“Due to the severe lack of options the girls currently working here have, they are more akin to sex slaves than sex workers.” S.E. Smith reports on human trafficking in Guangzhou.
“it was known/ that they were your retinue and had vanished over/ the sea…” Poem of the Week (December 30), by Raoul Schrott. Translated from German by Iain Galbraith.
“We are always just this side/ of catastrophe, slightly shattered/ and taped whole by the love/ of those we do not fully/ comprehend…” Poem of the Week (October 7), by Kyla Pasha.
“It’s Friday, and I want to hold/ the day down by its neck to keep it still…” Weekend poem, by Sarah Fletcher.
“At the factory her job is to attach buttons to shirts, pants and dresses all day long. Then, very late at night, in the darkness, she returns and reenters her cave.” Story of the Week (May 2), by Shahaduzzaman. Translated from Bengali by Shabnam Nadiya.
“A canvas/ empty of colour/ a body/ kissed by death.”
Poem of the Week (March 11), by Sukrita Paul Kumar.
“Perhaps we knew we were headed for/ Winter, perhaps we knew this was our last summer./ For why else would we/ Insist on taking the boat out to the sea.” Weekend poem, by Pooja Garg Singh.