tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17133936151393575992024-02-21T01:48:13.843-08:00Portraits of Perseverance'Portraits of Perseverance' is an on-going multimedia community project that follows the lives of Malaysian women who persevere in the face of chronic illnesses, disabilities and transgender discrimination. It consists of blogs, video journals and TV documentaries. The first project (2011 to 2012) tells the stories of Lucy, Nisha, Pong and Sulastri. The second project in 2013 brings you Pong’s rehabilitation journey. Portraits of Perseverancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01394108872965295364noreply@blogger.comBlogger97125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1713393615139357599.post-60657542795863156272013-12-19T20:21:00.002-08:002014-06-27T00:57:20.112-07:00Live Life To Its Fullest<h2>
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><i><u><span style="color: #674ea7; font-size: x-large;">Photo of Lucy Goh</span></u></i></span></h2>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Source: Berita SLE 2012</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1713393615139357599.post-71827218714113821482013-12-19T20:18:00.000-08:002014-06-27T00:57:41.598-07:00Live Life To Its Fullest<h2>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: x-large;"><i><u>English Vesion</u></i></span></h2>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Source: Berita SLE 2012</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1713393615139357599.post-8988500997184835882013-12-19T20:14:00.001-08:002014-06-27T00:57:56.901-07:00Live Life To Its Fullest<h2>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: x-large;"><i><u>Chinese Version</u></i></span></h2>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Source: Berita SLE 2012</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1713393615139357599.post-30416886799216739582013-12-19T20:09:00.000-08:002014-06-27T00:58:13.583-07:00Live Life To Its Fullest<h2>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: x-large;"><u>Malay version</u></span></h2>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Source: Berita SLE 2012</span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1713393615139357599.post-20104200139201692952013-02-22T01:14:00.000-08:002014-06-27T00:59:35.043-07:00Jenny Pong: Sin Chew Daily, Feb 21, 2013 <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxfJhSyVUrOhR-lYHTYKfEm-q3jAYTuZqCsteigiBh9-y7NrMhYUoxQ-tOmbev_nPCNVdoseQSAkk2YrO1gNK2LNSWP6XkhasTErVlEbJR5qUoHB-JCVcKAPxGluJYueCZo5pd3DcpWEtL/s1600/Pong+on+Sin+Chew+Daily+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxfJhSyVUrOhR-lYHTYKfEm-q3jAYTuZqCsteigiBh9-y7NrMhYUoxQ-tOmbev_nPCNVdoseQSAkk2YrO1gNK2LNSWP6XkhasTErVlEbJR5qUoHB-JCVcKAPxGluJYueCZo5pd3DcpWEtL/s640/Pong+on+Sin+Chew+Daily+copy.jpg" height="640" width="480" /></a></div>
<br />Portraits of Perseverancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01394108872965295364noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1713393615139357599.post-38630464191262503392013-01-02T21:49:00.004-08:002014-06-27T00:59:54.446-07:00滴水穿石<br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="ZH-TW">鸿秀珍出生於馬來西亞怡保市郊。因為生長在一個貧困的農民家庭裡,因此她從小必需負起照顧兄弟姐妹的責任。從而使她</span>12<span lang="ZH-TW">歲就輟學。她在十幾歲時便以打零工的方式,賺取生活費幫補家用。</span><span lang="ZH-TW">
</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="ZH-TW">她</span>18<span lang="ZH-TW">歲的時候出嫁,並於同年懷孕。她太期待她的孩子,然而卻發生了悲劇,她流產了!然而,幾天後,她開始感覺身體虛弱,因為流產後的病毒感染,讓她的身體失去了知覺。她的父母帶她到加護病房,她陷入了昏迷兩年。當她醒來時,她發現她的雙手和腿沒有任何感覺。</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL5bw4UJQnEbNU3k6J2CuwQYFNTuc5pC5A9XfJbYt45KJOdAJfSO29z5BOhAxR4xUk9lNuWuJ8wge9m0DGGL9IAkpLXkGckAAX37ka0hbpIF0VbzrDaTLqZJRllLhvC33t-WL8-cpG7jmb/s1600/Pong.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL5bw4UJQnEbNU3k6J2CuwQYFNTuc5pC5A9XfJbYt45KJOdAJfSO29z5BOhAxR4xUk9lNuWuJ8wge9m0DGGL9IAkpLXkGckAAX37ka0hbpIF0VbzrDaTLqZJRllLhvC33t-WL8-cpG7jmb/s1600/Pong.jpg" /></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="ZH-TW"></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="ZH-TW"><br /></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">她的丈夫拋棄了她,離開了她的生活。她的家人,尤其是她的母親鼓勵她繼續努力,配合物理治療,直到她的雙手恢復知覺。但是她的雙腿卻沒有辦法恢復知覺。沒多久,醫生便截去了她的雙腿,因為她的雙腿已經嚴重受到壞疽感染。<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span lang="ZH-TW" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">手術後,她只能讓自己在地板上拖行和做家務。至到有一天,她當時</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">11</span><span lang="ZH-TW" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">歲的弟弟建造了一台推車,才讓她能不傷害自己來代步。隨著歲月的流逝,加上沒有適當的物理治療和特殊的輪椅,幾乎嚴重地影響了她身體內的器官。她被告知,她將無法再坐起來。</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="ZH-TW">就這樣,她以肚子躺在一個自製的木推車上</span>26<span lang="ZH-TW">年。</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="ZH-TW">最近幾年,對她而言更是困難。因為她不尋常的姿勢造成了心臟病。她也被診斷出患有白血病,她的腎臟已萎縮,尿道也常常受到感染。她深愛的母親在</span>2011<span lang="ZH-TW">年因癌症去世了,兩個月後,她的姐夫也去世了。</span><span lang="ZH-TW"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="ZH-TW">屋漏偏逢連夜雨。</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="ZH-TW">她才知道,生活並不總是按計劃進行,很多時候,事情可以變得非常糟糕</span><span lang="ZH-TW"> </span><span lang="ZH-TW">。然而她卻常提醒我們:</span>“<span lang="ZH-TW">微笑並接受它吧!</span>”<span lang="ZH-TW">。沒關係,無論發生了什麼事,只要你可以多活一天便是好事。</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="ZH-TW"><br /></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyeI1D4DTtrsTGlCfXiKam1sXhy87-4qHo7oXTZgSllQdMHQYBraG4m9_W8KJdYo1HqxjtTmSrYINg1xUwaYprpUnxLWnL63ey9q6S1NC24ceAei82m7EixBUhN9hCHoryFDvA8acitoWz/s1600/P9090027.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyeI1D4DTtrsTGlCfXiKam1sXhy87-4qHo7oXTZgSllQdMHQYBraG4m9_W8KJdYo1HqxjtTmSrYINg1xUwaYprpUnxLWnL63ey9q6S1NC24ceAei82m7EixBUhN9hCHoryFDvA8acitoWz/s320/P9090027.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="ZH-TW">即使這一切已經發生在她身上,她仍微笑以對並安撫她身邊的人。</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">2012<span lang="ZH-TW">年</span>9<span lang="ZH-TW">月,</span>eHomemakers<span lang="ZH-TW">籌足捐款,為她特製了一台輪椅,以便讓她可以直坐起來。這是一個很重要的康復步驟,因為她必須能夠坐直才能進行已經延遲了的手術治療,和尿道的手術。</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="ZH-TW">從現在起,她定期要做物理治療,以加強她的手臂和背部的肌肉,以及把自己從床上移到輪椅上。她在未來十二個月的康復之路,將會是一個可以激勵別人堅持下去的故事。</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">eHomemakers<span lang="ZH-TW">打算籌集資金拍攝一部</span>20<span lang="ZH-TW">分鐘的紀錄片,跟踪她六個月的康復之旅。我們將用它來為</span>Jenny<span lang="ZH-TW">建她的房子和醫療費用。這部紀錄片稱為:肖像毅力</span> - <span lang="ZH-TW">不死的火焰。</span></span><o:p></o:p></div>
Portraits of Perseverancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01394108872965295364noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1713393615139357599.post-62729471495297643302012-12-28T00:43:00.001-08:002013-04-18T21:58:53.892-07:00Opening Our Minds<style>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">‘Transgender’
is still considered to be a taboo word here in Malaysia; it is a word that some
people here do not even WANT to try to understand. Ideals and beliefs are still
very conservative and people want to keep it that way, which makes it very hard
for transgenders. </span></div>
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</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I am
a very open person who is accepting of other people’s choices and I do not
treat anyone differently because of their decisions. Raised in the West, I was taught to be more
open and understanding of others. However,
this is not necessary true for all places. For example, in the Northeast and
the West of the United States including New York and California, they are more
open while in states like Alabama, Mississippi, and Texas, people are more reserved
about topics like this. Wherever you are in the world, ‘transgender’ seems to
be a topic that most people don’t want to discuss and I don’t see why not. </span></div>
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</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> Every time I tell friends that I have gone out the night
before with some friends for dinner and dancing, one always ask me whether I
have met any transgender. My answer is, “who cares?” </span></div>
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</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Yes,
Southeast Asia is known for women who
are ridiculously pretty and too perfectly ‘woman’, so many people assume that
they are men who have had cosmetic surgeries. Even if these pretty ‘women’ are transgenders, it doesn’t mean that
they should be treated any differently. </span></div>
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</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For
example, a couple months ago I was honored to attend my co-worker’s performance
near Bukit Bintang. It was at a gay club and honestly I was super excited. I
knew that there were gay people here in Malaysia but they kept their lives so
low profile that it seemed nonexistent here.</span></div>
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</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When
I got there, I was so happy! There were so many people without a care in the
world and it felt like I wasn’t in Malaysia, it felt like I was back in the
States. I met a few transgenders and
honestly they were BEAUTIFUL. I really don’t think girls look as pretty as they
do and I even told them that. They told me that I must be joking because I was
pulling it off pretty well! That was the greatest compliment ever to me!
They were so friendly and they seemed to
be so excited to meet someone that was so accepting of them. </span></div>
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</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> I talked to them for a little while and I
don’t think I have ever felt more comfortable than I did in those 10 minutes.
