The UNHCR thing is getting nowhere. I think they're a little paranoid that I might trip and reveal sensitive information -- and rightly so -- especially when the welfare of the refugees is concerned. Perhaps I shouldn't have told them that I was doing 'research'. Hm. 

I'm sniffing out a brief for Major Project, 1.5 years early, because I feel unproductive and guilty that I haven't yet joined the rat race while my friends are killing themselves starting out their careers in accounting and law. I feel that it's the responsible thing to do - design something for the people back home, the people who really need an architectural intervention to survive. I don't see the point in thinking about buildings for people who couldn't give a damn, or for the sake of individual or political vanity for something like Major Project. So fellow Malaysians, screw you, I'm doing something (hypothetically) for the immigrants and refugees. No, I won't get funding and very limited political support but I'm young and idealistic -- and for my forseeable academic future, it doesn't matter. 

I just hope those at the HQ can trust me on this and let me in. For now, here's a link to video of which I can't embed on the site on the situation of Burmese refugees in KL, and two others on what's actually happening in the city as we speak. It's deplorable. 

1. Unreported World - Jungle Shanty Town (Click)

3. Burmese refugees rounded up and sold in Malaysia

Labels: Architecture