Volunteerism building solidarity and solutions transcending borders
ColumnsOct 30. 2020Friends from Thailand (FFT) volunteer Sompong Woragool helps farmers in Tuane, Mozambique, catch and raise rabbits in traditional cages.
By Gita Sabharwal,
Pattarat Hongtong, Shalina Miah Special to The Nation
“Initially, some people didn’t believe I could do anything. I was only 28 years old at that time, but I said, ‘join me and we will learn together’,” said Suphawit Pharom, a volunteer with the Friends from Thailand (FFT) volunteer programme on his experiences in Mozambique.
FFT volunteer Phuttiphum Arsanok helps farmers in Djakotomey, a town in Benin, adapt local materials to make equipment for organic fertilizers.
Since 2003, more than 160 people have volunteered through the programme, which places them for one or two years in countries across Asia and Africa, where they use their expertise to contribute to Thailand’s development cooperation projects.
FFT volunteers Sompong Woragool and Piched Khammeekan help students in Tuane, Mozambique, transport banana trees to their school garden.
The programme aims to promote partnerships at the local level, providing technical advice in its main development areas, including agriculture, public health, technology, education, carpentry, eco-tourism, local products development and community development based on the sufficiency economy philosophy, while highlighting the people-to-people aspect of Thailand’s development cooperation.
FFT volunteer Nisanart Yeamkhong supports the Covid-19 data entry and processing team at the Royal Centre for Disease Control in Bhutan as part of her work to set up a quality management system in the laboratory.
The programme represents global best practices on volunteering described in the recently launched publication “South-South Volunteering as a Driving Force for Development: Experiences from Asia and the Pacific” by United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme, United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation and the Thailand International Cooperation Agency (TICA), Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Beyond the programme’s mission to “cultivate friendship and better understanding between the people of Thailand and those of our development partners”, the FFT programme also ensures the projects’ alignment with Thailand’s 20-year National Strategy. Indeed, it also encourages a new look at development cooperation through the lens of volunteerism, itself being an innovative, yet not widely-known approach.
“I think cooperation is the right thing to do and volunteerism is one way where everyone can do their part in making the world a better and happier place,” said Phuttiphum Arsanok, another FFT volunteer in Benin, about his volunteer experience.
Volunteering is often one of the first experiences of civic engagement for young people. It is also a way to build skills for future employability and act upon issues that matter to youth, such as climate change, peace, gender equality and economic empowerment. One billion people globally are active volunteers, and around one in three young people report that they are volunteering – nearly 600 million youth worldwide.
The prime minister of Thailand, in his keynote address on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the UN Global Compact and the 75th anniversary of the UN, said Thailand is committed to increasing participation of all sectors in sustainable national development, especially by engaging the civil society, academia, and the general public in the form of volunteer work. Thai people are generous, and this is proven by the fact that there are more than 10 million registered and non-registered volunteers. Volunteerism provides space for the public to participate in the development process and can also play a role in localising government policies at the community level and helping the voices of the people be heard during the policy development process.
The FFT Programme is also an opportunity to develop the skills of young people through their experiences, demonstrating volunteerism’s value as a two-way learning process. During their assignments, volunteers develop skills, increase their understanding of development, and gain international experience in line with national priorities. Through the programme, Thai youth, aged 22-35, who have at least a bachelor’s degree, have been recruited and prepared to work abroad as FFT volunteers.
As part of the response to Covid-19 pandemic, more than 1 million village health volunteers came forward in their communities, in addition to more than 15,000 public health volunteers in Bangkok. Volunteer movements like Covid Relief Bangkok, used demographic data analysis to identify the most vulnerable communities and coordinated efforts to support through donations and psycho-social support, while Covid Thailand Aid, provided aid and care packages to elderly citizens. Beyond Thailand, FFT volunteers also played a role in assisting their host countries in responding to the Covid-19 pandemic. Two such volunteers in Bhutan work with their Bhutanese counterparts to contribute to the national effort in containing the virus. This kind of volunteering is a manifestation of common humanity and collective strength speaking to a whole-of-society approach.
The pandemic has exposed the fragility of societies and existing ever-growing challenges, such as widespread inequality, worrying levels of ecosystem damage, greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution, and high levels of vulnerability to climate-induced disasters. The response in Thailand, however, points to the possibility of a very different future based on solidarity, reciprocity and community, as well as innovative development pathways at the local level. Volunteerism builds social capital that needs consistent investment. The FFT programme is one example but the challenges we face call for more initiatives to expand with proper support ecosystems and partnerships.
However, gaps remain in the way volunteering is seen as isolated from development discourse and efforts. Imagine the development dividends if volunteers were included and owned development initiatives on the ground together with communities. Imagine providing opportunities for the elderly, minorities, indigenous people, and persons with disabilities to engage in volunteering as part of building social cohesion in their neighbourhoods.
We need to show our gratitude to those who step up and volunteer to rise to the challenges and uncertainties of our time beyond the annual National Volunteer Day on October 21 and International Volunteer Day celebrated on December 5. To build sustainable social capital through volunteering, we need more citizens engaged and a broader space created for bold solutions to help society to flourish and build the belonging that transcends borders.
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Gita Sabharwal is UN Resident Coordinator Thailand; Pattarat Hongtong, Director-General, Thailand International Cooperation Agency, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Thailand, Shalina Miah is regional manager for Asia-Pacific, United Nations Volunteers.
Angkhana Neelapaijit, former commissioner at the Office of the National Human Rights Commission of Thailand, on Sunday said the 2004 Tak Bai tragedy in Narathiwat province, which took 85 lives, still haunts locals.
“Sixteen years later, the incident of the authorities cracking down on people at Tak Bai Police Station in Narathiwat province still haunts the locals. Muslim men were handcuffed and forced to lie down on the hot ground during the Ramadan period. They were piled up in five layers of humans and taken by the armed authorities who did not even listen to the cries of people being crushed. Some died before they reached the destination,” she wrote.
A panel established to investigate the incident reported that seven were killed by gunshots, 1,370 were arrested, 78 were killed during the transportation and seven have gone missing. Many of the injured later became disabled.
“The panel saw that it was a very poor judgement of the commander to ignore the transportation. Authorities without experience were tasked with handling the situation and they just followed the orders without considering other factors.”
Despite apologies and compensation, the facts of the case have not been officially revealed, no one has taken responsibility for the tragedy and no offender was arrested, she said.