We talked about boy problems, drama, and everything in between (and obviously
squeezed in some time to show off our dance moves.) At the end of the night, we
got each others’ numbers and we promised to meet up and dance the night away. It
was one of the best nights for me here in Kuala Lumpur. </span></div>
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</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> While the experience that I mentioned above was a
positive one, not all experiences have a happy ending. Recently, I was in Bangkok
with my family. On the last night, we went to enjoy the night market where
things are good and can be bargained for less. We passed by some clubs and realized that we were inside the Patpong
area -- the red light district. It is just like the red light district in
Amsterdam -- lots of clubs, bars, and really sleazy people. It is a place where
sex is readily available and prostitution is not even an afterthought.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDAo23lScyP1nv3CREaBQIYx-afXXyigNTIlunl_F-PnQ7VWVF_L3yV8froixaosRjolHuRUNnsDIfswaLjYZc_z7dsltgBHYARApt57gMAtzT2YITShUXq0I-Je1TFTrpqy3Q0aFJq6Zl/s1600/patpong_zps1338c6da.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDAo23lScyP1nv3CREaBQIYx-afXXyigNTIlunl_F-PnQ7VWVF_L3yV8froixaosRjolHuRUNnsDIfswaLjYZc_z7dsltgBHYARApt57gMAtzT2YITShUXq0I-Je1TFTrpqy3Q0aFJq6Zl/s320/patpong_zps1338c6da.jpg" width="240" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> All we saw were dark rooms filled with smoke,
dancers on the tables, and men staring at the women as if they were crowned
jewels. While I was walking by myself, I came across a situation that I didn’t
not quite enjoy but I couldn’t seem to take my eyes off . A male traveler was asking for some company
and the women was agreeing. When I walked past I realized that they were
arguing, he had one hand holding her arm almost pulling her along and she
stopped him. I was not quite sure what they were arguing about, but I heard
number values being shouted around and I realized that they were talking about
money. </span></div>
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</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> I moved on because I did not want to be a part
of the conversation when all of a sudden I heard, “ BUT YOU ARE A LADYBOY!” When
I turned around I saw that everyone else was also staring, clearly startled as
to what disturbed their shopping. The woman was clearly embarrassed and she did
not even give the man the time of day and walked off without looking at anyone
around her. </span></div>
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</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> Slurs like these erupt often, people are thinking up new
words to hurt others’ feelings. You would think that as we progress socially, calling
people names should not be a common practice, but in actual fact, nasty words are
being transformed into more creative words. </span></div>
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</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> When I first heard
about what PT Foundation in KL does, I was so happy that there are people helping
to give positive living to the marginalized. The communities that they focus on for their Positive
Living Program are Drug Users, Sex Workers, Transgender, and Men who have sex
with men. The thing that is so special about PT Foundation is the people
working in the organization because most of them are those who have been there
themselves. They are people that have overcome those societal issues and they
are finally happy being themselves. They don’t care about what others think
about them. <br />
When I read about what Nisha
and Sulastri’s experiences, it put a smile on my face that they are helping
people that are going through what they went through and they are lending a
helping hand to people that need them. They are doing for people what they themselves
should have received in terms of care and encouragement when they needed someone
there. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/6j-E98fDTpw?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This is the very special Nisha talking about
experiences and what drove her to be a part of PT Foundation and to help
others. She is an inspiration to the community, not just the
transgender community but all that have been mistreated. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This is Sulastri Ariffin explaining to us what she does at PT Foundation and the difference between transgender and transsexual. Both, Nisha and Sulastri are inspirations to everyone by showing that as Nisha puts it "we are all human beings" and that there is no reason to be treated differently. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">People
who have been through the same situations as people they are helping are better
helpers because they know the exact situation and feelings in those critical
moments when understanding of the issue at hand is most essential. When I am
upset and someone says “I don’t know what to say.” It makes me a bit angry
inside because I wish they could help me with the problem that I am going
through instead of treating me like a sobbing idiot. </span></div>
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</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The
PT foundation has opened the doors for so many people and hopefully can change more
people in Malaysia to embrace a more tolerant views about transgenders. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">love and prosperity,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Anitha Thanabalan</span> </div>
Portraits of Perseverancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01394108872965295364noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1713393615139357599.post-17432693180451247422012-12-27T06:32:00.000-08:002013-04-18T22:02:27.974-07:00Powering Through <style>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> In my years, I have dealt with a lot of
heartbreaks and seen a lot of people give up because of the smallest things.
They believe that they no longer have a chance to be happy because of the
circumstances that life has given them. I have had best friends giving up on
life because of relationships and because they just couldn’t take it anymore. But
everything looks so menial when put in a bigger prospective. For Jenny Pong
Seow Chin, even when everything seems to fall apart, she manages to have a
smile on her face each and every day.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> From
a very young age, Jenny Pong Seow Chin has learned that things do not come easy,
so she had to grow up very fast taking care of her siblings and helping her
mother around the house. She never enjoyed the luxuries that some of us now
take for granted yet regardless of all of that she tries to make everyone
around her smile with her infectious laughter and her always positive attitude.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> Her
situation is very much like another person by the name of Nick Vujicic. Nick does not have arms OR legs. He was born
with neither arms nor legs because of a birth defect. He struggled throughout
his life because he always wondered whether his life was worth anything. He
dealt with a lot of frustration because he had to deal with bullying and
self-esteem issues from his peers because they did not know how to react to a
person like him.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/r0daM97RT0k?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">However, throughout everything and all the
issues that he had to deal with, he is an inspiration to so many people. As he
grew older, he learned to deal with his disability and he started to be able to
do more things on his own. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Currently, he is living in Los Angeles inspiring
people everywhere and he is the president of an international non-profit
organization and has his own motivational speaking company called Attitude is
Altitude. He inspires people to look beyond all the problems and put a smile on
their faces. He inspires children that bully and are bullied. He gives them the
message that ‘sooner or later everything will work out and if you put all your
energies to something positive it can get you very far.’ </span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> Jenny
Pong Seow Chin’s legs were amputated when her doctor told her that she could never
regain feeling in her legs. However, when she went into surgery, she realized
that the incision that the surgeon created was uneven and because of that, it
prevented her from sitting upright, causing even more problems. Because of
that, she had to drag herself on her stomach in order to complete her chores.
However, one of her brothers had a brilliant idea to create a trolley so that
she could move around with more ease. With her family’s help, a trolley was constructed
for her to move around easier and safer. </span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">However, after 26 years of not being able to sit
upright, she finally got the opportunity when her custom made wheelchair was
presented to her this past Sunday. This wheelchair has been in discussion for 2
years. After it was made in October this year in Singapore, it wasn’t delivered
till Dec 23 as Mr Lee, the maker has been waiting for Pong to heal from her
stump infection.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The unforgettable day is Sunday, Dec 23 2012. A
group of people went to Ipoh to change her life for the better. The photos show
how excited she is to be able to finally sit up after so many years. It makes
me so happy to have helped someone with something so important. </span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> Both
Nick Vujicic and Jenny Pong Seow Chin have proven to me that through all the
hardships that we have all been through, it is nothing compared to what they
have had to go through for most of their lives. It gives me a new perspective
for I realize that no matter how big I think a problem is, I can always pick
myself back up and continue my day normally with a smile on my face. </span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If they can do it,
then I can. </span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> And, I must.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Lucida Bright"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Ayuthaya;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAfbipIYZ_3vYhuypqGUK-I9VsWhHqVDYA7ukgtntg0wtcnAElh2x8WHWkFb05BQBtRSO-l6pcCCOCdAFdGTZ9bEADPBXHYH9LY_21MWFyiU_7JXp4C9V37I8VtRQX1RQDZXKxWzWtiO7B/s1600/419380_458770517521009_1387278822_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAfbipIYZ_3vYhuypqGUK-I9VsWhHqVDYA7ukgtntg0wtcnAElh2x8WHWkFb05BQBtRSO-l6pcCCOCdAFdGTZ9bEADPBXHYH9LY_21MWFyiU_7JXp4C9V37I8VtRQX1RQDZXKxWzWtiO7B/s400/419380_458770517521009_1387278822_n.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br /></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">love and prosperity,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Anitha Thanabalan</span></div>
Portraits of Perseverancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01394108872965295364noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1713393615139357599.post-43315846582940649392012-10-15T13:11:00.000-07:002013-04-18T22:05:57.973-07:00Fruits for Lunch<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">‘Aiya, no need to get fruits la Lucy… We already have so
much food for lunch today! Park inside the office!’ Ching Ching said to Lucy
who was sitting in her car one morning. ]</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Lucy giggled and nodded. ‘Okay, okay...’ Lucy said. Happy that she succeeded for the first time in talking Lucy to not
get fruits for lunch, Ching Ching pranced away to open the office gate so Lucy could
park her car inside. To her dismay Lucy drove off, leaving Ching Ching
speechless standing with a wide opened gate, and me laughing hysterically at
Lucy’s clever trick. She wins again this time! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Every Tuesday when Lucy comes to the eHomemakers office, we always
have fruits after lunch bought by her at the nearby mini market. Sweet juicy
papayas, oranges that if turned out to be sour, were sprinkled on with a little
bit of salt and the sourness was gone (a trick that Lucy taught us), guavas or sometimes even apples. No matter
what, there would always be fruits. After eating lunch, Lucy would run off to the
kitchen and bring out a big plate of fruits, which we always found room to
stomach, no matter how full we were. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Every intern that joins eHomemakers, no matter how short
their stay, HAS to meet Lucy, and there has never been one intern that was
never fond of her. Some of the previous interns even called her ‘Aunty Lucy’. During lunch sometimes, Lucy would talk to the
interns about her journey with SLE, and how she became the woman of perseverance
she is today, and us interns would listen attentively. Who would have thought
that quiet Aunty Lucy who was busy counting eco-baskets in the next room
had such a big story behind her? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There was once where I was cranky and on that same
day, I had to film Lucy’s video journal in the office. I grabbed the camera and
set up, sulking. Halfway into filming, I couldn't help laughing at Lucy’s
gullibility, and my mood was instantly changed from sulky to happy. (see video below)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/WKF-UtmrEZI?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Thanks to Lucy, the office is always cheerful and happy. Lucy
never ceases to ease the stress level in the office, her bright smile and
laughter always does the trick. She is an angel in disguise, and despite our
stress and struggles in eHomemakers, Lucy is definitely a reason why we carry
on doing what we do. There was never a day I remember being in the office with Lucy where I had
a bad day.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I can’t wait till next Tuesday. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
<br />
Rhonwyn H.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
</div>
Rhonwyn.Hagedornhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04985250459285209831noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1713393615139357599.post-8316976688389943112012-10-15T03:59:00.004-07:002014-06-27T01:00:42.008-07:00Jenny Pong in the Hospital with Pains<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I have
never been proud of myself when I get sick, for I’d whine for attention. Even a
little flu would make me feel like my world is about to end and I’d pout and
grumble for the stuffy nose, or the headache or any sorts of mild pain I might
suffer.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Never
had I seen anyone as jovial as our Jenny Pong Seow Chin though hospitalized.
Just recently on the 12<span style="font-size: small;"><sup>th</sup> of June 2012, Jenny was admitted at the
hospital with fever due to bladder infection.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/JXy9JH6oKdE?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JXy9JH6oKdE&list=UU6MY0_KRpR6iUF7E2PCTxrg&index=8&feature=plcp" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Pong in the Hospital with pains</span></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Although
with pain, she could cheerfully greet the interviewer, something which is quite
an admirable feat. I can only imagine the pain that she would be going through.
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As she said, “Smiling is the only cure
for any sickness.” It is something everyone should make an example of. Smiling isn’t
hard; people claim that it only takes 17 muscles to smile. Shouldn’t we all be
doing it often too? </span><br />
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Smiling
actually helps in pushing away the negative aura and bringing forth positivity.
