Brandon Letsinger Writes

Spiral incense burners and lamps in Man Mo Temple – dedicated to the patron saint of martial arts | Hong Kong Island

 Angkor Wat Angkor Thom Phnom Kulen Ta Prohm

Waking up early the next morning, we spent a day exploring Phnom Penh, shopping through the markets, before meeting with our friends Lindsay and Christine who flew in from South Korea that evening. From the hotel, we dropped by the central MCC office, picked up one of their co-workers Rebecca, who was hitching a ride … Continue reading »

By the end of the night, our flight was only 2 hours late. It began at the terminal in Beijing, our ’15 minute’ delay stretching into hours, as flights scheduled to leave after ours boarded and departed, all with no plane at our gate. The reason for this was soon made apparent, as we descended … Continue reading »

Fresh off the boat, ready to start my new life (at least for the next several months) – it took me nearly 30 minutes to figure out how to cross the street. Having just come up from the underground Airport Express from Beijing International Airport in Dongzimen, the North Eastern corner of what used to … Continue reading »

From Blue Bra Girl to Tahrir Woman, the Creation and Evolution of a Global Symbol Explored through the lens of Egyptian Graffiti

Despite beginning on December 17th in the impoverished interior, starting in Sidi Bouizid and quickly spreading through the south of the country, there was no coincidence that the two locations for the largest days of protest during the Tunisian Revolution took place along avenue Habib Bourgiba and later the Kasbah in the capital of Tunis. … Continue reading »

As protests spread across Tunisia in late December and January earlier this year, symbols of repression and fear were among the first things targeted after the fall of Ben Ali. Opulent mansions were looted, posters and portraits of Ben Ali torn down and across the country, government offices, police stations and interior ministry buildings were … Continue reading »

On January 14th, after weeks of sustained protests and campaigns of civil resistance, former dictator Zine el Abidine Ben Ali fled the country with family members on board a small private jet to Saudi Arabia. For tens of thousands of citizens finally finding their voice however, this symbolic act was only the beginning of their … Continue reading »

Nestled away behind a corner of broken and worn stone, hidden within the Medina of Tunis, a solitary figure stands. Emblazoned on a wall, the etched caricature of Mohamed Hanchi stands alone, the black and blue ink complemented by only the clear sky above and the rose red anger – or was it blood? – … Continue reading »

On a cold Saturday in November, with a speed that few could have foreseen, and even fewer analysts predicted, the Jasmine Revolution swept across Tunisia. In a bloodless coup, army general and prime minister Zine El Abidine Ben Ali overthrew Habib Bourgiba, still widely popular after his instrumental role in achieving Tunisian independence from France … Continue reading »

Nestled away behind a corner of broken and worn stone, hidden within the Medina of Tunis, a solitary figure stands. Emblazoned on a wall, the etched caricature of Mohamed Hanchi stands alone, the black and blue ink complemented by only by the clear sky above and the rose red anger or blood on his cheeks, … Continue reading »

At any time of the day in the largely middle class Bab Souika, life continues with an effort of normalcy. People pour from the labyrinth of alleyways and streets that connect through stone cobbled archways, covered with a white flecking of cracked plaster and into the central meeting point of four major roadways. Traffic flows … Continue reading »