The prosecution initially accused 59 protesters — one died later — of instigation, and the charge was dropped in 2006 while the case of the seven shot dead was dismissed since no offender was found.
Regarding the 78 deaths during transportation to a camp in Pattani province, the Songkhla Provincial Court stated that the victims suffocated but the offender could not be identified and there was no further prosecution.
Angkhana emphasised the atrocity crime in the legal system to raise awareness in every sector in order to prevent a similar case and bring justice to the victims.
The 20-year statute of limitations will expire in four years but there is still no plaintiff in the case as the families of the victims are afraid for their safety.
“We cannot win against the state. Even though we have not gone to court, we still know who the guilty are and who should take responsibility,” one of the victims’ family members said, adding that the state still framed them as the villains.
On October 25, 2004, about 1,000 people had gathered at Tak Bai Police Station to protest against the arrest of six men, which erupted into a clash between the authorities and the protesters and quickly escalated to violence.
By Straits TimesAsia News Network writers call for measures to revive economies hit by the pandemic. Here are excerpts.
Indonesia can be a powerhouse
Francois de Maricourt
The Jakarta Post, Indonesia
In every crisis, new opportunities emerge.
The Covid-19 pandemic has had a strong impact on global trade networks and shipping routes, with logistics suppliers grappling with disruptions and economic slowdowns.
The pre-Covid-19 globalised world has come to a halt. The question facing governments and corporations alike is what comes next? How will global supply chains shift and reform? How can Indonesia boost its manufacturing capacity? How can we harness the potential of the digital revolution to strengthen the economy, and lastly, how can we make these advances sustainable?
Coordinating Economic Minister Airlangga Hartarto recently said the government is working hard to attract international investors looking to relocate their factories from mainland China. If successful, this could position Indonesia as a major manufacturing powerhouse.
Companies looking to diversify beyond mainland China will need to set up a new base for their operations, and Indonesia is an attractive choice. Indonesia has several strategic advantages over its competitors in the region. It is rich in natural resources, has a large domestic market and a ready pool of productive workers.
Greater adoption of digital technologies could potentially help Indonesia attract greater foreign direct investment as well as move up the manufacturing value chain.
Indonesia already has a vibrant e-commerce sector, which last year was valued at US$21 billion (S$28 billion) in gross market value, making the country the largest e-commerce market in South-east Asia.
All members of Asean are working hard to revive their economies and mitigate the economic impact on the most vulnerable members of their societies. To this end, Asean leaders are expected to launch the Asean Pandemic Recovery Fund next month to help fill the region’s US$2.8 trillion infrastructure gap over the next few years as well as providing more immediate economic stimulus.
Linking the Asean Pandemic Recovery Fund to climate and sustainability commitments will go a long way to reduce the impact of climate change on the region’s economies and peoples.
Supply side structural reforms necessary
Editorial
China Daily, China
Although the 4.9 per cent year-on-year growth of the Chinese economy in the third quarter was slightly below some forecasts of 5 per cent to 5.5 per cent, the economic data announced by the National Bureau of Statistics last Monday remains encouraging.
Not only does the gross domestic product growth signal that the robust recovery of the second quarter has been maintained, but more importantly, almost all the leading economic indicators give cause for optimism that the recovery momentum can be maintained.
All sectors had encouraging data that boosted their performance for the year so far, with agriculture pushing its third-quarter growth to 2.3 per cent, and industry and the service sector growing by 0.9 per cent and 0.4 per cent, respectively.
Notably, three key industries – high-tech, equipment manufacturing and financial – along with information and software-related services, all recorded robust year-on-year third-quarter growth.
The positive trade data shows China has quickly adapted to the fast-changing external environment, as it reflects positive trade growth with all of its major trade partners, including the United States.
Despite consumption replacing investment and trade as China’s largest growth driver five years ago, robust trade is still of vital importance for creating jobs, stoking innovation and expanding opening up.
While China’s recovery is clearly gathering steam, offering hope for the struggling global economy, National Bureau of Statistics spokesman Liu Aihua cautioned that “the economy is still in the process of recovery”.
Despite the across-the-board improvements, the foundation for sustainable recovery requires further consolidation due to global uncertainties and uneven performance at home, as Ms Liu said. That requires that the new dual circulation pattern be reinforced with supply side structural reforms.
Revive economy to tackle joblessness
Editorial
Philippine Daily Inquirer, The Philippines
There appears to be little that the government can do to contain the wave of job losses affecting overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), given the global economic downturn. And much of its limited cash resources have been redirected to efforts to contain the spread of Covid-19 and mitigate the impact of the crippling lockdowns, especially on poor households.
With millions out of work and hunger pangs across the populace felt more keenly than at any other time, according to surveys, the government and the private sector need to work together even more closely to address the bleak situation.
In particular, programmes have to be put in place to accommodate the tens of thousands of Filipino contract workers now streaming back into the country and swelling the ranks of the local unemployed.
They need to be reintegrated back into the domestic economy, and the assistance should be more than just free entrepreneurial and information technology training and financial education.
The projections that the number of deployed Filipino workers overseas could fall by about 300,000 this year, to add to the millions already out of work, mean that the country will be facing unprecedented levels of joblessness and want in the months ahead.
Reviving the economy to provide work for everyone, especially displaced skilled OFWs, should be the biggest fire lighting up the government’s bum at this time.
Budget to the nation’s rescue
Editorial
Sin Chew Daily, Malaysia
On the back of a worsening virus outbreak, economic downturn and expected sharp decline in the Malaysian government’s tax revenue in the coming year, how is the Prime Minister going to come up with a fiscal budget that will benefit the people to take care of their livelihood while promoting sustained operations of local businesses? The long-term sustainability agenda should be an effective solution in the upcoming budget.
First, the International Monetary Fund reported that Malaysia’s gross domestic product (GDP) will shrink by 6 per cent or almost RM92 billion (S$30 billion) this year. As such, tax revenue next year is expected to dwindle drastically, meaning the government will not have sufficient funds to develop the country, and this will impact the lives of ordinary citizens. New sources of income need to be explored in order to expand the Treasury’s financial capability.
Second, it is imperative for government departments to cut their expenses during this critical moment.
Third, last year’s budgetary deficit was at 3.2 per cent of the GDP, and increasing the budget deficit will likely be a hurried and important option for Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin. He may have to fix the near-term problems first and pin his hopes on a strong recovery next year.