Try to be like Jenny – try smiling through your pain and you can feel the
difference. Though it may not kill the pain, but it makes it more bearable.</span><br />
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Morphine
is the drug given to alleviate the pain that Jenny is having, but for the
interview she refused to take the drug as it makes her feel like she’s “going
to heaven”. She endured the pain with a smiling face to talk to the
interviewers. Isn’t that something admirable again?</span><br />
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>It
takes strength to stay awake despite the pain she’s going through. I cannot
admire Jenny Pong more than I already have. If it was me, I’d rather have
painkillers and I would not think of the repercussions if I was meeting anyone –
but Jenny had taught me to stay strong. If she can do it, why can’t I?</span><br />
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>How I
wish I was as cheerful as her the next time I am down with a fever and able to
talk to people as if I was healthy, instead of showing a sour face – trying to
gauge people’s sympathy. We should not just look at Jenny and say “Oh, she’s a
great woman, and I want to be like her too.” </span><br />
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>We should
set her as an example of a person we should be, not a person we want to be. </span><br />
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Jenny
Pong is definitely a woman of steel. She is the epitome of strength, the pillar
of courage – an example of how people should persevere in the face of
adversity. I hope that things get better for her, because she deserves better. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1713393615139357599.post-72187263106642661752012-09-15T22:02:00.002-07:002014-06-27T01:00:07.750-07:00Jenny Pong Seow Chin - My Superwoman<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6YJkvhdj2tgrrIpbpzppTEeilbP6ZK7wdzrsoWxn0p1QQl8AHWtlK1EP1pzxC0YuX-gElv6LkcV_eKt_SN3FqSNKXS8kCExCieG23anXRDfCSdNapRrTvvCbPmWRBwBc6qwRoJM8rkE5I/s1600/Pong_House.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6YJkvhdj2tgrrIpbpzppTEeilbP6ZK7wdzrsoWxn0p1QQl8AHWtlK1EP1pzxC0YuX-gElv6LkcV_eKt_SN3FqSNKXS8kCExCieG23anXRDfCSdNapRrTvvCbPmWRBwBc6qwRoJM8rkE5I/s320/Pong_House.JPG" height="180" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo Courtesy of <br />
<i>Maria Skouras, <a href="http://advocacynet.org/wordpress-mu/mskouras/">The Advocacy Project</a></i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I can vaguely remember the small humble house at the foot of
a limestone hill in Ipoh - a hazy memory of my yesteryears. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I remember holding
on to my father’s hand tentatively as I walk into this home of a stranger – a
place I’ve never been to. I know father knew the person who lives here, but I
don’t know who it was.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>When I
saw her, I knew in the heart of a little girl, that this woman has been through
a lot, but I wouldn’t have guessed it, not with that beaming smile she shone
upon us as we entered. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> She had no legs, and she moved around in a make-shift
trolley, and it made my heart cry to see her that way. Although I know that I
shouldn’t be feeling that way because she is a strong woman and strong women
don’t want people to sympathize with them – instead we should be proud of her.</span><br />
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Sometimes
when I think that life is too much for me, and that I can’t seem to move
forward just for a teeny-weeny problem - I think of her. How she would have
felt when the doctors amputated her legs. I’m sure her future would have looked
bleak for her, but she didn’t let that bring her down.</span><br />
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>She
shows other women that she is the epitome of courage and strength. You don’t
have to jump off a cliff and dive into churning waters to show that you’re
fearless, nor do you need to lift weights to show your strength. You just need
to be brave to face the challenges life puts in front of you, and have the
power to rise above that, knowing that it is easy to give up but you’ve managed
to stand up tall spiritually.</span><br />
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Nowadays
when I feel low and on the verge of giving up, I think to myself, if she and
many others with the same problems can do it – who’s to say I can’t stand up
tall and face only small challenges. She is my role model and she is someone we
should all respect for we don’t need a man in a flowing red cape and the letter
‘S’ on his chest to be the figure of valor. All we need is to look at Jenny
Pong Seow Chin and learn from her the true value of strength and perseverance.</span><br />
</div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuplfo1GpP3YC2t-2mKHzzeZsCfGyB_ikGe4MjUftushec6i3mIDJPrUEKQWrLt6IG_fGDctxKqpq2eDTXHSdYJRLQBiUHeP2_VyFqMIRK9ZC9aeYK1rKjC3XfxBYFbknMJ84awIhXdM7m/s1600/Pong_Portrait2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuplfo1GpP3YC2t-2mKHzzeZsCfGyB_ikGe4MjUftushec6i3mIDJPrUEKQWrLt6IG_fGDctxKqpq2eDTXHSdYJRLQBiUHeP2_VyFqMIRK9ZC9aeYK1rKjC3XfxBYFbknMJ84awIhXdM7m/s320/Pong_Portrait2.jpg" height="180" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Photo Courtesy of </span><br />
<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Maria Skouras, </span><a href="http://advocacynet.org/wordpress-mu/mskouras/"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">The Advocacy Project</span></a></i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I left
the house with Mandarin oranges in my hand – it must have been during the
Chinese New Year Celebration – thinking that when I grow up I will not let any
obstacles in my life bring me down. I will persevere and stand tall in the face
of adversity as when I look into her eyes, it told me that you can be strong if
your heart’s in the right place.</span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1713393615139357599.post-33548465482966525902012-09-11T02:29:00.001-07:002013-04-18T22:20:09.488-07:00One Journey Ends, Another Begins<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh701aV_Gu4GcHK9GAkoFUz9mbRZTSKygo5Aq8_Dsef5cyLE3qUjDOXJYn4XN4NaPty9agLVnsFUdh0tWnTeNN-l-LD4D1QB2mC6YmcwSxWB0iFhoJc2dLwONYNYYz4nLywDtKB0EW-EJOz/s1600/P9100043.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh701aV_Gu4GcHK9GAkoFUz9mbRZTSKygo5Aq8_Dsef5cyLE3qUjDOXJYn4XN4NaPty9agLVnsFUdh0tWnTeNN-l-LD4D1QB2mC6YmcwSxWB0iFhoJc2dLwONYNYYz4nLywDtKB0EW-EJOz/s320/P9100043.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Pong on a Reclining Wheelchair With Ah Yan(neice), Ah Kam(Red Blouse), Lucy(Blue Shirt)</span></td></tr>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span></tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Pong went to Singapore, with the help of funds from different people, to get a
special wheelchair made by Mr Lee of Delcon Technologies. Her dream of becoming
a motivational speaker came true when she spoke to the employees of Pteris Global
and Cisco Recall in Singapore. </span><br />
<br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
Pteris Global and Cisco Recall donated a wheelchair to her and they took her to several places of
interest in Singapore including Singapore Flyer and Garden in the Bay! </span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.414828841915177.101253.269941093070620&type=3"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> are some pictures while she was there.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Singaporean
Physiotherapist assures Pong that
sitting
upward will greatly improve blood circulation
in the urinary
system.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Hence,Pong
needs to be very
discipline after this
trip, ie:
perform her daily exercise to strengthen her spinal muscle.
Eventually, she should be able to
transfer herself independently from wc to bed to floor. It takes time but it is ACHIEVABLE.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br /></div>
</div>
<div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A solid foam bed
is
needed for her to perform her daily
therapy. She can also email
Mr Lee
of Delcon Technology about her
performance/development every quarterly. The Physiotherapist
will
also help
to review and provide the next course of therapy exercise. The modified wheel
chair
will be
completed in about 3 weeks
for
Pong.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The two kind-hearted
Singaporeans look forward to see
her transferring herself independently when she goes to
Singapore to give another
motivating speech, hopefully to United World College!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">She now can finally sit up after 26 years!</span><br />
<br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
Pong's group arrived in KL for a few days after the Singapore trip. We now have
to sort out how to transport her on a manual wheelchair without the appropriate
disabled van!!<br />Her stumps are bleeding due to the trial trips with the manual
wheelchair, so we have to be careful these few days.<br /><br />Here are the steps
in the next few years:<br /><br />1. Get special wheelchair and others appropriate
hardware<br />2. Ensure physiotherapies are appropriate at the Ipoh side so she
can sit up, and there is proper home care ( cement floor fixing, security etc) -
reduce risk of stroke, heart attack.<br />3. Appeal for much needed surgery at a
hospital in KL -- use colon to make urinary tube<br />4. Appeal for reduced rate
or complementary sugery. Fundraise whatever necessary to get the surgery done
and the medical care for healing of wounds.<br />5. Long term physiotherapy + a
van for the wheelchair in Ipoh <br />6. Tackle other health problems -shrunken
kidney ( from laying on trolley too long) and leukemia.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Follow Jenny Pong on FB at </span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Jenny-Pong-Seow-Chin/269941093070620"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Jenny Pong Seow Chin</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">.</span></div>
Portraits of Perseverancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01394108872965295364noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1713393615139357599.post-74424611168081923932012-09-09T18:14:00.003-07:002013-04-18T22:10:46.645-07:00The Music Within<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Recently the Czech ambassador (Jan Fury) showed up at my house asking for a copy
of the Akar Umbi CD. </span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I had told him there are only 20+ copies left - and they
are all with Rafique. So I burned him a copy and also gave him Marina Roseman's
CD, <i><b>Dream Songs of the Malaysian Rainforest</b></i>, since he's so keen to get
his hands on it. That made me realize there are many who really enjoy
off-the-beaten-track music, especially if it's aboriginal stuff.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Since
June 2009 I have had 7 Akar Umbi tracks on SoundClick.com (downloadable for 75
cents a track) - but there appears to be have been no downloads so far, so I
made all the tracks downloadable for free. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Later I realized that SoundClick
compresses their music files to low-grade mp3 (128 bits or less!) - whereas
BandCamp.com allows high-grade downloads (320-bit mp3 or flac) which is almost
as good as wav or cda quality (original CD encoding). </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I only discovered BandCamp
a few days ago, thanks to a German DJ & audio wizard who stayed with me for
a week and helped remaster some ancient tracks.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSl1nhW6iYcS90lruUPd4UCnWEWNg9vgFAOM1ZKs8c_eu3BOvlK4gdC5Xn5DkWlKmUVgVY-5yj6XmYeB-F_I3Xb_fySsWCxTC_7LLF_ECM3fmDxvQmp8Kljlvw9oppUy0OSIycA0-K_11P/s1600/369228361-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSl1nhW6iYcS90lruUPd4UCnWEWNg9vgFAOM1ZKs8c_eu3BOvlK4gdC5Xn5DkWlKmUVgVY-5yj6XmYeB-F_I3Xb_fySsWCxTC_7LLF_ECM3fmDxvQmp8Kljlvw9oppUy0OSIycA0-K_11P/s320/369228361-1.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
<br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
Well, I realized BandCamp
was a much better platform to keep Akar Umbi and Mak Minah's songs online -
people can listen for free and also download by paying a small fee. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">That's how
it should be - those who want to possess the tracks can easily afford a few
bucks, while </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">everybody else can still access the music at the best possible
quality. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Also, BandCamp allows me to include detailed program notes for each
track - so a complete album download also comes with all the notes and images.
This makes it unnecessary to ever consider reissuing the album as a CD - too
much trouble to replicate in small quantities - and too difficult to distribute
globally. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Digital albums make perfect sense to me, because binary codes are
weightless. (A few years ago Universal Music actually expressed an interest in
repackaging and distributing <i><b>Songs of the Dragon</b></i> - at first regionally,
then perhaps globally - but the recording industry went into a slump and they
simply dropped the idea.)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So on 7 September 2012, one week before Minah
Angong's 82nd birthday, Akar Umbi has found a permanent home (I hope) in
cyberspace! </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It doesn't matter much to me whether most folks opt to just listen -
if even a handful decide to download, I might earn a few extra bucks over the
years, to cover my internet bills. <br /><br />Amazingly, Mak Minah is worth money
even after her death. Last year, Solaris Publika embarked on a "TextWalk"
project, inscribing short quotes from 60 Malaysian writers & poets in
cement. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I was asked to contribute a couple - then they wanted something from
Orang Asli folklore, so I let them use a </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">few lines from "Kuda Lari" and they
eventually paid me RM500 for that, which I handed to Semboh, Mak Minah's
favorite granddaughter, who was so delighted. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I told her Mak Minah still cares
for her!</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The link</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> to<i style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> <b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Akar Umbi ~ Songs of the Dragon</span></b></i> is </span><a href="http://guanobreath.bandcamp.com/album/songs-of-the-dragon" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">http://guanobreath.bandcamp.com/album/songs-of-the-dragon</span></a><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Guano
Breath is an umbrella name for all my musical experiments
:-)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span><br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f497d; font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">By Antares<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
Portraits of Perseverancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01394108872965295364noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1713393615139357599.post-66346546370549213232012-08-22T02:24:00.000-07:002014-06-27T01:00:28.935-07:00Pong: 29th June 2012<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3PKnOtUVIzCPtSG-IxVNhi5Qz3qlKlXcywwMxRHTd7B5POVqW-R6uETjhSdv5QWgNSXwDlylStQHaYe_iUurS88rKbReJIkf09SXuGFn0qmew8kEsLVehG8j0U7sCvIN6Xgi51K99hByz/s1600/1.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3PKnOtUVIzCPtSG-IxVNhi5Qz3qlKlXcywwMxRHTd7B5POVqW-R6uETjhSdv5QWgNSXwDlylStQHaYe_iUurS88rKbReJIkf09SXuGFn0qmew8kEsLVehG8j0U7sCvIN6Xgi51K99hByz/s640/1.bmp" height="378" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />Portraits of Perseverancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01394108872965295364noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1713393615139357599.post-84157553497899708122012-06-03T09:47:00.000-07:002013-04-18T22:18:05.661-07:00"Life is So Short" She Said<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I rummaged
through the piles of plastic that came with the large stock of eco-baskets which the weavers just brought to the office. </span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I grabbed a hand-woven piece and read its serial number out loud to Lucy so that she could note down the stock.
