by
Lynn
on
Oct 22, 2012 • Comments Closed This morning, I wrote a letter to the Straits Times’ Sumiko Tan. Here’s her reply. Dear Lynn, Thanks for your e-mail and link to your interesting and well-written blog. I don’t disagree that there are people – too many – in Singapore who are like the homeless man you mentioned. Like you, my heart goes...
by
Lynn
on
Oct 22, 2012 • Comments Closed Dear Sumiko Tan, I want to tell you about the homeless man who sleeps on the pavement just below my flat. I’m sure you think it’s a little weird, my writing to you like this, to talk about someone you don’t know. But bear with me, Sumiko, bear with me. I’ll explain in a bit....
by
Lynn
on
Sep 28, 2012 • Comments Closed The Rohingya are a stateless people described by the UN as one of the world’s most persecuted minorities. They are reviled in Myanmar, the country many Rohingya call home, and unwelcome in neighbouring Bangladesh, where tens of thousands live in refugee camps. For decades, they’ve suffered official discrimination from the Myanmar government. But now they...
by
Lynn
on
Sep 28, 2012 • Comments Closed U Kyaw Thar is a decent family man. He contributes to charity, helps the needy and dotes on his children. The second time we meet, he apologises for being late because he was at his son’s birthday party, and then he leaves early because his wife wants him home for dinner. He’s a decent family...
by
Lynn
on
Sep 12, 2012 • Comments Closed Update: Kulsum Bibi passed away a few days ago. The checkpoint looms. There are armed guards on both sides of the road. Our taxi – a cross between a tuk tuk and a pickup truck – lurches. The driver gasps, hesitates. He is nervy and jumpy and clearly afraid. And yet, five minutes earlier, this...
by
Lynn
on
Aug 16, 2012 • Comments Closed A little before London 2012, we went to China to make a film about the price of the country's relentless pursuit for sporting excellence. Some of what we witnessed was truly depressing. Injured former athletes, forgotten by the state. A retired gymnast begging on the streets. A one-time basketball pro living off the charity of...
by
Lynn
on
Aug 14, 2012 • Comments Closed Recently, it hit me. I must take personal responsibility for the rising tide of xenophobia in Singapore. My life choices have led to the massive influx of foreigners here, which has in turn, resulted in growing anger from locals fearful that they are being squeezed out of their own country. I need to wo-man up...
by
Lynn
on
Jul 10, 2012 • Comments Closed Six of us gathered at a little café yesterday. The meeting had been planned days before. We were going to discuss logistics for a private photo presentation by our friend, Toshi Kazama. No one said anything else beforehand, but we also knew we would be talking about Yong Vui Kong. His case weighed heavily on...
by
Lynn
on
Jul 1, 2012 • Comments Closed He founded a religion called "Unificationism" and built a vast business empire. Now, Reverend Moon Sun-myung is fighting to ensure a lasting legacy. But not all is well in his church. A feud within the Reverend's family has triggered angry outbursts and ugly lawsuits. Will the Unification Church survive without the man revered by followers...
by
Lynn
on
Jun 18, 2012 • Comments Closed Faith is a mysterious thing. What might be strange, even bizarre to some of us, is an act as natural as eating and breathing to those who believe.
by
Lynn
on
May 23, 2012 • Comments Closed My heart leapt a few days ago when it appeared that Chan Chun Sing, the Acting Minister for Community Development Youth and Sports, was urging Singaporeans to be more accepting of unwed mothers. This group of women has faced official discrimination for the longest time – two examples: they’re not eligible for the same kind...
by
Lynn
on
May 8, 2012 • Comments Closed His name was Lee Siaw Foo. Not many people know of him. Why should they? He was just a lowly drug courier from Sabah, who in the early hours of 28 August 2009, was dragged kicking and screaming out of his cell in Changi Prison, and into the execution chamber. His crime – trafficking 38.49...
