Table of contents


  1. THAILAND: Children trafficked to sell flowers and beg
  2. MYANMAR-THAILAND: “The Lady” brings hope to Burmese refugees
  3. TIMOR-LESTE: Women are also resistance heroes
  4. SRI LANKA: Bane of lost IDs after wartime
  5. PAKISTAN: Coming clean about child sexual abuse - or not
  6. CAMBODIA: Malaria gains fragile
  7. INDONESIA: Report card on disaster preparedness


THAILAND: Children trafficked to sell flowers and beg
PAK KRED، 4/6/2012 (IRIN) - In an impoverished town in Thailand, a trafficker offered a desperate woman living near the Burmese border US$160 on the spot, followed by an additional $120 per month for two of her 10 children to sell flowers in the Thai capital, Bangkok. The rent-a-child deal was to last three months, after which the boys would return home to their widowed Burmese mother. full report
MYANMAR-THAILAND: “The Lady” brings hope to Burmese refugees
MAE LA، 4/6/2012 (IRIN) - Spirits were high among the select group of Burmese refugees waiting in the stifling midday heat to catch a brief glimpse of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, affectionately known simply as “The Lady”, during her historic visit to Thailand's largest refugee camp on the Thai-Burmese border. full report
TIMOR-LESTE: Women are also resistance heroes
DILI، 5/6/2012 (IRIN) - When Indonesian forces invaded Timor-Leste in 1975, Maria De Fatima Kalcona hid in the jungle with resistance fighters, but after years on the move, and hobbled by a gunshot wound, she was eventually captured in 1979. full report
SRI LANKA: Bane of lost IDs after wartime
COLOMBO، 6/6/2012 (IRIN) - Three years after conflict ended in northern Sri Lanka, many thousands of civilians remain separated from their ID cards and other official documents lost in the heat of battle and are consequently unable to access a range of essential government services. full report
PAKISTAN: Coming clean about child sexual abuse - or not
LAHORE، 7/6/2012 (IRIN) - Sidra Bibi*was a young girl living with her parents and siblings in the Pakistani city of Lahore when she suffered sexual abuse, and the trauma has lived with her over the years. full report
CAMBODIA: Malaria gains fragile
PHNOM PENH، 7/6/2012 (IRIN) - Two years after some US$22 million in donor funds were pumped into malaria control along the Cambodia-Thailand border to fight off suspected resistance to treatment, health workers say the battle is not over. full report
INDONESIA: Report card on disaster preparedness
JAKARTA، 8/6/2012 (IRIN) - A new World Health Organization (WHO) assessment reviews Indonesia’s emergency preparedness and identifies needed improvements, which experts and government officials agree are critical. full report