Fourth, the government needs to address the issue of poverty among the people. Currently, the total income of the lowest 20 per cent stands at about 5.9 per cent of the total income. Their per capita income is merely US$3,313 (S$4,500), or about RM1,160 per month.
• The View From Asia is a compilation of articles from The Straits Times’ media partner Asia News Network, a grouping of 24 news media titles.
Reforms necessary to ensure the monarchy endures as a respected institution
ColumnsOct 25. 2020Protesters gather on October 21 in Bangkok. A red banner reads: Coup will be met with our defiance.
By The Nation The Nation Editorial
The current political unrest has proved the failure of the 2014 military coup to bring about long-lasting stability.
The military at the time had pledged national reform but it did not live up to its promise. A military-sponsored Constitution and related laws enforced over the past six years have been the major causes of the pro-democracy protests across the country and by overseas Thais.
Many of those who used to support the military-backed government have now joined the youth-led pro-democracy movement.
One of the key demands of the protesters is a reform of the monarchy. The unprecedented call foreshadows a fundamental change in the existing legal and political system as well as how economic policy should be framed and implemented.
The pro-democracy protesters are trying to strengthen the rule of law, which has arguably been substantially weakened by the 2017 military-sponsored Constitution, especially related to Palace affairs. Changes in the highest law and other related laws such as Crown Property Bureau’s management allowing HM the King to take direct control, raised questions of transparency and pointed to a disproportionate expansion of the monarch’s power. The Defence Ministry transferred two military units in Bangkok to be under the supervision of the Palace, which again raised questions about propriety. With massive numbers of the country’s population struggling with the Covid-19-induced economic crisis, protesters asked for more transparency in the annual budget allocation for the Palace. Due to the severe punishment imposed by the lese majeste law, the public have long restrained from openly criticising annual budget allocations for royal projects or Palace affairs, raising questions of transparency in taxation and expenditure management of the Palace
The protesters’ demand to reform the monarchy has been widely supported by democracy supporters nationwide, ranging from school children to senior population.
Some ultra-royalists, however, have interpreted their demand as a move to overthrow the monarchy. Pro-democracy protesters deny such motives and have made it clear that they only want to reform the highest institution.
The government has used legal means to suppress protester voices, but has not offered a reasonable counter-argument for why the monarchy should not be reformed.
The government instead has in recent days mobilised its supporters in the form of royalists, aiming to counter the democracy movement.
Under high pressure from protesters, civic groups and the international community, the government lifted the state of emergency imposed earlier in Bangkok and agreed to hold an extraordinary parliamentary session. While critics are sceptical about the potential of the parliamentary debate to achieve any breakthrough, because appointed-senators and ruling party MPs have sent a message that there will be no change to the Constitution provisions related to the monarchy’s role.
Against this backdrop, a business leader — Banyong Pongpanich — has proposed using provisions in previous charters to deal with the call for reform of the monarchy and to preserve the monarchy institution. It is rare for Thai business leaders to stick their necks out on sensitive issues.
As we have witnessed, royalists mostly are aged people, trying to resist the call for change. They must accept the fact that society is dynamic and the new generation do not think like how they did.
At a time when Thais just celebrated Chulalongkorn Day on October 23, we should be reminded that King Chulalongkorn the great ended slavery and prostration. That was one of the greatest reforms in Thai history.
Mobilising royalists to counter the pro-democracy movement in present times risks pushing the country into a cauldron, or worse a tragedy. The best way to save the monarchy institution is to undertake reforms in keeping with the demand of the times. Reform will greatly benefit all stakeholders in the country and will potentially ensure harmony.
Myanmar’s 2020 election: A tale of Chinese money, new ethnic parties and censorship
ColumnsOct 23. 2020Myanmar’s ruling National League for Democracy (NLD) leader Aung San Suu Kyi
By Htun Aung Gyaw Special to The Nation
Myanmar’s ruling National League for Democracy (NLD) led by Aung San Suu Kyi is preparing for national polls on November 8. But this time around, the election is taking place amid talk of a huge China-backed operation to subvert the vote.
The NLD’s main rival, the army-backed USDP, was overshadowed after an outfit called the UDP or “Rose Party” sprang forward to field 1,130 candidates – second only to Suu Kyi’s party.
After the UDP (Union Democratic Party) emerged as the second-largest election contender, people started digging into the past of its founder, Michael Kyaw Myint.
It turned out that Kyaw Myint was a fugitive from justice, having escaped from Mandalay prison in the 1990s while serving nine years for breaking investment laws.
Kyaw Myint fled to the United States, before moving to Canada in 2002 and applying for asylum as a refugee.
He then broke Canadian laws on insider trading by spending millions on shares in a company while party to undisclosed information about its negotiations for a biodiesel project in China. He was caught, fined CAN$1.5 million and banned for life from trading.
The episode prompted questions over how a Burmese fugitive was able to transfer millions of dollars for his business dealings. Where did the money come from?
Burmese sources living in Canada offered a clue: Kyaw Myint was very friendly with the Chinese Embassy in Canada and was reportedly using a Chinese passport to travel to Europe and China.
More interesting still was that Kyaw Myint was accused of laundering drug money for the United Wa State Army in the 1990s.
In 2010, he had enough money to launch the UDP and pay monthly salaries for party organisers and leaders. For the next 10 years he spent millions of dollars secretly funding his network of party organisers in villages and townships. His party contested the 2010 and 2015 elections but failed to win a single constituency.
China connection
In 2013 the fugitive Kyaw Myint took over as UDP chairman.
That same year, he and his party’s executive met with the Chinese ambassador Yang Houlan on December 31, according to a news post at the Chinese Embassy in Yangon.
The Chinese ambassador’s friendly meeting with the fugitive party chief was questionable, to say the least.
On September 22 this year, Kyaw Myint was exposed as an escaped convict by news journal Myanmar Now.
He was arrested by police, who found out he had 23.5 billion kyat (about US$18 million) in his possession.
After an investigation, the President’s Office said Kyaw Myint had violated anti-money laundering laws by receiving 16 billion kyat ($12.2 million) from China in 2015 and conducting illegal business activities. The investigation also found he had used the money to fund the UDP, in violation of election laws. The Union Election Commission promptly disbanded his party.
Sources inside Myanmar said evidence pointed to Kyaw Myint being a member of the Chinese Communist Party who was assigned and funded by Beijing to subvert Burmese politics. In response, politicians, lawyers and activists voiced worries that vote-buying could see Myanmar slide into China’s hands in the near future.
