Absent without Leave

They sacrificed their lives fighting for the independence of their country, but their stories remain untold for 60 years. The story begins with a man’s portrait, which has been hanging for more than 30 years in an old wooden house where I was born and grew up in Perak, Malaysia. It’s long become a taboo that my families do not talk about this man, not even to bring up his name or his past. Eventually I found out he is my grandfather, who sacrificed his life fighting for Malaysia’s independence and decolonisation, but his and his comrades’ st...

Nia’s door

Nia from the Philippines works as a family maid in Taiwan. She prefers to stay in her private room, where a door separates her from her employers, but this upsets her employers.This is a story about being away from home.