Hello all,

Northeastern Assam is a crucible in which multiple cultures, languages, nationalities and histories collide in an environment of pressure and heat. Hundreds of thousands of Nepalese live there. Their ancestors came to fight in Burma during WWII and they haven’t been back. The Chakmas are refugees from Bangladesh. These Buddhists were exiled from their Muslim homeland after partition. The areas they have settled haven’t been given schools or health facilities due to their illegal status. There are several groups of Burmese refugees who have settled there to escape the atrocities of their homeland. The Mising are a semi-nomadic tribe who survive by cutting down dense jungle to sell as firewood. A tropical sun and one of the highest rainfalls in the world makes this place a steaming, malarial marsh of rice, tea and bamboo. It took three days from our village of Daragaon to reach our friends Lipok and Asang’s house. They live in a village called Lakla, near where the borders of Assam, Burma (Myanmar) and Arunachal Pradesh meet.
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