It wasn’t easy when there was so much information on the label. Lucy bobbed her head up. Adjusting her glasses, she looked at the basket I was struggling with.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“Is that a ‘Pinnochio Shoe’?” She suddenly said, referring to the unique piece I held
in my hands.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“Err,
yeah.”I replied.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Nodding,
she recited the whole serial number to me, that bought me time to
catch up with her on the next few items. She was one fast middle-aged lady!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And a one-woman show for the eco-basket project!</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/WKF-UtmrEZI?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe> </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Aww, I'm smiling already!</i></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br /></div>
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Lucy’s
commitment to volunteer work with the eco-basket project at eHomemakers and the Systemic Lupus <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Erythematosus (SLE) Association (not to mention her duties as a wife and mother) – sees her traveling
back and forth between Kajang and Kuala Lumpur / Petaling Jaya (that would be about two hours, one-way. </span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Four hours, daily, goodness!), rushing to catch the next bus or a train, walking to offices from public transport stations, running
errands and making preparations for events or coordinating other volunteers. </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Although it is
so easy for a busy woman like Lucy to get cranky from exhaustion, or maybe even
big-headed for being so indispensable, she doesn’t behave this way at all. She just does her tasks,
smiles at young interns like me who make mistakes in front of her, and excitedly tells you stories from her past (and maybe
offer you salt-sprinkled oranges for lunch).</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Lucy
wasn’t always the chirpy, passionate, confident, 'go-get-em' kind of person she
is today. </span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The woman speaking to crowds at SLE events and eco-basket exhibitions, the woman confidently
delivering her story in the 'Portraits of Perseverance' documentary, the woman
dedicated to volunteer work that she’s passionate about – a few years ago, that
woman was in a shell, shy and passive.</span><br />
<br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The turning point in Lucy's life happened, because of a fellow Lupus patient – her close friend, Justina Low Yew Lee.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">One strong, unique lady - Justina Low.</span> </i></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In life,
there are just certain things that trigger some sort of change within a person.
That change could be due to a desire spark <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">to make that change</i>, or it could be purely involuntary. Change that
can make or break a person.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I know of a boy who was extremely sweet and bubbly as a kid. He had a very creative and colourful imagination, and he <span lang="EN-US">often would chatter on about things beyond his years. He had a bright, sensitive, yet confident natural instinct.</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Many things about him changed ever since he entered primary school. </span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Due to his upbringing in an English-speaking home, he found it difficult to learn Chinese language. His Chinese language teacher would pick on his Chinese language homework, telling the whole class how he had ugly handwriting and that he was not as "smart" as the rest.</span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I don't know if the teacher did what she did intentionally, but the impact on her students was made. Many of his classmates repeated the teacher's insults on him, poked fun at him, and refused to play with him. For a boy who was barely eight, the continuous bullying from both his classmates and his teacher reduced his self-confidence. </span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">From a child who seemed to take the sunshine with him everywhere he went, who could play with action figures, make up his own clever role play scripts, and name several species of dinosaurs from the top of his head - the bullies in school made him a sullen and sheepish individual, too shy to speak up.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US">I'm not directing this at Chinese school teachers, because I have had the privilege of having strict but loving and tactful ones. The teachers he had obviously <i>weren't</i> meant to be teachers.</span><span lang="EN-US"> </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Although the story has a happy ending (he grew up to be a successful individual, with a sense of humour), it's sad how some events in our life can change a person for the <i>worse</i>. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US">Lucy’s
was a different story than the boy's. Justina was chatty and adventurous. She was a very positive,
happy woman who always tried to push Lucy out of her shell and to live life to
its fullest. She was that type of person - </span><span lang="EN-US">a source of joy - wanting others to be
as happy as she was. Justina had succumbed to Lupus in 2011. </span></span><br />
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<a href="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5029/5687733362_3baec2b08c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5029/5687733362_3baec2b08c.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Lucy and Maria Skouras (Photo credits to </span><a href="http://www.advocacynet.org/"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">The Advocacy Project</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">) </span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So it seems lightning <i>does</i> strike twice in the same place. Within three months of Justina's death, a very dear aunt of Lucy's passed on. Then, her mother-in-law - whom Lucy had been taking care of - passed away as well.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A loved
one’s death is never an easy thing to deal with, especially if it’s sudden. Having
someone close to you - laughing with you, involved in your life actively and making plans with
you one moment - and then, losing her for good in the next moment... </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When you finally realize that you wouldn’t have the chance to do the things that you've been planning to do with her anymore - it would be a harsh blow to anyone. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US">Lucy
could’ve allowed Justina's untimely death to affect her. She could’ve stopped volunteering at
non-profit organizations. She could’ve let herself continue to mourn her loss.</span> She could have gone into depression. She could have kept staring at door that Justina had closed. That her aunt, her mother-in-law had closed.</span></div>
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<a href="http://advocacynet.org/wordpress-mu/mskouras/files/2011/03/Justina2-425x231.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="173" src="http://advocacynet.org/wordpress-mu/mskouras/files/2011/03/Justina2-425x231.png" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">And her name was Justina. (Photo credits to </span><a href="http://www.advocacynet.org/"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">The Advocacy Projec</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">t) </span></i></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But she
didn’t let herself fall into that state.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In many ways, Justina's passing had sparked a desire in Lucy to <i>change</i> her way of life. Lucy could <i>hear </i>Justina telling her, "Go do it, don't be afraid!"</span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Remembering her friend's wisdom about life, Lucy started to make changes to hers. She began to
step out, speak up, explore, travel and meet new people – things Justina had
wanted for her quiet, shy friend. </span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This new perspective of life saw her traveling on a boat in
Cambodia with the documentary team, making new friends at an international conference, speaking at SLE events, learning to be a group leader in the eco-basket project, telling her story to the world through the "Portraits of Perseverance" documentary, befriending other strong women figures, and impacting more lives through her passion for
volunteer work.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDRC7Rhy1oVVlx2wS0qRjw13GO8fmZmdWW0vrBRTozcM2ZIJOvSNcfoFiBXFA3jIr6qbcgJle38hAFAl3o4Qb9FwtdagFyauZlFTSJg5qrVk5W1cQxrLX8RBTJMYA_xLg0FrG6S-ViX2E/s1600/IMG_1657.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDRC7Rhy1oVVlx2wS0qRjw13GO8fmZmdWW0vrBRTozcM2ZIJOvSNcfoFiBXFA3jIr6qbcgJle38hAFAl3o4Qb9FwtdagFyauZlFTSJg5qrVk5W1cQxrLX8RBTJMYA_xLg0FrG6S-ViX2E/s400/IMG_1657.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><em> Lucy - with some of the eco baskets - flashing a winning smile.</em></span></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> </td></tr>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Justina’s
death propelled Lucy to try and do things that she never would have had the
confidence or drive to do otherwise. And because Lucy begin to have that drive, she has accomplished so much a year after Justina left her! Watching her handlng her work with leadership and independence, speaking confidently and brightly, I find it hard to imagine that she used to be a benchwarmer, a passive player who was afraid to step up to opportunities given to her.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“Life is
so short,” has become Lucy’s new life motto. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"Life is what we make of it, you can either do nothing or you can do as many things as you can every day!" She told us young interns who were<i> (okay, maybe some of us still are)</i> trying to figure out what our lives are all about.</span></div>
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<a href="http://advocacynet.org/wordpress-mu/mskouras/files/2011/03/Justina1-425x286.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="268" src="http://advocacynet.org/wordpress-mu/mskouras/files/2011/03/Justina1-425x286.png" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Justina strutting some marketing skills! (Photo credits to </span><a href="http://www.advocacynet.org/"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">The Advocacy Project</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">)</span> </span></span></i></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I did not
know Justina personally. But I can see part of who she was live on through the
way Lucy lives her life now. Lucy now steps up without shying away from new people or situations, she has overcome her comfort zone. As she is doing all these, she has become even more of an <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">inspiration for others to do the same</i>. All I
can say is, Justina must have been quite a person to be able to leave such a
great impact and mark on Lucy’s life.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTPU_pi0QG1UHK9LsNFhhGj2nvgAT4GiSf-HuA6eoU1t6LK5ZZ1h4qZRbPtnMeqSBXlETXqb7-R3eBlKjwM-xkyr7gr-mEue7nMFUPVIkOwIZNx1fA0xDpyhiQjBzc3yXty5yHqRx-p1g/s1600/IMG_0850.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTPU_pi0QG1UHK9LsNFhhGj2nvgAT4GiSf-HuA6eoU1t6LK5ZZ1h4qZRbPtnMeqSBXlETXqb7-R3eBlKjwM-xkyr7gr-mEue7nMFUPVIkOwIZNx1fA0xDpyhiQjBzc3yXty5yHqRx-p1g/s320/IMG_0850.JPG" width="213" /></span></a></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Photography by Wang Junmey</span></i></td></tr>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There will come a time where we<i> will </i>be faced with news or events that might threaten to take away something that is dear to us - our confidence, comfort or people we love. That's where we have to choose between curling up in a sad ball and refusing to move on, or to address the issue, solve it and<i> keep walking.</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We're only human. <i>Experiences can bring us down.</i> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As cliché as this
may sound, what I've learned from Lucy these few months is, it’s alright to fall, it’s alright if you don’t handle these hard
times perfectly and it’s alright to be brought down, as long as you find a way to get back on your feet and overcome adversity. Don't let it drag you down and change your positive outlook of life.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">While
you do what you choose to do, just remember that, what Lucy says is so true - life<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i>really <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">is</i> so short. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We only have so many days. So, <i>live</i>.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span><span lang="EN-US"> </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Just live,
test your waters, make mistakes, learn from them, climb high and get back up
when you fall, love yourself and love others without fear.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Beyond the
obstacles that dominate our sight, are stars to be reached. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">You only live once. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>by Junmey</i></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1713393615139357599.post-22953459946985597712012-05-28T00:27:00.000-07:002014-03-09T20:55:44.125-07:00Closing the "Portraits" Chapter<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">eHomemakers will be releasing its documentary,"Portraits of Perseverance" (POP). Before we do, here are some teasers for your viewing pleasure. Our interns, Rhonwyn and Josh met up with three of the women in the documentary for a chat. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The production of this documentary allowed the women involved - who are of vastly different backgrounds with each of them facing unique challenges - to interact, to share and to<i> enjoy</i> each other's company in a way that would not have been possible otherwise. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">From the initial doubts, their thoughts about one another, to talking about the <i>"very cool"</i> eHomemakers intern, Morgan Reed - we've got it all here in their interviews!</span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Nisha of the Pink Triangle Foundation. (Still looking good in the candid screenshot)</span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Always confident and ready to speak, Nisha Ayub was very excited to be part of the POP documentary. A social worker of a foundation for transgenders, Nisha has seen and done many interesting things. Like the rest of the women, her experience in the world gave great insight and provided a fascinating angle to the documentary. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The scrutinizing eye of a camera may not be everybody's
friend. Not only has it been accused of adding weight and highlighting
fat spots, some people just do not feel comfortable being on camera,
especially when being interviewed. Nisha thought it felt weird talking in front of the camera for the video journals.</span><br />
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sulastri, who is also working at the Pink Triangle Foundation. </span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Well, she certainly wasn't alone on that, as her co-worker, Sulastri Ariffin, too had her share of issues with the camera.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Film work aside... Initially doubtful about getting on the POP bandwagon, Sulastri has come to a point where she's glad she chose to participate in POP. Going through the whole process, she now feels the need to tell her tumultous life story to the world, as well as a passion to "contribute to the community out there".</span><br />