Suppressing free speech
Meanwhile as the election draws near, the ruling party and its main opposition USDP are criss-crossing the country in motorcycles and cars decorated with their party flags. Polls in the United States and Myanmar are going ahead despite the raging Covid-19 pandemic.
But in Myanmar, political parties are complaining that the ruling party is using disease control rules to restrict campaigning by its rivals. Also, candidates need to submit their speeches to the Union Election Commission (UEC) before speaking on state-run television. The UEC has been accused of censoring candidates’ speeches, including their policies and concerns about Burmese politics.
88 Generation leader Ko Ko Gyi, who recently formed the People’s Party, and Aung Moe Zaw, chairman of the New Society Party, cancelled their appearances on state-run television because of the censorship. Journalists and rival politicians have expressed dismay that the government of democracy icon and Nobel Peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi is violating the basic human right of free speech.
Journalists are also complaining that their Facebook posts are being blocked or suppressed if they criticise Suu Kyi’s NLD. Facebook Southeast Asia representative Rafael Frankel denied accusations of suppressing political opinions. But in reality, one of my own Facebook posts in Burmese, pointing out the weak and strong points of the NLD and its army rival, was denied the “boost” feature, with Facebook commenting that the post might influence the coming election result. This means someone in the Facebook team who understands Burmese had judged my article and decided to suppress it. Coincidently, Suu Kyi is reportedly spending $6 million to monitor Facebook for fake news and hate speech.
Ethnic solidarity vs the NLD
In another development, ethnic political parties have learnt a lesson from the 2015 elections, when they were criticised by their people for not working together. Now, the Kachin, Chin and Mon parties have united and are competing as one party in the elections.
Several new parties emerged in 2019 and 2020 after splitting from the NLD. Ko Ko Gyi formed the yellow-red flagged People’s Party (PP) when only one member of his group gained NLD endorsement to run in the 2015 election. Meanwhile the People Pioneer Party (PPP) is led by former NLD MP Thet Thet Khine, who criticised Suu Kyi openly before resigning to form her own party, which has adopted blue colours.
Retired General Shwe Mann, once No 3 in the junta government and a former House speaker, has formed his own electoral outfit called the Union Betterment Party (UBP; yellow colours). All the parties command a following.
The PPP, UBP and UDP are financially strong but the Peoples’ Party receives strong support from activists frustrated with the NLD government’s performance and looking for alternative leadership.
Flags of red, yellow, blue, and stripes will fill the air come Election Day on November 8. Ethnic parties are hoping to win in their respected states and form a coalition government. All are competing to make their own dreams a reality.
The NLD won a landslide in 2015, gaining 80 per cent of the seats – but this year will be different. The ruling party is set to lose some constituencies in the ethnic states, but still win enough seats to form the new government. However, mystery still shrouds the NLD’s fate after the election, when it will face two big challenges: boosting the Covid-hit economy and changing the military-scripted 2008 Constitution to a Federal Union Constitution.
Htun Aung Gyaw is a former president of the All Burma Students Democratic Front (ABSDF) who later studied at Cornell in the US.
Enhanced social protection an opportunity Asia Pacific must grasp
ColumnsOct 20. 2020United Nations under-secretary-general and executive secretary of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana
By Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana, Chihoko Asada Miyakawa
Special to The Nation
In the fight against Covid-19, success has so far been defined by responses in Asia and the Pacific. Many countries in our region have been hailed as reference points in containing the virus. Yet if the region is to build back better, the success of immediate responses should not distract from the weaknesses Covid-19 has laid bare.
Too many people in our region are left to fend for themselves in times of need. This pandemic was no exception. Comprehensive social protection systems could right this wrong. Building these systems must be central to our long-term recovery strategy.
International Labour Organisation (ILO)’s regional director for Asia and the Pacific Chihoko Asada Miyakawa
Illness or unemployment, pregnancy or old age, disability or injury should never be allowed to push people into poverty. During a pandemic, social protection schemes facilitate access to health care and provide lifelines when jobs are lost, rescuing households and stabilising economies. This has been recognised by governments in the face of Covid-19. Over 300 new social protection measures have been taken across 40 countries in the region. Existing schemes have been strengthened, ad hoc packages rolled out and investment increased.
This recent appreciation for social protection is welcome. It must be maintained, because the most effective responses to Covid-19 have been from countries which had robust social protection systems in the first place. The logistics of taking measures during an unfolding crisis are complicated; setbacks and delays inevitable. Well-resourced social protection systems built over time are just better placed to deal with the unexpected. However, these systems still do not exist in many of parts of our region.
A recent report by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), “The Protection We Want”, finds that more than half the region’s population has no coverage whatsoever. Only a handful of countries have comprehensive social protection systems and public spending in this area remains well below global average. In many countries in South Asia and the Pacific, public expenditure on social protection is as low as 2 per cent of GDP.
Where social protection systems do exist, their coverage is riddled with gaps. The youngest, least educated and poorest are frequently left uncovered by healthcare in the region. Many poverty targeted schemes never reach families most in need. Maternity, unemployment, sickness and disability benefits are the preserve of a minority of workers in the formal economy, leaving 70 per cent of workers locked out of contributory schemes. Lower labour force participation among women accentuates gaps in coverage. Population ageing, migration, urbanisation and increasing natural disasters make social protection ever more urgent.
Investing in a basic level of social protection for everyone – a social protection floor – would immediately improve livelihoods. United Nations’ simulations across 13 developing countries in the region show that universal coverage of basic child benefits, disability benefits and old-age pensions would slash the proportion of recipient households living in poverty by up to 18 percentage points. The decrease in poverty would be greatest in Indonesia, followed by Sri Lanka and Georgia. Purchasing power would surge in recipient households supporting increases in per capita consumption in the lowest income groups. In 9 out of 13 countries analysed, more than a third of the population currently living in poverty would no longer be impoverished.
These phenomenal development gains are within reach for most countries in Asia and the Pacific. Establishing basic schemes for children, older persons and persons with disabilities would cost between 2 and 6 per cent of GDP. It is a significant investment, but affordable if we make universal social protection systems a fundamental part of broader national development strategies.
Yet it is not only the level of funding that matters, but the way the funds are spent. To achieve universal coverage, we need a pragmatic mix of contributory and non-contributory schemes. This would deliver a vital minimum level of protection regardless of previous income and support a gradual move to higher levels of protection through individual contributions.
