By The Straits Times | Created at 2026-09-11 10:06:59 | Updated at 2026-09-19 14:34:31
1 week ago
Synopsis: Every second Friday of the month, The Straits Times’ senior columnist Ravi Velloor distils 45 years of experience covering the Asian continent, with expert guests.
In this episode, he speaks with the British psychotherapist and aid worker Edward Blakeney on the travails of Myanmar’s 1.6 million exiles and 4 million internally displaced people.
What emerges is a story of food shortages, medical issues including mental trauma, and lack of educational opportunities among an exile diaspora that now stretches from Thailand to Bangladesh, Malaysia, India and Sri Lanka.
Highlights (click/tap above)
2:30 Brutal war and a worsening refugee situation
5:20 A 9-year-old drug addict
8:40 Wasting, malnourished children
14:10 Ukraine distraction, journalists under the gun
24:00 Has Blakeney seen a shrink himself, given what he has seen and experienced?
Read Ravi’s columns: https://str.sg/3xRP
Follow Ravi on X: https://twitter.com/RaviVelloor
Sign up for ST’s weekly Asian Insider newsletter: https://str.sg/sfpz
Host: Ravi Velloor ([email protected])
Produced and edited by: Fa’izah Sani
Executive producer: Ernest Luis
Follow Asian Insider Podcast on Fridays here:
Apple Podcasts: https://str.sg/JWa8
Feedback to: [email protected]
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All-in-one ST Podcasts channel: https://str.sg/wvz7