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Lucy, giggling in front of the camera, as usual.</span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Then there's our sweet Lucy Goh (well it seems being camera-shy is a trend here!) Lucy's candid recall of meeting Nisha: Lucy gave her a top-to-toe scan (which Nisha is used to) before she said, "Hi'. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But once they started talking during the women's meeting at Crowne Plaza, KL, Nisha realized that Lucy "is very very friendly even though she's a very quiet person." Nisha thinks that "Lucy's very intelligent too."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Just like Sulastri, Lucy has gained confidence along the way, as there were<i> do-or-die</i> situations where she just <i>had</i> to speak up! Although she still breaks out in giggles (bloopers!), the woman you see speaking to the camera talks with new-found confidence, as well as with conviction. (Filming her for this video was very fun for the intern team. Lucy kept </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">giggling so the team also giggled, laughed and roared with laughters!)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Now that the finishing touches are being applied on the documentary and things are wrapping up, Nisha, Sulastri and Lucy look forward to moving on from this great life chapter and experience.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And when they do move on - be it to other projects, or to work with women - I believe that no matter how far they get in life, and how many lives they impact, 'Portraits of Perseverance' would always remain close to their hearts. </span><br />
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">by Junmey</span></i>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1713393615139357599.post-58111830343469603872012-05-26T05:04:00.000-07:002013-04-18T22:24:37.244-07:00Fashion and Sense<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Miss Kelantan.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Photo by Colonizing Photography</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">After my first encounter with the transgender community in</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">September 2011, I began to be more proud of being 'female'.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">They aren't women biologically, but they appreciate women's </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">physical beauty more than I did, so I decided it was time to </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">appreciate what God gave me.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I started to dress up more 'lady-like' than before. My usual</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">T-shirts and jeans were slowly replaced by blouses and skirts.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I could hear my mom's mind screamed, "Phew, I finally have a daughter!"</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">She was invited to the 'Miss Transgender Malaysia 2011 -- Fashion </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">and Sense' by Nisha, but no one wanted to go with her, so I got to!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So, for this special "1Malaysia" event, I willingly wore the saree I bought during my trip to India a few years back. I thought I looked decent enough for the occasion, but I couldn't achieve the the glamour look that the transgenders seemed to do with ease at the event.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Their fabulous looks amazed me. Maybe it was their makeup? Their special gowns, and beautifully designed dresses? Whatever it was, they looked absolutely gorgeous. Their clothes were so colorful and flowy on their nice builds, while mine was made with a heavy silk and slightly too long for my short build.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/vuiKlJQCt8A?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe>We went a few hours before the event to interview Nisha for a video journal. She spoke about why transgenders love to look beautiful. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It is about being who they are -- women, and confident enough to </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">be show their physical beauty.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"It doesn't matter what size and shape we are,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">we are all beautiful!" Nisha declared.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The event is a platform to unite transgenders from all over Malaysia and give them a chance to broadcast their talents and skills</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The main hall was occupied by the performers rehearsing before the event, so we had to sit in the lobby. Looking back, I must have looked so ridiculous. A 17-year old wearing a too-long saree, sitting on the big puffy lobby chair studying the SPM Sejarah book, charging a HD video camera waiting to film Nisha at the event for Portraits of Perseverance... on a school night!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Although SPM was just about a month away, this was an event that I wouldn't miss for the world. It's not everyday that you get invited personally by a member of the transgender community to attend such a glamorous event, even if it meant waking up early at 6 the next day and dragging my lazy butt to school.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Miss Perlis.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Photo by colonizing Photography</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The event was free seating, so my mom and I chose a table near the stage. There were ten of us at our table. Seven transgenders, a Chinese man, and my mom and I. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The transgenders were gossiping among themselves about who and who got a boob job, and talking about what colour eye shadow who was wearing and I heard lots of "<em>Amboooi sayang, cantiiiiiiiiik la engkau pakai baju ni!"</em> (Like OMG babe! You look sooooooooooo gorgeous in that dress!).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Chinese man sat slumped in his chair with his arms crossed, watching his surroundings. It was hard to tell if he was as interested in the event as my mom and I through his poker face. How did he even get hold of a ticket?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When everyone tucked into dinner, I couldn't help but notice the table manners of the transgenders at our table. Although they considered themselves women, the amount of food they ate still showed their 'manly' side. They ate big piles of rice and lots of meat, whereas a typical 'lady' would probably not do so to watch her weight. On top of that, they ate a lot of cake from the dessert table. But they were so slim....must be the metabolism rate.....</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizlwkVJC1A3OxgRqNITdao7ce4m-lrC8Fhm1GzcAZrRG7ItChazRr2LHz2tTSWqThht2faTFAzdkJhD_gOu6iP5YDChbMbHvDM04gxrlNtXjSokg-Q_XeawnkIWy0K0mKiw-oDwqD69hk/s1600/298110_10150362520829644_1728538277_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizlwkVJC1A3OxgRqNITdao7ce4m-lrC8Fhm1GzcAZrRG7ItChazRr2LHz2tTSWqThht2faTFAzdkJhD_gOu6iP5YDChbMbHvDM04gxrlNtXjSokg-Q_XeawnkIWy0K0mKiw-oDwqD69hk/s320/298110_10150362520829644_1728538277_n.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Miss Wilayah Persekutuan wearing my favorite dress.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Photo by Colonizing Photograpy</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"Our next contestant is Miss Wilayah Persekutuan!" the MC announced. As the contestant emerged</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">from backstage, I was in awe. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">She was dressed </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">in a royal blue gown with gems embedded on the back. She looked so proud wearing such a </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">beautiful creation. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"I would have given up all my dresses to anyone who would let me wear such a gown to prom!!" I thought to myself. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The rest </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">of the contestants were dressed in equally stunning gowns.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As Miss Wilayah Persekutuan strutted her poses </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">on stage, I couldn't help but notice her postures. Every move she made was full of grace and elegance. Time for me, the 'woman-to-be' to learn.......</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">At the end of the competition, Miss Kelantan won the crown. I wasn't surprised at all. Her poise, her knowledge and her personality were all top notch. Everyone at the event loved her. Who ever would have thought that she was a transgender!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As for me, the event taught me one big lesson -- being a woman is fabulous! (even when your sari doesn't fit you well)</span><br />
<br />Rhonwyn.Hagedornhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04985250459285209831noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1713393615139357599.post-89950435045563444942012-05-24T02:47:00.001-07:002013-04-18T22:27:27.213-07:00A Matter of Love and Respect<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I really like that Portraits of Perseverance shed light on the transgender community (by highlighting the lives of Nisha and Sulastri) - their struggles and how they persevere through tough times. Their stories echo not just their own plights, but that of the whole community's uphill battle against discrimination. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Their community seeks love and the right to live without persecution.</span><br />
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Just a typical day for Sulastri Ariffin.</span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A little religious debate sparked on the joke website, 9Gag (Just For Fun - really?) as protests to legalize gay marriage rocked the United States and the media feed recently. A 9Gagger commented something along the lines of, "Christians are such (expletive). Why do (expletive) Christians hate homosexuals? Did Jesus (expletive) say 'Hate homosexuals!'? Christians, get your (expletive) facts right!"</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Well, he should get<i> his</i> facts right, as well. (Touche) I can answer that, "Christians do not hate gays." But who can blame people for being so defensive about the whole thing?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As a Christian, I can tell you that there is nothing in my religion that encourages hate towards the LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transsexual) community. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It doesn't teach you to hate <i>anyone</i> for that matter. In fact, I strongly believe that any peaceful religion in the world would not propagate hatred for the LGBT. But there will always be people in any religious sect who misunderstand and take these teachings to the extreme.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As a Christian, I am aware that there is a stigma linked to the
Christian Church. People tell me straight in the face that
Christians are judgemental and rigid. Honestly, some can be this way.
But those are the bad eggs. Don't let them ruin the whole batch of fresh ones.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Should the world judge the whole country of
France just because Zinedine Zidane headbutted Italy's Marco Materazzi during the football World Cup in
2006? And even if they choose to, they should at least hear both sides of the story. I hope you see my point in comparing
these two situations.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><i><a href="http://www.whoateallthepies.tv/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/Zinedine-Zidanes-headbutt-002.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://www.whoateallthepies.tv/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/Zinedine-Zidanes-headbutt-002.jpg" width="400" /></a></i></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><i>Zidane giving Italy's Materazzi a piece of his mind, using his head, and aiming it at Materazzi's tummy.</i></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If a religion disallows homosexuality, certain people of that religion might take it to the next level by not just </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">disallowing, but <i>condemning</i> homosexuality AND homosexuals. LGBT activists counter by holding protests or demonstrations. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Relationships between these two parties become strained. With the world already being torn apart by different political, social, and religious ideologies, I don't think it needs any more assistance.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The world has its share of extremists. And I mean that in an everyday sense.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Accepting a person's lifestyle is one thing. Accepting who they are as humans, is a different thing altogether. Some people may be in support of the LGBT lifestyle, some may not be. That's one case. But what I feel is this -- what <i>really</i> matters is that people accept someone of that community as a person and as a friend.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuvGFqJqKdTFgTr6XD7RoXj1se3UPuGCVjNCZj_4-b66g4yfgc_ZPHlpdRbBFKY1C2hnhUSiTXBDX8bu_1tuaaxU2mWoy1dMrYy80Bh6ThJ61RUinLadX7uYyd6xRAPs9DQiKaKiPLqKQ/s1600/nisha+%282%29.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="292" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuvGFqJqKdTFgTr6XD7RoXj1se3UPuGCVjNCZj_4-b66g4yfgc_ZPHlpdRbBFKY1C2hnhUSiTXBDX8bu_1tuaaxU2mWoy1dMrYy80Bh6ThJ61RUinLadX7uYyd6xRAPs9DQiKaKiPLqKQ/s400/nisha+%282%29.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><i>Nisha Ayub of the Pink Triangle Foundation.</i></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Certain people may not agree with the LGBT lifestlye. Similarly, a
transgender may not agree with a Christian lifestyle. Both parties
have the rights to their own ideas and principles. Neither can impose their beliefs
on the other party.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So what if one person's 'straight', while the other isn't? Does that mean one is superior to the other?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Not at all. We're human, one and the same. It all boils down to a relationship of respect.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I cannot make a friend eat barbecued meat with me if he's a vegetarian. But would I hate him for it? People have different ways of life, and different ideas about things. It doesn't mean we should shun that person based on his beliefs or lifestyle. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Should different viewpoints cause persecution? Should that cause hatred?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I don't see why it should!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In the same way a Chelsea fan and a Manchester United fan can watch a game together at the local mamak stall - each staying true to his beloved club without condemning or rejecting the other - I dream that the world will be this way one day.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Transgender or not, we have the same ability to feel, love and value one another as human beings. This world would be a happy place if we <i>could</i> love, value and above all, respect one another.</span><br />