New approaches to funding participation can extend social protection to workers in the informal economy. Schemes that reward unpaid care work and are complemented by subsidised childcare services can form a decisive step towards more inclusive and gender equal societies. And new technologies, including phone-based platforms, can accelerate delivery across populations.
As we focus on building back better in the aftermath of the pandemic, our region has an opportunity to make universal social protection a reality. In so doing, we could bring an end to the great injustice that leaves the vulnerable in our societies most exposed. Governments from across Asia-Pacific will convene later this month at ESCAP’s Sixth Committee on Social Development to strengthen regional cooperation in this area. Let us seize the opportunity to accelerate progress towards universal social protection, and reduce poverty and inequality in Asia and the Pacific.
Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana is the United Nations under-secretary-general and executive secretary of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP).
Chihoko Asada Miyakawa is the International Labour Organisation (ILO)’s regional director for Asia and the Pacific.
Releasing protest leaders the first step to deal with spiralling crisis
ColumnsOct 19. 2020An ambulance makes its way through a huge crowd of demonstrators gathered at Victory Monument on Sunday. Korbphuk Phromrekha#NationPhoto
By Opinion: The Nation Editorial
The confrontation between government and pro-democracy protesters over the past few months has been aggravating.
The government imposed a “severe state of emergency” in Bangkok on Thursday morning to disperse protesters outside Government House, and on Friday evening police used water cannons to clear demonstrators gathered in large numbers, mostly school children and youth, at Bangkok’s Pathumwan intersection.
The government’s action of arresting many pro-democracy leaders has escalated the protests across the country over the weekend.
Anti-government protests are snowballing and PM Prayut Chan-o-cha’s administration has come under fire locally and among the international community for its harsh action against peaceful protesters.
Not only civil groups, but even the Buddhist monk community has expressed concern about Friday’s event. The Students’ Council of Mahachulalongkornrajavidyalaya University, a monk educational institution, issued a statement on October 16 strongly opposing the authority’s use of violence against youth, students and people. The youth monks’ statement also referred to how Buddhism had emerged during a period when humans were oppressed, browbeaten by the caste system, human rights were violated, causing inequality in society and social disparity, especially the caste system as practised in India at that time.
The statement pointed out that the Buddha had used the principle of peaceful resistance to oppose the caste system just as the Thai youth, students, and people tried to use peaceful means to seek change.
The international community, including the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, expressed concern at Thai authorities slapping serious charges, including sedition, against individuals for peacefully exercising their fundamental rights.
Some people might argue that the international community should not interfere in Thai domestic affairs, but in this instance we see a commonality of opinion among local civil groups as well as international organisations.
PM Prayut often tells people to embrace Buddhist wisdom in order to live their lives happily, just as he told protesters to pray in temples instead of protesting on the streets when he gave a press conference on Friday, after his Cabinet had approved a state of emergency he had declared the previous day. On Thursday, Arnon Nampa, a human rights lawyer and other protest leaders who had led a large number of demonstrators to camp outside Government House from Wednesday evening to Thursday morning, were arrested.
After the state of emergency was imposed in Bangkok, police aggressively pursued the arrest of protesters. Many of them are still in custody, facing severe charges.
The action is more or less like throwing oil into fire, antagonising people and prompting more protesters to join the demonstrations on Saturday and Sunday. The confrontation has been intensifying with no sign of compromise from the government side.
To explore a peaceful resolution of the crisis, the first thing the government must do is immediately release the protest leaders and drop the charges against them. The government must also scrap the state of emergency as demanded by many people and organisations. The government must embrace a spirit of compromise to bridge widening divisions in society.
By Gita Sabharwal, Suphachai Chearavanont Special to The Nation
The Covid-19 pandemic has shown us clearly how our societies are bound together and our welfares are interdependent.
We must be committed to a recovery that leaves no one behind and restores progress towards the sustainable development goals (SDGs). To reach those goals by 2030 will require strong partnerships among all stakeholders and remarkable innovation to ensure that we all are included.
The 17 interlinking SDGs are vital to ensure inclusive development for all, covering such areas as poverty reduction, gender equality and humanity’s relationship with the environment, to name just a few aspects. As we have seen during the Covid-19 pandemic, the most marginalised and vulnerable groups are the most affected in times of crisis, but the crisis also starkly shows that everyone’s welfare is connected and the well-being of the poorest among us directly affects us all.
Progress towards the SDGs will determine the welfare of people and communities across the world, including in Thailand. Yet a recent survey in the country found that there is relatively low awareness about the SDGs, especially among young people who are so crucial to the future of sustainable development.
Polling suggests that only 26 per cent of people in Thailand are aware of the United Nations, and only 19 per cent of young people. Clearly more needs to be done to raise awareness that the SDGs are fundamentally about people and communities, not some rarified theoretical concept.
The UN estimates that Bt50 per day per person would achieve the SDGs in Thailand. To achieve that benchmark, partnerships are essential. In fact, all of the UN’s work depends on building strong partnerships with and between governments, the private sector, non-governmental organisations, civil society and the general public, including young people. These coalitions must be based on the principles of inclusiveness and equality, ensuring that no one is left behind.
In Thailand, as elsewhere, the private sector has an essential role to advance the SDGs, address poverty and inequalities, and work collectively to weather the pandemic and build back better.
A critical coalition within the private sector in the country is represented by the Global Compact Network Thailand, which brings together nearly 60 business leaders from across the country, representing major companies that are mainstays of the economy.
Members of the network have already pledged their commitment to sustainable projects spanning nearly 1,000 projects and investments totaling Bt1.2 trillion. This is putting the SDGs into practice and having a tangible impact on people’s lives. More needs to be done.
Business leaders, at all levels of the organisation, can help to affect change in their own enterprises and in the wider community. As we raise awareness about the importance of the SDGs to Thailand and everyone in this society, leaders themselves need to be better informed about how to implement the goals and the barriers that still must be overcome.
For leaders in the private sector to fulfill their social responsibility, they must not only steer their own enterprises, but also help to affect positive change for society as a whole, addressing both sustainability and equality to ensure that no one is left behind. In other words, we need more “change agents”, who are aware of the global challenges around themselves. With determination and partnerships, raising awareness among these change agents can contribute to the resilience that we need to face and overcome challenges even on the scale of this pandemic while continuing to move forward on progress towards the SDGs.
