded a Michelin star last year. But for the rest of the city’s hawkers, they may be forced out of work in a push by the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration to clear the streets. 17,000 Bangkok hawkers have lost their licenses since 2014. The…

    Adam Bemma

  • The Mysterious Disappearance of Laos’ Sombath Somphone – Southeast Asia Dispatches

    VIENTIANE – Six years ago, Lao civil society leader Sombath Somphone disappeared from the streets of the capital, Vientiane. Among the people left without answers about what has happened to him, is his wife Shui-Meng. Adam Bemma speaks to Shui-Meng about her thoughts all these years later. This story aired on Southeast Asia Dispatches Monday, October…

    Adam Bemma

  • Syrian Stuck at Airport Turns to Social Media – Southeast Asia Dispatches

    KUALA LUMPUR – Thirty-seven year-old Syrian asylum seeker Hassan Al Kontar uses social media to share his story of life at Kuala Lumpur International Airport. Because of Hassan’s posts, volunteers from Malaysia to Canada have taken up his cause. Adam Bemma met with Hassan at KLIA2. He’s been stuck in limbo hoping to be resettled…

    Adam Bemma

  • Hassan Al Kontar: A Life in Limbo – CBC The World this Weekend

    KUALA LUMPUR – Hassan Al Kontar is a 37-year-old Syrian living at Kuala Lumpur International Airport for six months. Human rights defenders inside Malaysia have advised him not to seek asylum in the country because it’s not a signatory to the 1951 UN Refugee Convention. Canadian volunteers are trying to bring Al Kontar to Canada…

    Adam Bemma
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