Heading to the Himalayas over the next few weeks as part of the @thetimes_bursary to report on Tibetan exile communities - many of whom fled Tibet on foot many years ago, and are still living near the border with China, hoping one day to return home.
To this day Tibet remains under brutal Chinese occupation. Today it is almost impossible to enter or leave Tibet.
Reposting here a video I did for @thetimes on the Dalai Lama’s 90th birthday in Dharamshala, India, where the Dalai Lama’s exile government is based.
A few days ago @cyrusnaji and I interviewed Tarqiue Rahman, who was elected Prime Minister of Bangladesh today in the first — broadly free — election the country has seen in sixteen years.
The streets yesterday were full of excited voters, overjoyed to have the chance to cast their vote after so many years of being silenced by an autocratic regime.
Thank you so much to everyone in Dhaka who made me feel at home — I’ve never met kinder, lovelier people in my life. Leaving with a very full heart. ❤️
On the ferry back from seeing family on Vancouver island — then a flight back to Delhi tomorrow morning to get back to work. Please dm me if you have any leads on AI, environmental, humanitarian or political stories in South Asia that you want to see in print — I’ll be back to work on Monday and getting my teeth into some new stories. Can’t wait to hear from you xx
Juni
Reporting on tiger widows in the Sundarbans for @thetimes .
So-called “tiger widows” are women whose husbands have been killed by Bengal tigers whilst out fishing, crab-catching or honey collecting.
They are often stigmatised by their communities due to mytho-religions practices in the Sundarbans. They are branded “husband eaters” and often blamed for their husbands’ deaths, making it difficult for widows to find work.
The tiger widows I spoke to in Gosaba were all stuck in cycles of extreme deprivation due to social stigma, and the refusal of the forest department to grant them the compensation to which they were legally entitled.
1. A woman near Gosaba out to catch crabs
2. A woman working a field near Gosaba. In the Subdarbans there are few forms of employment and many tiger widows work as daily wage labourers in nearby fields.
3. Tiger widows gathered at a clinic in Sahela village, receiving legal counsel on how to claim compensation from the forest department
4. Uttara Koyal, a tiger widow whose husband was killed in 2019, with her nephew and niece
5. A photo of Uttara Koyal’s husband on the wall of her house
6. A woman working a paddy field near Gosaba
7. Taruq Gagan, an ex-fisherman out to catch crabs. He quit fishing years ago because the risk of being taken by a tiger was too high
8. Sadyha Mondal, a tiger widow whose husband was killed in 2020
Modi’s controversial Project Cheetah — the world’s first experiment in the international relocation of a large wild carnivore — and the communities who pay the price. For @thetimes
Thanks @photosby_bilalkuchay for joining me in on this slightly mad expedition…
Photos - 1. Hira Lal (74) and his wife, Moghia tribals who live on the outskirts of Kuno National Park. Both are members of a marginalised hunting community — one still haunted by antiquated colonial legislation which branded hunting communities “hereditary criminals” under the Criminal Tribes Act (CTA) of 1871. The law aimed to control nomadic tribes by restricting movement and separating children from parents to prevent the transmission of “criminal tendencies”.
2. A woman walks with a bundle of sticks tied to her head near Chak Kishanpur, a village on the outskirts of Kuno National Park.
3. Inside a tiny shop in the national park, selling memorabilia like cheetah t-shirts and hats.
Voters went to the polls yesterday in Kerala’s state election, in which the communist-led LDF coalition is fighting to stay in power. I wrote about it on the weekend for @thetimes . Thanks so much to everyone who helped to make this piece happen 🌸🌿🌱 and to @elkescholiers for the beautiful photos.
“In the middle of a chaotic street in Kerala’s capital, Trivandrum, crowds of supporters waving red flags and children wearing distinctive starred berets — maroon with a single gold star, like the revolutionary, Che Guevara — swarmed the man in white robes. He stepped down from his car and made his way, waving solemnly, towards a battered open-top jeep emblazoned with a golden hammer and sickle.”
Link to full piece in bio
My piece in @thetimes with @ookushhh about young Nepali men sucked into a trafficking pipeline who ended up on the frontlines in Russia. Many are tricked or lured into going.
Many - and there are potentially thousands of Nepalis embedded in the Russian army - were unable to escape once they arrived. Nepalis reported being used as cannon fodder, thrown into frontline battalions along with ex-convicts.
Families of soldiers who died have failed to receive compensation from Moscow. Nepal has thus far been unable to bring its citizens home.
Nepali has a serious human trafficking problem. Reports indicate over 10,000 women and girls are trafficked annually for sex work, and nearly 1.5 million Nepalis at risk.
@ookushhh@sakushamu
interview with @bohara9606
I travelled to Lower Mustang, Nepal, to interview Tibetan exile communities living near the border with China. Many of these communities have stayed living close to the border for over half a decade, hoping to return home to Tibet. I ended up in some of the most beautiful places I’ve ever seen - articles from these crazy travels coming soon.