This year marks the year of action, set in unprecedented times due to Covid-19, the climate crisis and other challenges. There is just a single decade ahead of us to fulfill the promises of Agenda 2030. The time to act is now.
We cannot lose sight, however, that the pandemic is occurring in the context of other crises that are affecting our region and humanity as a whole. There remain, however, longer-lasting global threats pressing upon us all: social inequality and discrimination, the global threat of climate change and environmental degradation, and many economic and human security emergencies, to name just a few. They, in fact, have been wrought by our unbalanced lifestyles. Many of the problems that we now face are driven by human behaviour – which means, of course, that we can find solutions by changing behaviours, but there must be a sense of urgency in the current environment.
UN Thailand sees three crucial pillars to our response moving forward, both to address the pandemic and these other challenges. We must create strong partnerships with a shared responsibility to advance the SDGs and implement them on the ground. In the context of the pandemic, there is also an opportunity to build back better for a greener and more equitable “new normal”. Innovation will play a crucial role in building back better and greener: it goes beyond just technological innovation to include innovation of business models; methods of work; organisational behaviours; and even ways to upskill and reskill our employees. And lastly, this response must be inclusive, ensuring that no one is left behind as the country moves forward.
This response must be global, regional and at the national level, but it also must involve communities and civil society at every level as well. In Thailand and elsewhere, partnerships with the private sector is absolutely essential to ensure that collaboration and development are reaching every sector and community.
This year marks both the 75th anniversary of the United Nations and the 20th anniversary of the Global Compact. This is a remarkable opportunity for us together to unite and set out the pathway for Thailand to meet the SDGs.
Gita Sabharwal is UN Resident Coordinator in Thailand and Suphachai Chearavanont is the chairperson of the Global Compact Network Thailand
ColumnsOct 11. 2020US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo
By The Statesman
While Mr Pompeo emphasised the need to “collaborate to protect our people and partners from the CCP’s exploitation, corruption and coercion,” the others including Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar were measured in their approach, preferring to pin their hopes on a free, inclusive and open Indo-Pacific, without directly targeting China. Mr Pompeo was acerbic as usual, saying “When we met last year, the landscape was very different.
Quite the most glaring feature of the meeting between foreign ministers of the United States, India, Japan and Australia ~ or the Quad as it is called ~ was the sharp contrast in emphasis in the positions taken by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on the one hand and his three counterparts on the other.
While Mr Pompeo emphasised the need to “collaborate to protect our people and partners from the CCP’s exploitation, corruption and coercion,” the others including Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar were measured in their approach, preferring to pin their hopes on a free, inclusive and open Indo-Pacific, without directly targeting China. Mr Pompeo was acerbic as usual, saying “When we met last year, the landscape was very different. We couldn’t have imagined a pandemic that came from Wuhan. That crisis was made infinitely worse by the Chinese Communist Party’s cover-up. The regime’s authoritarian nature led its leaders to lock up and silence the very brave Chinese citizens who were raising the alarm.”
The problem for America’s allies is that while they realise the need to contain an expansionist and increasingly aggressive Beijing, they are handicapped by the extent to which their economies are intertwined with that of China. For this reason, they are loath to resort to the sort of rhetoric that seems to come easily to Mr Pompeo.
Mr Jaishankar, for instance, would only go so far as to say that India remains committed to “upholding a rules-based international order” underpinned by “transparency, freedom of navigation in the international seas, respect for territorial integrity and sovereignty and peaceful resolution of disputes.” While the objective of advancing security and economic interests binds Quad countries, it is the tone of their rhetoric that separates them.
While the Quad was set up initially to keep critical sea routes in the Indo-Pacific free of any influence and for the four member countries to create a shield that could thwart Chinese assertiveness, its scope has widened because of events that followed the outbreak of the coronavirus epidemic. Tensions between China and Japan have increased over the past few months over what Tokyo calls “relentlessly continued attempts to unilaterally change the status quo by coercion in the sea area around the Senkaku islands”.
Australia was targeted with additional tariffs on barley and a suspension of beef exports, after it called for an international inquiry into the outbreak of the virus in China. A few weeks ago, matters came to a head with the detention – without charge ~ of an Australian journalist. India, of course, has spent the entire summer fighting off Chinese incursions in Ladakh and is now preparing to dig its troops in for a crippling winter. While these imperatives are enough to bring the four countries together, their approaches will be far more nuanced than the US might like.
Oriel College in Oxford University is home to the statue of its favourite son Cecil Rhodes — the avowed imperialist who single-handedly carved out the country Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe). Rhodes is fittingly recognised for the colossal expanse of land he gifted to the country named after him, but is equally reviled for the legacy of the racist laws he bequeathed to the people.
The controversy surrounding him reached his alma mater Oriel College.
For over a decade, students at Oxford have been remonstrating that the statue of Rhodes evokes painful memories of racism among black students from Africa, and that eulogising Rhodes tarnishes the prestige of the college. The battle cry of this campaign was “Rhodes Must Fall”. The protest against his statue intensified with the anti-racism marches across the world following the death of George Floyd in the US, in May this year. In June, the Governors of the Oxford University College finally voted to take down the statue. Underlying this dissent is the story of Rhodes who fanned the flames of racism in South Africa.
It all began in the garden city of Cape Town.
In the shadow of the Table Mountain are the sprawling Dutch East India Company Gardens. Near the entrance is the infamous Slave Lodge — now a museum — where, in the 17th century, slaves were lodged before they were sold to traders. In the centre of the historic park grounds is a life-sized statue of Rhodes, which, despite the anti-Afrikaans sentiments in the country, remains intact. A group of black South African students posing for photographs with the statue told us “You know, the campaign ‘Rhodes Must Fall’ began in 2015 at Cape Town University that was built by Rhodes. His bronze statue there was removed during the protest. This statue too is likely to fall soon, so we want to preserve it in our pictures.” They suggested we visit the famous monument to him outside the city. A long drive through the rolling hills to Devil’s Peak took us to the shrine.
Removing statues does not redress the wrongs of the past, but deprives posterity of valuable allusions to historical narratives, however unpalatable
Rhodes is indeed immortalised in the majestic Rhodes Monument, which overlooks the Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens, spread over miles of verdant land, undulating up to the horizon. Rhodes owned the entire property and gifted it to the nation before his death in 1902. We climb up the imposing steps that lead to the once beautifully crafted marble sculpture. The wall behind the statue is singed from the fire set by protesters who also defaced it. In July this year, the head was removed by vandals.
