Curated by Robert Godden

There are more people migrating for work now than at any time in human history. Nowhere is this movement of people greater than in Asia. The majority go in search of a better life for themselves and their families, driven by poverty and a lack of opportunities at home.

The impact of this movement is manifold and complex. It is both contemporary and historic – each community shaped by previous waves of migration over decades and centuries. Economically, remittances sustain the families who remain behind. Yet, the absence of a family member can destroy the very relationships that drove the migration in the first place. In host countries, discrimination often greets those who come from afar to work. Despite this, migrant populations can foster the growth of cosmopolitanism through the cultures they bring with them.

Our understanding of the impact of migration is in part shaped by images. More often than not it is the outsider’s gaze that determines that representation. Occasionally, the view is from inside – where migrants tell their own stories. Whoever the author of these tales; they provide us with insight into what is happening and how we can react in a way that promotes tolerance, acceptance and understanding.

FEATURING

Beyond Stones by Emily Wabitsch (Germany)
The Withering of White Mountain: Oil workers in Kazakhstan by Ian McNaught Davis (South Africa)
Hidden Hong Kong by Kai Löffelbein (Germany)
A Slow Boat to China by Kazuhiro Yokozeki (Japan)
The Migratory Silk Road – Chinese in Egypt by Kim Badawi (France/Male)
Racism in India: The African Portraits by Mahesh Shantaram (India)
Young Community/Old Country by Marco Valle (Italy)
The Mysterious Case of Pushpa and Others by Prasiit Sthapit (Nepal)
Day Off by Sim Chi Yin (Singapore)
Simulacrum: Asian disapora in the GCC countries by Siniša Vlajković (Serbia)
Balance of Zero by Tom White (United Kingdom)
Deeper Scars by Vincete Jaime Villafranca (Philippines)