Jun 16, 2022Better to lose your head than lose your landIn the Borneo Highlands of Sarawak, along the Indonesian border where once Tamawan warriors would enter the ancestral homelands of the Bidayuh Tibiya, raiding the densely forested jungle for their heads, now live their descendants, the Bidayuh of Upper Bengoh. To escape the relentless Tamawan the Bidayuh resettled up and…Sarawak3 min readSarawak3 min read
Apr 18, 2021Hanza’s SpectaclesHanza awoke one morning and wrote a letter to the Prague Post. He proclaimed, “Prague, I shall make you laugh, but I will be crushed and silenced for it. Yours Sincerely, Hanza, Artist.” He posted it, but as he expected, it wasn’t published. Hanza was a little known artist. Most…Short Story3 min readShort Story3 min read
Nov 13, 2019The Wonder of the Blacksmiths’ TreeMy story with the Blacksmiths’ Tree began in 2011. Its own story began in 2009, but if truth be told it began much earlier than that. Sometime between 2558 and 2532 BC, ancient Egyptians of the Old Kingdom build the oldest known sculpture in Egypt, The Great Sphinx of Giza…Black Saturday3 min readBlack Saturday3 min read
Oct 17, 2019Sarawak’s Kleptocracy Strikes AgainThis article was originally published in New Matilda, November 29, 2013 In the Borneo Highlands of Sarawak, along the border between East Malaysia and Indonesia, warriors from Kalimantan would enter the ancestral homelands of the Bidayuh Tibiya, and raid the densely forested jungle for their heads. That was a long…Sarawak7 min readSarawak7 min read
Sep 29, 2019Right to Know — Episode 4 — Digital literacy and the perils of social activismIn this, our final episode, we discover the perils of social activism in India and whether learning how to use Microsoft Notepad and Paint is digital literacy. Please be aware, this episode contains references to violence.Podcast2 min readPodcast2 min read
Sep 29, 2019Right to Know — Episode 3 — The unheard will not remain unseenIn this episode we visit the ancient city of Chanderi home to four and a half-thousand weavers, we are inundated with terrifically bad smells and we find a pirate radio broadcaster living a few hours drive from where the Buddha had first meditated.Podcast2 min readPodcast2 min read
Sep 18, 2019Right to Know — Episode 2 — Reaching the unreachableIn this episode, we travel to the Indo-Nepalese border and listen in on two public meetings where some people discover, for the first time, just what a pension is and that they are eligible for one. …Podcast2 min readPodcast2 min read
Sep 14, 2019Right to Know — Episode 1 — Into the media darkWelcome to Episode 1 of the four part Right to Know podcast series. In this series, we explore the Internet’s ripple effect within India’s rural and tribal communities. These are observations of the complex challenges technicians, information communication trainers, community workers and entrepreneurs face in rural…India2 min readIndia2 min read
Dec 21, 2018I AM NOT AN ALIEN“Proust, more perspicaciously than any other writer, reminds us that the ‘walks’ of childhood form the raw material of our intelligence.” ― Bruce Chatwin, The Songlines For decades I believed I had come from the stars. What I believed to be memories waned in my 30's, re-surfaced in my early…Historical Fiction5 min readHistorical Fiction5 min read
Dec 17, 2018When copyright stymied ChristmasSynchronisation rights and its impact on community filmmaking In 2015 I made a film with Katherine, a photographer, and Matt, a media artist. We put together a crew with Aaron, Ben, Ruthwanthi, Tenielle and William — members of First Impressions Youth Theatre. We were brought together by the City of…Copyright17 min readCopyright17 min read