The story of South Africa is inextricably intertwined with the life and times of Rhodes. Up to the mid-19th century, Africa was still a ‘mysterious continent’ into whose heartland few western explorers had ever ventured; it was the vast and empty res nullius, a no-man’s land.
In 1866, an event occurred, after which South Africa would never remain the same. On the banks of the Orange River near Cape Colony, a farmer’s son was innocently playing with stones. One strangely configured stone caught the eye of a discerning neighbour, who approached the boy’s family and negotiated the stone in exchange for 500 sheep, 10 oxen and a robust horse. This ‘stone’ turned out to be an 83-carat diamond, which was subsequently purchased in London for 25,000 British pounds. This particular stone had lain on the surface, but the real riches were the ‘diamond pipes’ extending down into the earth. The owner of a small farm, whose name would become synonymous with diamonds, was Johannes de Beer. Word went around about unfathomable riches in the Northern Cape province and, as prospectors invaded the farms in Kimberly, the area began to sprawl with tents, wagons and mud piles. The Diamond Rush had begun.
Four thousand miles from Kimberly, Cecil Rhodes, a son of a vicar in Bishop’s Stortford in England, was still in school. The family, anxious about his poor health, sent the 17-year-old to live with his brother in South Africa. Many young men then, were heading to Kimberly in search of diamonds. The Rhodes brothers entered into partnership with a mining company, which quite accidentally uncovered a diamond that became known as ‘The Star of Africa’. With his share of profits from the sale of this diamond, Rhodes bought off De Beer’s farm. Around this time, the Rothschilds — the famous London bankers — were exploring investments in Africa. They agreed to a partnership with Rhodes to acquire several mining companies, which eventually merged into one giant conglomerate — De Beers. The 21-year-old Rhodes became rich beyond imagination.
In 1873, he left South Africa to study law in Oriel College, but soon became disenchanted with his studies. He came under the spell of liberal politicians, who convinced him that British imperialism was a godsend for its colonies and their natives. Rhodes went to Oxford as a wealthy entrepreneur and returned to South Africa as an ardent imperialist.
Within a few years, Rhodes’ corporation controlled the diamond trade of the entire Europe, and the wealthy idealist was ready to make a mark on South Africa. He entered politics and, after serving as a member of parliament, was elected prime minister of the Cape Colony for several terms. He set about acquiring land in the name of the Queen of England. His racist streak surfaced when he passed the notorious Glen-Grey Act that expelled non-whites from their land, to make room for European investors. Next, he approved the Natives Land Act, which demarcated areas in the country where black Africans could settle only on 10 percent of the land, thus disenfranchising and denying them their homes. His inaugural address set the direction for his government: “I contend that we are the first race in the world, and that the more of the world we inhabit, the better it is for the human race.”
Rhodes unashamedly resolved to spend his vast personal fortune buying or extorting land from helpless natives in the name of the British. His view of the world order was to bestow more power to the imperialists. “We must find new land… for raw material and cheap labour of the natives of the colonies,” he said. “What we hold surplus can be dumped in their lands… we must adopt a system of despotism, such as works in India, in our relations with the barbarians of South Africa.”
In 1889, Rhodes made an extraordinary request to Queen Victoria, for a Royal Charter to form the British South African Company (BSAC) under his personal authority. It was promptly granted. The BSAC was empowered to acquire through treaties or “understanding” all the land and its minerals across South and Central Africa. It was even permitted to raise a police force. Just like the East India Company in Calcutta, BSAC would be a government within a government.
By the end of 1894, BSAC had extorted concessions and treaties with natives who owned large areas of land between the Limpopo River and Lake Tanganyika. What he could not extract by negotiations, his police would forcibly ensure through swift compliance of the helpless locals. In May 1895, Rhodes allowed this vast territory to be named Rhodesia — the first instance in the world of a country to be named after an individual.
Rhodes’ already poor health worsened after he fell off his horse and he remained unconscious for a day. In 1899, realising that he may not have long to live, he wrote his will, allocating a sizeable endowment for scholarships to Oriel College with certain stipulations.
Only men would be eligible. “I am against scholarship merely to people who swot over books… learning Greek and Latin; scholastic achievements stand for four-tenths; ‘brutality’ which stands for two-tenths; ‘unctuous rectitude’ two-tenths. That makes up the whole. You see how it works.”
Scholars had to be from colonies of the British Empire or from the United States but, after meeting Kaiser Wilhelm, he included Germany among the eligible countries.
Rhodes died in 1902 at the age of 48. He had wished to be buried in Rhodesia. A funeral train carried his body from the Cape to bury him in his favourite hills of Matobo, outside Bulawayo, but his burial became contentious. The locals called his grave an insult to their African ancestry and they were convinced that it would bring bad weather and misfortunes. They demanded his body be removed from the country but surprisingly, President Mugabe, himself a diehard anti-white nationalist, decreed that Rhodes’ grave would stay.
The government of Nelson Mandela wisely authorised that all monuments from the pre-apartheid era were national heritages which are part of South Africa’s history — albeit a bitter one for the blacks. The statue of Afrikaans President Paul Kruger in the capital city Pretoria is detested in the country, yet securely fenced to safeguard against vandals.
Several conquerors in history are heroes to some but tyrants to others. Alexander was ‘Great’ for the west but the Persians reviled him as the devil incarnate. Taimur, who called himself ‘The Sword of Islam’ executed millions of people, including Muslims when he invaded Delhi. His colossal statue in Samarkand is a national monument.
On the canvas of history, statues are visual references, physical props that illustrate both the glorious and the shameful past. Removing them will not redress the wrongs, but will deprive posterity of valuable allusions to historical narratives, however unpalatable they may be.
One statue in Pretoria that the South Africans have erected is that of its saviour Mandela, who will always be revered. Literally and figuratively, the larger-than-life image dwarfs all who come to honour Mandela’s greatness. It conveys a message of truth, reconciliation, forgiveness and hope. The world celebrates him as mankind’s hero and the universal plea is “Mandela must never fall.”
The writer is author of Jerusalem — A Journey Back in Time
Our world was shaped by empires. Its languages, cultures, infrastructures, maps and monuments mark the movements of power across its surface. It was said that the British Empire turned one quarter of the world pink, the colour that designated its colonial possessions in imperial atlases.
