Tara Abhasakun is a journalist in Bangkok. She has reported on a range of human rights issues involving youth protests in Thailand, as well as arts and culture. Tara’s work has appeared in several outlets, including Al Jazeera and South China Morning Post. Tara discovered her love for writing about human rights issues while majoring in history at The College of Wooster, and particularly fell in love with Middle East history in classes about Israel-Palestine, and Iran. Tara has both Thai and Iranian heritage, and is interested in the commonalities between the two countries in human rights and democracy movements, as well as art.
You may recognize Tara from her Peace News stories about Rohingya refugees, a Thai photographer building peace through art, and about the concerns of youth amid ongoing conflict in South Thailand.
What first triggered the inkling of an idea that I might enjoy being a journalist was a course I took in my first year in college. The course was about the Israel-Palestine conflict. I realized that I enjoyed writing short essays about the topic, and I started to think about which careers would allow me to write similar material. I realized that journalism seemed like a good fit. My college did not have a journalism major, so I majored in history and took several courses centered on the Middle East.
About a year and a half after graduating from college, I moved to Thailand and started writing about human rights, art, culture, and the country’s democracy movement.
I am always seeking opportunities for solutions journalism, and to me, peace journalism is one form of that. I think for controversial topics in particular, peace journalism seeks to answer the question, “Well, what can be done about it?” framing conflicts in such a way that, rather than blame one side in an inflammatory way, we can get to the root of problems more pragmatically.
It’s a tough call, but I think my favorite story for Peace News is a tie between my story on Bangladeshi and Rohingya women building peace, and my two-part series on a Thai photographer building peace. So that’s technically three stories.
I think what I liked about the Bangladesh article was that I was challenged to communicate with a local woman on the ground who was being impacted by the situation. She spoke no English, and at times, it was difficult for me to even understand the interpreter. This was more challenging than in Thailand, where I can find interpreters for me a bit more easily. But I felt honored to speak to someone who was actually experiencing the issues I wrote about firsthand.
But I also really liked my two-part series on a Thai photographer using his work for peace. I just love finding people who have as much motivation to create societal change as this man, Yostorn, did.
Rukmini Callimachi has really inspired me with her journey in journalism. She didn’t major in journalism, and discovered her love for it in her mid-late 20s. And she has done phenomenal work reporting on ISIS.
I hope to continue working on solutions journalism, including peace journalism among other subjects. Also, as someone who has both Thai and Iranian heritage, I hope to maybe do more work comparing movements for freedom in the two countries.
Tara Abhasakun
Tara Abhasakun is a journalist in Bangkok. She has reported on a range of human rights issues involving youth protests in Thailand, as well as arts and culture. Tara's work has appeared in several outlets, including Al Jazeera and South China Morning Post.
