Leila Goldstein

The World

Some people on Indonesia’s Simeulue island relied on folklore to escape the 2004 tsunami

Natural disasters

The majority of deaths from the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami were in Indonesia. But the island of Simeulue was largely spared. Researchers say this was partly due to folklore passed down through the generations that residents are now trying to keep alive.

Survivors in Indonesia grapple with trauma as they rebuild their lives 20 years after devastating tsunami

Development

Environmental activists jailed in Cambodia 

Environment
A buffalo grazes on the drenched land in the Cardamom Mountains, southwest Cambodia.

‘It’s a lose-lose situation’: Carbon ‘offset’ project in Cambodia accused of human rights violations

Human rights
A woman sitting on the floor of a home

Cambodia farmers displaced by sugar plantations proceed with landmark international class action suit

Conflict & Justice
A woman seen washing pots and pans

Despite lack of govt loans for college in Cambodia, these students are making it work

The price of higher ed

Most Cambodians live in rural areas, with many struggling to make a living on small farms. Even with low public school tuition fees, sending a child to college is nearly impossible. Those who want a higher education must be resourceful.

A bronze standing Shiva statue is unpacked at the National Museum of Cambodia in Phnom Penh after being returned to the kingdom in March 2023.

Looted relics returned to Cambodia receive monks’ blessings

Arts, Culture & Media

Cambodian artifacts were often looted out of the country beginning in the 1970s, under control of the Khmer Rouge. At least 13 antiquities have been returned this month amid a push in the art world from artists and scholars to return looted works to their countries of origin.