Just A Child
I have a new Facebook friend. Her name is Yong Vui Fung and she is Vui Kong’s little sister. She’s just 20 this year. Slightly older than Vui Kong when he was caught. And every time I look at her, I think about what her brother must have been like when he first ventured out...
“For Me, I’m Hoping For A Miracle”
Yun Leong looks like he’s shrunk. He’s lost maybe five pounds since December. There are bags under his eyes. He sounds tired. “It’s been tough,” he says. “Chinese New Year was not good.” “How’s your family?” “They’re coping.” “And your mother?” “She’s well.” He pauses. “She still asks about him.” Him. Vui Kong. Her youngest....
Homelessness Is Not A Dirty Word
In 2006, we moved to Hong Kong and spent the better part of our year there getting to know a group of homeless people. Their stories were complex, their personalities as diverse as their backgrounds. There were 19-year-old boys and 65-year-old grandfathers. Truck drivers, deliverymen, chefs, waiters, factory workers, failed businessmen… you name it. Some...
The Maestro’s Daughters
Our nerves were frayed by the time we got to Braman Baria. The ride had been long and somewhat bumpy, the roads overflowing with trucks and cars and one-legged beggars. We had not planned to stay with the Maestro’s family even though they’d insisted we should. We didn’t want to inconvenience them, or stretch their...
So How Much Did you Pay Your Agent?
Of late we’ve developed a strange habit. We can’t meet a Bangladeshi migrant labourer without asking him a somewhat intrusive question. How much did you pay your agent? Is it kinda rude? Maybe. Call it an occupational hazard then. We must have sprung that question on hundreds of workers when we were making “Human Trade”...
Happy Birthday, Mrs B
“I’m 47 today!” She exclaims, and her eyes tear up. “I prayed to god for a miracle, and you came along.” We all make soothing noises. It’s nothing really, Aunty. Just a few bags of biscuits. You know, to help you through the long evenings here in the park.There’s very little light where the family...
Inspiration For The New Year – The Shoeshiner, The Boda-Boda Rider, And The President’s Shiny New Bikes
I thought I’d end off the year by telling you about Charles Bucumi and Gerard Bukuru. They’re from Burundi and we met them at the Tour of Rwanda. Burundians Charles Bucumi and Gerard Bukuru at the Tour of Rwanda They looked nothing like cyclists. In a sea of skinny, leggy lads, Charles and Gerard stuck...
And So Another Story Goes Untold
For months, we told them we’d be back. “To tell the blind musician’s story!” We said. For months, they waited. We badly wanted to return. Ustad Afzalur Rahman and his two visually impaired daughters had in June this year, treated us to an afternoon of amazing music. We couldn’t stop talking about them. The old...
Their First Big Race
“The Shortest Man In The Village Who Can Soar Like An Eagle” is our current passion project. You can read about it, and watch a trailer here. Guess where we’ve been? In January, we went to Eldoret. Spent New Year’s Day trying to find a bike race that didn’t actually exist. Visited Langgas. Hung out...
Vui Kong’s Story – The Hearing
UPDATE on Dec 11, 2009: Vui Kong’s appeal hearing has been set for March 15, 2010. He looks a little less tired than when we first saw him. Still pale. Still as skinny. Still dressed in his standard-issue orange prison garb and grey jacket. He seems more relaxed today. Even manages a semi-wave at a...
The Story Of Yong Vui Kong
We’re back from Rwanda with plenty of photos and stories to share. But all that will just have to wait. Because right now, there’s something far more urgent we have to tell you about. It’s about the imminent death of a boy called Yong Vui Kong. You might have already heard his name. Read his...
Off To Kigali
We’re leaving tonight for Nairobi, then catching a teeny weeny plane to Eldoret, then hopping on a bus that will take us through Uganda and to Kigali. Why? Because something major is happening in Rwanda this week. We’ve been planning this trip for nearly a year now. It’s going to be amazing. Updates whenever we...
