大象传媒

Insight, wit and analysis from 大象传媒 correspondents and writers from around the world. In this edition, two women's stories illustrate how politics can seriously affect your chances of travel. Jon Donnison hears the tale of a nightmarish odyssey from civil war in Syria, through a terrifying 11-day voyage in aboat across the Indian Ocean, without lifesaving equipment or much food, to finally obtaining political asylum in Australia. But as the country prepares to vote this weekend, are Australians now more open to "stop the boats" anti-immigration rhetoric? And what will that mean for the refugees who've already made it to its shores? In Lhasa, Sarah Cruddas learns of the ambitions - and frustrations - of a local tour guide who's eager to try international travel for herself, but has never been able to leave Tibet. This is a city whose identity is fiercely disputed - and while Chinese residents insist that "Tibet is part of China", others still pointedly emphasise that their heritage is "Tibetan, not Chinese".