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">By Junmey</span> </i>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1713393615139357599.post-10601281807428960542012-05-23T11:01:00.000-07:002014-06-27T01:10:24.712-07:00The Music Within<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My mother once told me that every culture in every part of the world has its own form of music, in their own tongue. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I suppose that comes from humans' need to express emotions and feelings. Nowadays, South Koreans have been making waves with their K-Pop songs, matching their music with clever dance routines. Meanwhile, America has seen its music grow from the likes of Motown hits and 70's rock to today's mainstream Pop, largely dominated by artists such as Beyonce and Justin Bieber (talent is questionable). </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Music is just as deeply engraved in aboriginal culture as it is in urban culture.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In certain African tribes, songs are very important to villagers, especially during crucial transitions of their lives. Pregnant African women meditate until they believe that they have heard their unborn children's songs. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Each unique melody would become part of every child's life. That is, when a child grows throughout his adolescence, his transition to manhood, his marriage and eventually his death. It will be sung to him by his loved ones. It seems as if music is embedded in their very being, in their lives - that it represents who they are and their individual souls.</span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A performance of the Kadazans' traditional Sumazau dance.</span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For the Maasai tribe of Kenya, music is the centre of their Eunoto ceremony, where young people who've come of age dance (read: flirt) to the beat of the songs. Men line and chant, while the women stand in front of them, singing in response. A musical dialogue takes place between the two sexes, as their voices create harmony.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This is similar to the Malaysian Kadazans' Sumazau dance which require couples and groups to dance to the symphony of "tagung"s and "sompoton"s, which are traditional musical instruments.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">They also sing during rice festivals, just like how you sing in the shower, for personal entertainment.</span><i><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In "The Aborigines Who've Walked for 40,000 Years", an </span><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/travel/2010/mar/07/david-vann-aborigines-songs-legends-past-future"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">article</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> written by David Vanne, an Australian aborigine tells him about how some songs by his tribe are actually tunes laced with moral values and warnings for women, reminding them to be cautious not to lose their children or defy their husbands.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">These tribal songs serve different purposes, and mean different things to different tribes of aborigines of the world.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Earlier in March, I had the privilege of meeting Antares, who was a bandmember of Akar Umbi, a band famous for its indigenous music. A few tracks from their album, "Songs of the Dragon" were used in the Portraits of Perseverance documentary. Singing those songs was none other than a Temuan grandmama, Mak Minah Angong.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">According to </span><a href="http://aliran.com/archives/monthly/2005a/5g.html"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Aliran.com</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">, Mak Minah’s songs portray the love the Temuan people have for great nature. But the music goes deeper. It is not just about mere love songs to the environment, but to their ancestral land, and to their ancestors who are believed to have lived, and continue to live on in the landscape.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDb7faa-GTkVmthOCFr6KDjCwjQYo0rD_W16cGiHuF-EaMWUkkq447Y5xxBCDirdi6vUBzlJvfokYAoU2Drst2htLWLIHvIZwQOG83n2ksWRDEhW2T5uPo53LxwTLNuZrdoDNvSYHJDHMu/s1600/Minah-PeterLau-sm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDb7faa-GTkVmthOCFr6KDjCwjQYo0rD_W16cGiHuF-EaMWUkkq447Y5xxBCDirdi6vUBzlJvfokYAoU2Drst2htLWLIHvIZwQOG83n2ksWRDEhW2T5uPo53LxwTLNuZrdoDNvSYHJDHMu/s400/Minah-PeterLau-sm.jpg" height="400" width="272" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Mak Minah Angong (Credits to </span><a href="http://www.magickriver.org/"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Magick River</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">, photography by Peter Lau<u>)</u></span></i></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When logging and rock blasting began as part of the Sungai Selangor dam project, the Temuan families living in Pertak and Gerachi had not been properly resettled, many retreating further into the forest, so it seems. And in songs such as "Sungai Makao", Mak Minah's voice is reminiscient of better times where the land was still pristine.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In a way, the songs seem to echo memories of what used to be. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It will not only be perfect for storytelling-time for the younger Temuans, it will also allow non-Temuan listeners to come to know about the land that is slowly being taken away from them.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The beautiful lullabies stand for the Temuan identity, voicing their intimate relationship with the environment. They represent a tapestry of the Temuans' lives. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Now that trees are being cut and jungles are getting smaller, the Temuans find it more and more difficult to live the 'old ways', even more so now that they have been relocated, and a large part of their ancestral land has been flooded to build the Sungai Selangor dam.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE-ngO_xtIsJzuvE-NxJFjfdyFoDobqFsHI76sz9OSjztWuMh-6mV7CJu8TR2orsc025afElmuuxDTzzEp2m2kgRu5_EIJNgvcL3ahRKoeMKnsk2hYhe7A__CpvbgyocpLmqQd5rVQroDr/s1600/Minah-BatuFerringhi-web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE-ngO_xtIsJzuvE-NxJFjfdyFoDobqFsHI76sz9OSjztWuMh-6mV7CJu8TR2orsc025afElmuuxDTzzEp2m2kgRu5_EIJNgvcL3ahRKoeMKnsk2hYhe7A__CpvbgyocpLmqQd5rVQroDr/s400/Minah-BatuFerringhi-web.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The late Mak Minah on a beach in Batu Ferringhi (Credits to </span><a href="http://www.magickriver.org/"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Magick River</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">, photography by Rafique Rashid)</span></i></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">According to Antares, they are beseiged by changes around them. Most of the children in Kampung Pertak - Mak Minah's village - do not finish secondary school as there is a lack of the "studying for certificate" culture at the home front. Girls marry young to become homemakers. Men do low-level odd jobs. When they need money, they go out to find work. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Many of the villagers are lost. They are trying to pick up modern city culture - its language, music, the way city folk dress and their behavior. By doing so, they are beginning to lose what they used to have. And they don't realize how much they have lost in order to blend into modernity, by wearing a pair of jeans, or by listening to music with a heavy background of the electric guitar and drums, or by eating a slice of pizza given by a local tourist.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNjveYHPjBPCBnlpVHokuSUY9ufx2ookVhd7JkF-HQXXhyphenhyphenr2_5qh9x1pTlefaxdSYgJ4wthacS0wHHWqWqKAAlEL39UD3l14nNexp_xJQzDWF0y8yn5Rgqpc7Ql-0h1gpqsLyz_8CF0Huh/s1600/Minah%252BIndah-web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNjveYHPjBPCBnlpVHokuSUY9ufx2ookVhd7JkF-HQXXhyphenhyphenr2_5qh9x1pTlefaxdSYgJ4wthacS0wHHWqWqKAAlEL39UD3l14nNexp_xJQzDWF0y8yn5Rgqpc7Ql-0h1gpqsLyz_8CF0Huh/s400/Minah%252BIndah-web.jpg" height="287" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Mak Minah and her sister, Indah. (Credits to </span><a href="http://www.magickriver.org/"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Magick River</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">, photography by Antares)</span></i></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Mak Minah's lullabies are no longer sung by the women in her tribe. Only her sister has learned a few lullabies from her. But even so, her sister has no one to sing to because young mothers now put on a tape player for music. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Their music is getting lost in times.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Maybe, just maybe, the world will find room, permanently, for their lullabies.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Someday. </span><br />
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">By Junmey</span> </i></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1713393615139357599.post-2176881490825593102012-05-21T02:13:00.000-07:002013-04-18T22:32:30.484-07:00No Need To Discriminate Me-lah.<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I went up to the counter and handed the immigration officer my passport and boarding pass. He checked my boarding pass first, and then he opened my passport. His expression changed. His eyebrows cocked.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"Oh God," I said to myself. "Please don't ask that question....!"</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">He looked at me, and then my passport. He looked at me again, then my passport. Me. Passport. Me. Passport.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Finally he said, "<em>You Cina ke? Cina apa??</em> (You're Chinese? What kind of Chinese are you??)" Another officer came over to look at the passport. Together, they queried me with their solemn facial expression.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I sighed. Yup, that's the question I dreaded to hear. "<em>Saya campur</em> (I'm a mix)," I said. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"Ooooh, mix what?" they would ask. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And then I'd have to tell them, "Dutch, and Chinese." I was aware of the line behind me, but the immigration guys didn't seem to care. When they were satisfied with more clarifications from me -- I studied in which local school and I speak Bahasa, they gave me back my passport and let me through. I heard the two of them giggling behind my back.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For years I have been facing the same passport problem over and over again. My 'race' is defined as 'Chinese'. There were many times where I had to present my IC ( identification card ) as well as my passport, because they thought my passport was a fake. How many <em>mat salleh</em> ( Bahasa : white person ) in Malaysia have 'Chinese' as their 'race'?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This problem arose when I was twelve years old -- the year to be recognized as a citizen in Malaysia.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I went to get my IC done at the Dept of Registration. I asked the officer if I could put my 'race' as 'Mix'. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"<em>Tak boleh!</em> (Nope!)" she said firmly. I only had three choices: Chinese, Indian or Malay. It didn't make sense to me. I'm a mix of two bloods, not a pure breed Chinese! I pleaded again and again to the officer to let me put my 'race' as 'mix'. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I told her that a friend of mine was half British and half Malay, so he became a 'Malay' but he also wanted to be a 'mix'. I asked, "Why?" </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The more I pleaded for her to reason with me, the more she was annoyed. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Finally, I asked if I could tick the last box and be a "<em>lain-lain</em> (others)". And I got a 'no' as well. So in the end, the only choice I had was 'Chinese'.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And so began the "What kind of Chinese are you?" question every time I present my passport at the Malaysian immigration. Obviously, I don't look like a typical Chinese if I have European blood.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">At one point, a Singaporean immigration officer thought I was being kidnapped and smuggled into Singapore by a whole car load of Chinese -- my uncle and his wife, my grandparents, my mom and my cousin sister.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When I attended the 2011 Fashion and Sense (Miss Transgender Malaysia) competition, the question given to Miss Sarawak was, "Do you think passports should be issued for transgenders?" Her answer was obviously a 'yes', and the crowd went wild as most attendees were from the transgender community.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I sat there and thought about it.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I could imagine what they have to face when they present their passports to the officers. Instead of the immigration officer asking, "<em>Cina</em> <em>apa?"</em> like what get, the immigration officer would probably ask, "<em>Lelaki apa?</em> (What kind of man are you?)"</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">How are they supposed to answer that????? "<em>Saya campur.....</em> ( I am a mix?????)</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT82G2TYj304IR2DvUVo9woR5scRPDrOOHnygTuT1UT60G1fE0DrGHqnW-AajBhaQd7TOfpijF2jy51tdINYS1hyDZUzYuLYQGrtMzMS6b0J4dI0XNZNMTIDb-R0RPivFl1qna58q-63w/s1600/yinYang.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT82G2TYj304IR2DvUVo9woR5scRPDrOOHnygTuT1UT60G1fE0DrGHqnW-AajBhaQd7TOfpijF2jy51tdINYS1hyDZUzYuLYQGrtMzMS6b0J4dI0XNZNMTIDb-R0RPivFl1qna58q-63w/s200/yinYang.gif" width="200" /></span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">How would a transgender feel when she is asked a question like that ( with officers giggling behind her?) Does she feel 'injustice', anger, slighted?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If I feel 'unfair' being categorized into boxes that don't define who I am but being forced to be who I am not, and I am utterly unhappy, then how about the transgenders? They don't get this treatment just at the immigration offices, they get it at clinics, hospitals, job interviews and everywhere!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">How can we be 1Malaysia if we are still categorized like this? If Malays, Chinese, and Indians are 'Malaysians' and they have their own little 'categories' in ID cards and passports, what about those of mixed parentage, especially those who are half European, half African or do not have the typical Malaysian Malay, Chinese and Indian looks? Does that mean I am only HALF Malaysian?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It is easy to wear a 1Malaysia t-shirt and say 'Satu Malaysia!" and see all sorts of money being poured into campaigns. But just how 1Malaysia are we? </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If we claim that we are 1Malaysia, then does any one of us have any right to stop a transgender to be who she is?</span>Rhonwyn.Hagedornhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04985250459285209831noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1713393615139357599.post-15547280339411292162012-04-20T08:08:00.000-07:002012-04-20T08:08:01.056-07:00Speak, Connect, Quilt!<div style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><em>Stories in quilts. Photograph courtesy of <a href="http://www.quiltgallery.com.my/">The Quilt Gallery</a></em></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The masterpieces of artists are said to be parts of themselves on canvas, or in this case - quilt. In Portraits of Perseverance, Nisha, Sulastri, Lucy and Pong created a beautiful quilt that told their individual story, yet drew the same message of hope and perseverance. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">They made quilts in times of <a href="http://sosfedrdc.org/ahadi-quilt-promise">suffering</a>, to express <a href="http://www.123helpme.com/view.asp?id=38307">the ups and downs of a life plagued by disease</a> or to raise awareness about a certain issue (such as <a href="http://www.cambridgewomenscenter.org/programs/survivor_quilt_project.html">incest</a>). As our Portraits of Perseverance women used quilting as an outlet of expression for their unique struggles, many people in the world use it to express their<em> own</em> unique troubles.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Apparently, the art of quilting has dated as far back as the days of ancient Egypt. Since those days, groups of people have gathered together, each stitching their square of cloth, and finally assembling them together to form a diverse quilt. </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Some make quilts to express support in rough times, like in the case of the <a href="http://www.qovf.org/">Quilt of Valor</a>, which was made to honour soldiers in the United States.