Interview with Blackwood Circle of Friends convenor: Tricia Rushton

Last week, I spoke to Tricia Rushton, the current convenor of the Blackwood Circle of Friends, a support group for refugees and asylum seekers. The Circle of Friends was...

My grandfather’s legacy: from general merchant to something more

I always thought of my maternal grandfather as a wealthy man but digging deeper I learn that he was a small town migrant kid who became prosperous enough to provide temporary...

An Interview with MacArthur ‘Genius’ Jason De León — Longreads

‘Anthropology is what people leave behind. It could be as recent as this morning.’ ‘Smugglers are complex human beings.’ To paraphrase this classically...

Rohingya in Singapore – not advisable?

Last week, I shared Theophilus Kwek’s article where he suggested that even though Singapore is a small country, it can try to find creative and mutually beneficial ways...

Hosting New Migrants: on the capacity to welcome

When we first arrived in Adelaide, we stayed in a two-bedroom unit off Goodwood Road. My sister’s old school friend had arranged for us to live there while the...

A time to plant, and time to pluck up what is planted.

Thank you Susanne Timpani – I didn’t know this story behind Newman’s Nursery. I love the place and have lovely memories of enjoying high tea there surrounded...

Rohingya in Singapore?

BY THEOPHILUS KWEK Over 400,000 Rohingya have fled persecution in Myanmar since August, the latest episode in a cycle of conflict and displacement that has afflicted...

Laundry on Life: thoughts on privacy and friendship

The old house in Malaysia had laundry lines strung across the first floor balcony. Through a small latched gate in the balcony railing, I could step off the balcony,...