Parts of North America, Australia, New Zealand and Africa were named Jamestown, Victoria, Wellington and Livingstone. Nor was the British lion the only conquering beast to mark its territory. Alexander the Great named most of the cities he founded Alexandria. Several Roman towns were called Caesarea. Columbus named Caribbean islands La Isla Española and Juana. German imperialists created Caprivi and Schuckmannsburg in Namibia. The Belgian Congo had a Léopoldville, an Élisabethville and a Baudoinville. These places were littered with monuments to the greatness of their conquerors: names, public institutions, parks, places of worship and statues.
As the controversy over the statue of Cecil Rhodes at Oriel College, Oxford shows, imperial legacies may be contested many generations later. For all the talk now that Rhodes was a ‘man of his time’, he was profoundly controversial when he was alive: loathed by the peoples whose lands he colonised and by his rivals the Boers, disdained by many in Britain, who feared his amorality and megalomania.
He oversaw war, plunder, civil injustice and the deaths of thousands of Africans. He was also a generous and transformative benefactor to Oxford University. In recognition of this last fact, since 1911 a rather mousy statue of him has stood above Oriel’s main entrance. The students running the ‘Rhodes Must Fall’ campaign have called for its removal to a museum, where they feel it might appear less like a relic for uncritical veneration.
Monuments to historical figures and regimes stand not by divine right but by the grace of those who live alongside them
There are options less polarising than keeping the statue as it is or taking it away; it could be imaginatively altered or given a new inscription. Oriel responded to ‘Rhodes Must Fall’ in December 2015 with an impeccably balanced statement pledging six months of discussion. Then, in January this year, the college suddenly announced that the statue would stay — reportedly in response to wealthy alumni threatening to withdraw bequests worth up to £100 million. There has been a backlash against ‘Rhodes Must Fall’, led by F.W. de Klerk, the last leader of apartheid South Africa; Tony Abbott, former prime minister of Australia; and Lord Patten, chancellor of Oxford University. The students have been accused of vandalism, political correctness and trying to obscure historical facts that they do not like.
Whatever the rights or wrongs of removing the statue, it is misleading to suggest the campaigners want to obscure the facts about Rhodes. Their objection is born of remembering those facts all too vividly.
Statues are not history in the sense of having significant pedagogical value. They are political symbols, which drift in or out of favour along with political and aesthetic tastes. The protesters who hauled down Saddam Hussein’s statue in Baghdad in 2003 did not deny or diminish the history of Iraq. They remembered Saddam’s legacy; for that reason, they rejected his glorification. Many in the West cheered when rebels in Hungary tore down Stalin’s statue in 1956 and when those in Ukraine knocked over several of Lenin in 2013-14. The history of the Soviet Union and its satellites may still be told and freely debated regardless of the loss of these monuments.
The continuing memorialisation of the Confederacy is controversial in the US. Nathan Bedford Forrest High School in Jacksonville, Florida was originally whites-only: its name honoured a slave-owning Confederate general who was the first grand wizard of the Ku Klux Klan. By 2014 its students were mostly African-American and its board elected to change the name to Westside High.
Whatever the rights or wrongs of removing the statue, it is misleading to suggest the campaigners want to obscure the facts about Rhodes. Their objection is born of remembering those facts all too vividly. Statues are not history in the sense of having significant pedagogical value.
New Orleans recently voted to remove four statues of Confederate generals. It could follow the example of Delhi, Moscow and Budapest, which have created ‘graveyards’ for the monuments of past regimes. The stone countenances of party apparatchiks and colonial bureaucrats slowly erode when exposed to the elements, or are swallowed up by tangles of overgrowing plants. The grand bronze of Queen Victoria, which once sat under a canopy in Charing Cross, Lahore presides over a collection of nicknacks under strip lighting in a back room of the Lahore Museum. Schoolchildren sprawl across the Great White Queen’s lap to take selfies.
Some cities still bear the imperial mark: Abbottabad in Pakistan, Livingstone in Zambia, Brazzaville in Congo. If the residents are content with these names, they need not change. Others have.
Alexandria Arachiosa is now Kandahar. Juana is Cuba. Léopold-ville is Kinshasa. Southern Rhodesia, named for Cecil Rhodes, is Zimbabwe. The history of the British Raj did not vanish when Calcutta decided to spell its name Kolkata; neither the Empire’s critics nor its defenders can achieve that. In Russia, St Petersburg became Petrograd, then Leningrad, then St Petersburg again. A campaign now aims to restore Volgograd’s former name, Stalingrad, changed by Khrushchev in 1961 as part of his de-Stalinisation programme. New statues of Stalin went up last year in several Russian towns. His portraits hang in streets in Donetsk (formerly Stalino). The rehabilitation of Stalin is a disquieting trend, yet, like the others before them, these new monuments will probably not last forever.
In much of the criticism of ‘Rhodes Must Fall’, the question echoes: where will it stop? Who will be next? Cromwell, Clive, even Churchill? The answer is that it will not stop. Future generations can and will interrogate the past.
Whatever happens to Rhodes’ statue, it is a sign of healthy public engagement with history that there is such a vigorous debate. Monuments to historical figures and regimes stand not by divine right, but by the grace of those who live alongside them. No vision of the past can be set permanently in stone.
Sixty-three years before Cecil Rhodes went up to Oriel, Percy Shelley matriculated at University College next door. His poem Ozymandias describes a traveller in an empty desert who comes across two ‘trunkless legs’ and a ‘shattered visage’ of a statue, with the inscription: ‘My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings; Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair!’
The British Empire was not the first and will not be the last great power to see its icons crumble. In the historical longview, as Ozymandias fell, so Rhodes will fall. It is only a question of when.
The writer is a historian and author. She tweets @AlexvTunzelmann
Friends from Thailand (FFT) volunteer Sompong Woragool helps farmers in Tuane, Mozambique, catch and raise rabbits in traditional cages. 
Angkhana Neelapaijit 
Protesters gather on October 21 in Bangkok. A red banner reads: Coup will be met with our defiance. 
Myanmar’s ruling National League for Democracy (NLD) leader Aung San Suu Kyi 
United Nations under-secretary-general and executive secretary of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana 
An ambulance makes its way through a huge crowd of demonstrators gathered at Victory Monument on Sunday. Korbphuk Phromrekha#NationPhoto 
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo 
SootinClaimon.Com 