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Quilts are also made as love offerings, for any special occasion. A baby shower gift. A wedding present. The possibilities are endless!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As traditionally, quilting is mostly done by women, it is seen as a way to connect and <em>empower </em>women. In a literal sense, a group of women connect with one another while working on a quilt - spending time chatting, sharing small talk and experiences. At the same time, young girls could work on the quilts with older women and learn many life lessons and homemaking skills, first-hand! Even more so for the womenfolk of small communities. It helps create a tightly-knit sisterhood bond.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://quiltgallery.com.my/images/Junglemquilt.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" height="300" src="http://quiltgallery.com.my/images/Junglemquilt.jpg" title="" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><em>Photograph courtesy of </em><a href="http://www.quiltgallery.com.my/"><em>The Quilt Gallery.</em></a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In many impoverished nations, such as Nepal and Uganda, any extra income a woman can make would be of great help to her family. With several of them not having received formal education, and many not trained with job survival skills, quilting and selling the handmade quilts would not only generate a little cash, but it also can give the women a sense of responsibility and empowerment. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, verdana, sans-serif;">Quilting enables women to speak up! It gives them power to express their innermost thoughts - by quilting pictures or symbols of their feelings.</span><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, verdana, sans-serif;"> (People say girls are sensitive creatures so I guess this whole "expressing feelings" thing comes easier for us than it does for men!)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, verdana, sans-serif;">On the 8th of March this year, 11 <a href="http://advocacynet.org/resource/1323">advocacy quilts</a> were shown at the United Nations headquarters in conjunction with International Women's Day. They can shed light on world issues. They can speak up for a cause and give their support. Not just on a small scale, but on an international scale. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, verdana, sans-serif;">Even in these modern times, many still deem quilting as a "woman's job", something done by the weaker sex. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Yes, people can say it's a woman's job. But they should take a look at how women use it to do so much, and realize women are most definitely <em>not</em> the weaker sex.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">With the little act of quilting, women can make pretty home decors AND be empowered at the same time!</span><br />
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<em><span style="font-family: Arial;">by Junmey</span></em>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1713393615139357599.post-22005454463389426922012-04-07T10:02:00.000-07:002012-04-15T01:19:52.492-07:00Watching Portraits of Perseverance<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“Portraits of Perseverance” sheds light on some of the troubles four women face in their daily lives, and how they manage to cope with them. I find it amazing how the women pull through each day and still remain cheerful and committed to their responsibilities.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For Lucy, she juggles the duties of a mother and the added plight of a Lupus patient. Pong had to deal with losing her legs after giving birth over 26 years ago. As for Nisha and Sulastri, they are bombarded with the unique challenges of being transsexuals in a conservative society.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Well, there goes the saying that, "when the going gets tough, the tough gets going."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Once the POP video was completed, the post-production team watched the final draft. I realized that everyday, the women take on these challenges bravely and triumph over them. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Snippets of the documentary featured Pong moving about with difficulty, yet without complaining at all; Sulastri emphasising that "this is who" she is, regardless of what others might think or say about her. </span><span style="font-family: Arial;">These are women of <em>strength.</em></span><br /><br />They are heroines in their own right. </span> </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXOVFSegv91INqe2IAqMDaZ-7NXmFyx_CDdWAs5FVLdNd3uuHNeIrPZ3-tl3Ke_DWoTMui3vl79UKlNEu0mAjUzX27MDRK4daPKqtld8fUa7vXXV2WTtD-4llUUFsbdwCFMkaFZ6R_SKB9/s1600/pop1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><em><img border="0" height="265" nda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXOVFSegv91INqe2IAqMDaZ-7NXmFyx_CDdWAs5FVLdNd3uuHNeIrPZ3-tl3Ke_DWoTMui3vl79UKlNEu0mAjUzX27MDRK4daPKqtld8fUa7vXXV2WTtD-4llUUFsbdwCFMkaFZ6R_SKB9/s400/pop1.JPG" width="400" /></em></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><em>Ching Ching talking to the interns in the post-production team about the video.</em></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“It’s a very heartwarming video, and it highlights some problems that these women go through. We are lucky enough to not have to face these problems!" Dominique said, when asked about his thoughts concerning the video. “But at the same time, it also highlights problems that all of us as people share. (The video) has a lot of life lessons (that teach us) to appreciate the things we have.”</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Young ones like us could learn so much from them.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Joshua’s take on the video pretty much sums up what many of us thought of it, “It’s very touching. It’s a production that can relate to (many aspects of) one’s life.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The documentary gives the viewer access into the daily lives of the women. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It takes the viewer to a personal level to understand their stories.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It successfully tells those stories in the rawest and most realistic way possible. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“Considering this is eHomemakers first documentary, I think we did a really good job.” said Rhonwyn, who was part of the “Portraits of Perseverance” production team.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4-ybPJnXxsy0sQvM0n680UZ3uH3PonI0xs2lo92HEPqkGlp3LXUU0TGF8b84VE1IuEcMCg9bmd6c2EZi3uwUCpa9od6GUwNFlwcGyjaj3tyP_dFcW16KjvhWSe1GGRTrNfv2hsSfy0c6K/s1600/pop2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="212" nda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4-ybPJnXxsy0sQvM0n680UZ3uH3PonI0xs2lo92HEPqkGlp3LXUU0TGF8b84VE1IuEcMCg9bmd6c2EZi3uwUCpa9od6GUwNFlwcGyjaj3tyP_dFcW16KjvhWSe1GGRTrNfv2hsSfy0c6K/s320/pop2.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><em>Some of the post-production team members watching the final POP draft.</em></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">All in all, the process of making the video has been a roller-coaster ride, just like the many journeys we embark on in life. But through that grinding process, this masterpiece of a documentary was born.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">You be the judge of that!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I personally believe that this video delivers a very strong theme - that is, tough times don’t last, but TOUGH PEOPLE DO. As Joshua said, “The women have times when they are down, and during those times, they look up." </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And I hope that every person who watches "Portraits of Perseverance" will be touched by that message.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>by Junmey</i></span></div>
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</div>Portraits of Perseverancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01394108872965295364noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1713393615139357599.post-63987316334548204752012-03-26T21:29:00.000-07:002012-04-15T01:20:18.738-07:00The Temuans' Land<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">A trip to Frasers Hill can be a great experience for travelers. Tourists en route there often stop by the sleepy town of Kuala Kubu Bharu for some good Hailam food. Traditional Hailam noodles and Yoot Loy coffee shop’s homemade Kaya on toast are just some of the specialties the town has to offer to the adventurous and hungry.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">To get to Frasers, you’d have to pass the great Sungai Selangor dam. It has become an attraction on its own, and the beauty and the breeze makes it easy to see why.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">It would’ve been more beautiful if not for the story behind its making.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDXccvz9UKMHC28F-kPQ0PmFc1xPWTRrlJ_nJ169EhIYJTao5S9ImJaZ-Vh8hGkBf-Q1k68i7UV6ov5H8h0b5HZSG0JubHWxtWrQhNrHHB_NRQI-nj4vsHYTOiPkWlt82ag7GbCYczqYEM/s1600/P1000102.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDXccvz9UKMHC28F-kPQ0PmFc1xPWTRrlJ_nJ169EhIYJTao5S9ImJaZ-Vh8hGkBf-Q1k68i7UV6ov5H8h0b5HZSG0JubHWxtWrQhNrHHB_NRQI-nj4vsHYTOiPkWlt82ag7GbCYczqYEM/s400/P1000102.JPG" width="400" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%; text-align: justify;">The large body of water covers what used to be part of the Orang Asli (that is, the Temuans) home. Judging by the size of the lake, it could’ve been home to hundreds of households, and a huge number of flora and fauna. Like so much of the world’s pristine land, it was altered to meet the needs of the urbanizing lifestyle.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">We hear so much about “Going Green” in the media these days. Advertisements, documentaries and government movements scream “Save the environment!” Many of these campaigns have been initiated by the higher authorities throughout the decade.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 14px;">Water flowing into the resevoir in the Sungai Selangor dam.</i> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">Well, in 2002, a big chunk of greenery and the precious ancestral home of the Temuans was flooded to be made into a dam.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">I had the privilege of joining the Chern family, who lent a hand to the 'Portraits of Perseverance' project on their visit to the Temuan community. Despite much of their land having been bulldozered over, the village was still very green and the air was just refreshing. Playing host was Antares, a resident of Kampung Pertak. A brilliant storyteller and guide, he took us </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">us to Sungai Pertak, where the villagers’ lives are centred. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">The river was just a few minutes away from the houses. We walked on a mud trail made by several pairs of feet making their way back and forth daily, treading carefully so we don’t slip and fall. To say the understated, Sungai Pertak was gorgeous. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">A few village girls walked past us, hair wet and looking fresh from a dip in the river. A Temuan mother was washing some clothes, while her little girl waded in the waters. Antares hopped on the rocks to get to a spot where the river gushed. He sat himself in between the rocks and indulged in a natural back massage by the swift waters. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">I admired the clear water and the backdrop of tall trees. Mysterious sounds from the forest – what were they, birds? Insects? – interrupted the singing river. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><em>Antares sitting by the crystal clear river.</em></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">“This beautiful scenery is merely a fraction of the old village,” I reminded myself.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">Our host and “ceremonial guardian of the Magick river”, Antares, said that there used to be more trees, and it was greener back then. Walking back to his home from the river, we stopped to look at a big, empty grassfield.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">“There used to be a big tree around here many years ago.” He said, pointing at an empty field nearby his house. “They used to call it the Fairy Tree.” </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Grinning with what looked like reminiscent pride, Antares said, “People from around the world would come here and say, ‘Hey, that looks like a tree for fairies!’ “</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">I’d like to think that children were playing by the Fairy Tree. Maybe they spent their day, sitting on its large roots, beneath the shelter of its leaves, playing with imaginary fairies.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">It’s a shame no child can do that now.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">As we sat on the verandah of Antares' home, I couldn't help but realize how peaceful the village was -- a few trees scattered here and there around the houses, the calming trail that led to the river, a lush green environment with clean air. Immersed in surrounding nature, one could hardly imagine the chaos in the environment, just outside the village.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Mrs. Chern smiled, "If one were to sit here when the sun sets, in the evening, it is beautiful.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The future of this beautiful land may look bleak. But for the present, any one who visits Antares should just enjoy the natural beauty as she suggested.</span></div>
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<i>by Junmey</i></div>Portraits of Perseverancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01394108872965295364noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1713393615139357599.post-35095020554753160032012-03-25T10:54:00.000-07:002012-04-15T01:20:47.136-07:00Life by Sungai Pertak<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">At the foothills of Fraser's Hill is the small town of Kuala Kubu Bharu, where rows and rows of buildings house family food businesses and sundry shops.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">“There’s something charming about this place,” I thought to myself as the very kind Mr. and Mrs. Chern and I sat waiting for our food in a small Hailam coffee shop. The sweet Chern family had counted me in on their little food trip before heading up the hills. The quiet and simple KKB lifestyle was certainly a refreshing change from the Kuala Lumpur hustle and bustle just an hour’s drive away.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Further up from this town is a winding trail that leads to the small, green Orang Asli village, Kampung Pertak.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">It used to be bigger and a lot greener.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The Cherns were on a mission to deliver a release form for three songs by the indigenous Orang Asli band, Akar Umbi, from their album “Songs of the Dragon”. These pure and beautiful pieces were used by 'Portraits of Perseverance' in the documentary. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Driving up the hill, we came across a rest stop overlooking the picturesque Sungai Selangor Dam. We joined families, couples and travel groups who were admiring the lake. Large and quiet, the waters glistened in the sun, with the cool breeze as its company. A stretch of distant mountains and clouds in the sky drew a breathtaking picture.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The vast space where the dam now occupied used to be home to the Temuan tribe.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Driving into the village, we set our eyes upon the modern “rumah papan”, made of concrete. Mr. Chern said many had electricity and running water supply. This was the first time I saw concrete houses with fairly high-tech features in a village. They looked really nice, too! I found it strange that some of them were empty of residents.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">A sign to let us know that Kampung Pertak was not far off!</span></i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">I got to meet Antares, a friend of the Cherns and a resident of Kampung Pertak for the past 20 years.