From Flooded Homes to Refugee Camps: GO-FAR 2025 Launches Displaced

WKWSCI student journalists and faculty celebrate the book launch of “Displaced”, showcasing stories and documentaries from this year’s GO-FAR 2025 programme.

On 18 October 2025, 13 journalism students from the Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information (WKWSCI) launched the book Displaced at Temasek Shophouse. Over 140 guests, including NTU faculty, alumni, media partners, and family, attended to celebrate the culmination of this year’s GO-FAR (Going Overseas For Advanced Reporting) programme.

Displaced is a collection of feature stories and three documentaries capturing the courage, loss, and resilience of Myanmar refugees along the Thai-Myanmar border. The students’ work reflects the realities they witnessed during their 12-day trip to Mae Sot, a Thai border town that shelters tens of thousands of displaced people from Myanmar.

In Mae Sot, the students were accompanied by lecturers Ian Tan and Samuel He, who guided them through the challenges of field reporting such as wading through waist-high water during heavy rains, visiting refugee camps, and overcoming language barriers. Ever resourceful, the students sought out locals who could help them translate different languages like Thai, Burmese and Karen.

Toh Tian Ji (green shirt) and Faith Peh (poncho) navigate heavy rain and flooding while reporting in a village in Mae Pa

The students interviewed rebel fighters, exiled journalists, doctors, teachers, and displaced families to understand how conflict, policies, and humanitarian aid (or the lack of it) shaped daily life. The stories they brought back revealed the human cost of war.

The book also covers a kaleidoscope of other topics -  how the sugarcane industry has become a source of renewable energy, how refugees are teaching each other Traditional Chinese Medicine, and how the once-prosperous jade trade is fading away.

On campus, students also benefited from insights shared by guest speakers Audrey Tan and Judith Tan, who reflected on their experiences in environmental and health journalism, and were coached on cultural insights by Professor May Lwin, Associate Provost for NTU’s Faculty Affairs.

GO-FAR is WKWSCI’s signature journalism programme that immerses students in real-world reporting environments. This year’s stories, now compiled in Displaced, have already been featured in The Straits Times and South China Morning Post, underscoring the real-world impact of journalism and our school’s commitment to nurturing the next generation of global storytellers. 

Displaced goes beyond a student project; it is a testament to empathy, perseverance, and the belief that stories can make a difference. Explore the students’ work, watch the three documentaries, and follow the journey on Instagram at @gofar.wkwsci.