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">His wife, Anoora, shyly shook our hands as we walked up the stairs to their home. She and the residents of the village are Temuans, an aboriginal tribe, Orang Asli, with animistic beliefs. "They believe in spirits of the forest, that their lives and the lives of their ancestors are connected to the environment in a spiritual way." Mr. Chern explained as we sat on Antares' verandah, looking out at the serene, green surroundings.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">To me, it was a beautiful place. But to the Orang Asli, it was so much more.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">“They (the Orang Asli) actually knew that every tree, every rock, every mountain, every river, is an entity that’s got its own story, that it is in fact a manifestation of their ancestors. Their physical bodies became the physical landscape.” Antares said. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">“It’s the<i> flesh</i> of their ancestors. “</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">I wonder how they felt when their ancestral land was bulldozered and cleared out to be made into a dam</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">“Orang Asli have the tendency to inhabit a certain biological region for thousands of years. Ten, twenty, thirty thousand years.“ We listened to Antares speak as we took sips from the tea he brewed.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">“When you’ve stayed in this area for so many generations, you know that the ground you’re walking on - your great-great-great grandmother was buried here! And out of (the land) where she was buried, this big durian tree grew!” He gestured to the grass. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">“You have a sense of continuity of life. The tree grows out of the place where your great-great grandmother was buried, so she becomes part of the earth, the earth becomes part of the tree, the tree rots and goes back to being the earth, <i>so the flow itself is sacred</i>!”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">That really hit me in my tummy area. It’s a sad, inevitable reality that sometimes, in order for new things to bloom, old tradition and life has to be torn down.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">It isn’t just the ancestral land that is dying little by little. In recent years, the Temuan culture has been fading. What sped up this process is the passing on of the older generation of Temuans, like Mak Minah Angong. They were probably the last generation who held on to the memory of their ancestors. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">During the twenty years of Antares’ stay in Kampung Pertak, he has watched the young villagers grow up and as is the cycle of life, he’s also seen many of the older folks, the generation of storytellers, pass away.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">“They started dying two years after I arrived,” Antares said. “Anoora’s uncle was the story-teller. For two years, I had the benefit of befriending him.” (Many of the stories are recorded in Antares’ book, <a href="http://www.silverfishbooks.com/buybooks/index.php?main_page=product_book_info&cPath=15&products_id=31&zenid=70jiak7jeft0bmnheoqrh86h11" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">Tanah Tujuh</span></a>, available on Silverfish.com) </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">And as these storytellers left forever, it seemed like they took many of the Temuan lullabies and legends along with them. The beautiful tradition is fast dying among the younger people, like Anoora and her son, Ahau. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">According to Antares, the young ones grew up with television as entertainment, “generally the most toxic intrusion that you could have in your home”, in lieu of their ancestors’ traditional songs and stories. The “mediocre programmes” on TV do not feed the villagers with helpful knowledge.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The deterioration of the younger generation is fuelled even more by their poor grasp of English, which has become so important during these times. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">”They were denied the opportunity to actually master English. English is taught in school, but minimally. If they were fluent in English like how they are fluent in</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> Malay, they would have a much bigger range of options in life. They would be able to access – like the rest of us who are English-speaking – information in the whole worldwide web. It gives them a complete spectrum.” Antares said with much passion.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">“So, because of their language limitation, and their being subject to the encroachment of so-called <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">modernity,</i>” the young Temuans are not able to compete with the rest of their generation in the city, they are not able to improve their lifestyle. At the same time, they are losing touch with their roots.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">A young Temuan man walked past Antares’ house carrying a big bunch of “petai” plants. Mrs. Chern stopped him to ask if he would sell them to her.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">”What they do for a living?” Mr. Chern asked. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">“Well, the young fellas invariably end up ‘potong rumput’,“ was our host’s reply.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">“How about working in plantations?”</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"No, no, no.” Antares said firmly. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">“But there are other things that they can do but they don't want to do. See, they (cannot) see simple things. I was hoping they’d see immediately why there’re so many people coming every weekend. Why are there people from all over the world coming here? Because it’s beautiful!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">“Look at the beautiful river! What is there to stop them from buildi</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">ng a few beautiful chalets? Teaching their kids to speak some English, so they can do a small homestay kind of business?” he said, voicing his hopes about his fellow villagers. “By learning how to do that for tourists, they would preserve the beauty of the environment, (and at the same time,) they would become independent owners of their own business. Even the capital involvement is minimal! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">“But, I don’t want to initiate it, I want <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">them</i> to initiate it!”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">“So what’s stopping them from doing it is their mentality?” I couldn’t resist asking.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">“Lack of initiative. Lack of self-esteem." Antares thought for a moment, then shrugged, "Fear. A lot of fear.“ </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">I guessed he meant that the Orang Asli, who lead such simple lives, are afraid of disapproval from the authorities, maybe even afraid of failure. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">“Do they plant vegetables here? “ Mr Chern pointed at the bottom of the houses. “Or they just go to the forest and collect (resources)?”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">“The Orang Asli are so relaxed because for thousands of years (it’s been like this) - No food? Go to the backyard, walk ten steps (to the) tapioca tree, harvest a few young leaves – you’ve got ‘pucuk ubi’.” Antares explained. “Go to the river, catch some fish. A gang of kids would go there, 5 or 8 years old. One hour of playing in the river, they’ll get enough fish for lunch.”</span><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfKr8jh04CwCg55rl9BwZiapfW55U4a95nbJSA7Y-PRTdMUT381-Oz4KsWz8FbOzI7lQ2JIFldRtnfFl-gKM41ERNkoV3FMruktEK5Acw_qqgp1oUiA1ywz3b22D3ZtpzGGHo7LN61tigA/s1600/P1000136.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfKr8jh04CwCg55rl9BwZiapfW55U4a95nbJSA7Y-PRTdMUT381-Oz4KsWz8FbOzI7lQ2JIFldRtnfFl-gKM41ERNkoV3FMruktEK5Acw_qqgp1oUiA1ywz3b22D3ZtpzGGHo7LN61tigA/s400/P1000136.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><i>At Antares' home. From left: Antares, George (a friend of Antares), Mrs. Chern and Mr. Chern</i></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">“So, they’re used to this fact that abundance is all around them and there’s no need to worry about the future. They don’t think about planting because they find it easier to just go to the jungle and get some ‘cemperai’ leaves, some ‘rebung’ (bamboo shoots). They can eat ‘cendawan’ as they know which fungus they can eat. They can eat roots, tapioca, yam. There’re thousands of things to eat from the jungle, as long as it (the jungle) is not destroyed!"</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">“They know that even tapioca leaves, ikan bilis or a few fried fish – that’s a meal. Or catch ten fish from the river, grab a handful of tapioca leaves – that’s dinner. And they only cook once a day. So, they cook a big pot of rice, they cook the fish and the tapioca leaves. They might have something on the side. They might have some ‘tempoyak’ ( which is durian sambal, fermented durian with chilli and salt) from the last durian season .” </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">By the time Antares described how delicious the ‘tempoyak’ was, my mouth was watering. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">“It’s a nice meal.” Antares nodded. “Everybody is fed. They don’t have to worry so much, not this bunch of people, because they have the forest around them and they have the river.” </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS7iVADuXdvAILS2CkT6I5lYJbpf8c5-LsYCp2EzGXdMYfRy55Yz8TsexXhAo149mfz9Vvbcqp5-PoLzZATil3PViSVVLjrn2rsOvVhyMKMYIqxYAaQqxS0d_w9wtHJHJY1KeNcTN9GqmF/s1600/P1000138.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS7iVADuXdvAILS2CkT6I5lYJbpf8c5-LsYCp2EzGXdMYfRy55Yz8TsexXhAo149mfz9Vvbcqp5-PoLzZATil3PViSVVLjrn2rsOvVhyMKMYIqxYAaQqxS0d_w9wtHJHJY1KeNcTN9GqmF/s400/P1000138.jpg" width="288" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><i>Antares walking us to the river in the cool evening.</i></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Evening was fast approaching and the Cherns and I had to make a move. I peered into the sitting room where Anoora lay with a sarong pulled up over her shoulders, watching a Hindi movie that Astro was featuring. Ahau ( his son) was in his own room, sleeping the afternoon away.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">We got into Mr. Chern’s car and started driving out of the village. Along the way, we passed a group of young Temuans who were probably my age or younger. They waved at us strangers with big, white smiles that contrasted their dark skin. What a pleasant send-off!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 5.2pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">I couldn’t help but wonder how lost the young Temuans would feel, as their ancestral land is being torn down, their culture and identity becomes less and less clear each day.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">I listen to the lullabies on the Akar Umbi CD. Mak Minah’s voice is beautiful. Also eerily haunting.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Would her recorded voice be all that’s left of the Temuan culture, say, in thirty years to come?</span></div>
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<br />
<i>by Junmey</i><br />
<br /></div>Portraits of Perseverancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01394108872965295364noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1713393615139357599.post-32827109745267322502012-03-24T03:26:00.000-07:002013-05-05T22:29:06.604-07:00What the interns think<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJiRW_6DIpKT43Xo4QxIcoFE7uqIJfTjTFEj3is4OSBkrvl3XcHx8110FU1dIV6rldP50aJBpExXVpvKO6MzGLyut7DbZBCIPVsu__EJTmneCa4VfG4O78A04C5lVDOUGs-X3gsp615lY/s1600/IMG_7730.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJiRW_6DIpKT43Xo4QxIcoFE7uqIJfTjTFEj3is4OSBkrvl3XcHx8110FU1dIV6rldP50aJBpExXVpvKO6MzGLyut7DbZBCIPVsu__EJTmneCa4VfG4O78A04C5lVDOUGs-X3gsp615lY/s320/IMG_7730.JPG" width="213" /></a><br />
eHomemakers has had its fair share of interns for the 'Portraits of Perseverance' project. Being part of the team means that we all know Morgan. At some point in our internships, we had to accompany her if she went somewhere to film the documentary (not because Morgan wanted us to or anything, Ching Ching insisted we did to protect her) Or we learnt from her by watching her edit the documentary footage.<br />
<br />
Now its time to write a blog on what the interns really thought about her! And since she isn't here anymore, there's really nothing she can do about what we say. *evil smile*<br />
<br />
The impression we all have in common about Morgan is how dedicated and hard-working she was in completing her role in the documentary. When all of us were sleepy, tired and lazy... Morgan seemed to be the complete opposite. She never complained about being tired and she was always alert! Morgan's walk was always fast-paced and full of determination while the rest of us usually had to run a little bit to keep up with her 'long Canadian legs'.<br />
<br />
Junmey especially liked Morgan's 'go-get-em' attitude. She never gave up and there was always a plan B if plan A didn't work out. When Nisha and Sulastri were unreachable via handphone, Morgan went to PT Foundation by bus and train anyway and caught them during their lunch break.<br />
<br />
Morgan loved to eat chocolate. But no matter how much chocolate she ate, she was good at losing it quickly. This is something we all couldn't understand. It seemed that Canadians are good in burning chocolate calories while Malaysians balloon up if we gobble chocolate the way she did.<br />
<br />
"Can the two of you walk down to get some snacks for the office and deposit these checks?" Ching Ching asked Tzer Haw and I one afternoon. The two of us groaned.<br />
<br />
"I'll do it!" Morgan said. "I need the exercise anyway!".<br />
<br />
Although at that moment Tzer Haw and I were spared from the 20 minute walk, the consequences were ours to face. Both of us now have big flabby butts, while Morgan still fit into her tight jeans the day she left . <br />
<br />
Intern Xian Ting remembers Morgan carrying her camera, Marvin, all over the Crown Plaza Hotel with ease while we were filming there. A camera like the one Morgan used was already heavy by itself, but Morgan didn't seem to care. Sometimes, she even carried the tripod as well. That was why we sometimes felt so useless around Morgan... she seemed to be able to do everything while we couldn't.<br />
<br />
When we asked Tzer Haw what he thought about Morgan, his only reply was, "I realized girls can do a lot of things".<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyK5enXbE5O_97QoqbHaX4oLYcRZVOgVcA1qkxM1lIfiMuF5hvFKFeTodbvSbs3v6WIW4eJZ8QogLTZAaCJ9-fjDfhwAy_KfOqgdfUrno6t5wiWGxIhkuuy4jt7O6FbTMFZJ0vvWcTieY/s1600/IMG_7734.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyK5enXbE5O_97QoqbHaX4oLYcRZVOgVcA1qkxM1lIfiMuF5hvFKFeTodbvSbs3v6WIW4eJZ8QogLTZAaCJ9-fjDfhwAy_KfOqgdfUrno6t5wiWGxIhkuuy4jt7O6FbTMFZJ0vvWcTieY/s320/IMG_7734.JPG" width="320" /></a>Well, obviously girls can do a lot of things. So after some persuasion, we got Tzer Haw to further explain what he meant, to which he replied "I used to think that what Morgan is doing is only done by men, not women. Furthermore, in a normal production, you will have one person behind the camera, one holding the lighting equipment, one interviewing and one standing around watching... But here Morgan does everything by herself. Even I can't do that".<br />
<br />
Morgan would probably never know how big of a mark she has left on the 'Portraits of Perseverance' interns, especially the ones who just finished SPM last year. For the girl interns like Xian Ting, Junmey and myself, we learned that us as girls are capable of multi-tasking with technology, and as for the guy interns like Tzer Haw, well... I guess we can say his respect for women has definitely increased after meeting Morgan.<br />
<br />
Cheers to you Morgan!<br />
<br />
Love from<br />
<br />
The Interns<br />
<br />
<br />
Rhon.Hagedorn.<br />
<br />Rhonwyn.Hagedornhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04985250459285209831noreply@blogger.com1