democracy – Tom Vater

The Rolling Stones new album Hackney Diamonds is an uncanny comment on our Zeitgeist

October 20, 2023October 26, 2023tom

The new Rolling Stones album, Hackney Diamonds, is almost perfect. Reviews have been glowing. The band’s best long-player since Some Girls, some hacks write (Variety claims it’s ‘Their Liveliest Work in 40 Years’). Macca’s on it. The irreplaceable Charlie, bless him, plays on a couple of tracks and long retired Bill (who?) does something on […]

The Green Panthers just 99 cents at Kobo until October 16th

October 10, 2023October 10, 2023tom

It’s Spooky Stories promotion week at Kobo’s and my new eco-thriller, The Green Panthers, is just 99cents until October 16th!!! https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/the-green-panthers Meet Clara Green, Emerald, Chartreuse, Olive, Hunter, Juniper and Forest. They are The Green Panthers: a privately sponsored, multi-national underground army, on a mission to hold corporate polluters to account.During the attempted rescue of […]

Burma, a Country United by Hatred and Murder?

September 16, 2017September 17, 2017tom2 Comments

Burmese army soldier in the hills above Myauk-U, Rakhine State, looking for Muslim ‘terrorists’ 400000 Rohingya Muslims have fled Burma in the past couple of weeks. Overwhelming evidence suggests that the Burmese military, along with civilian militias, is engaging in ethnic cleansing, driving people from their homes, torching their villages, raping their children and murdering […]

Burma’s election fever grips Yangon and its foreign observers

November 10, 2015November 12, 2015tomLeave a Comment

I feel incredibly humbled to have witnessed the first semi fair and almost free election in Burma in decades. I was at the NLD’s headquarters tonight where an exuberant and chaotic party atmosphere prevailed throughout. But as one Burmese told me, ‘the military are like chess players and they are planning their next move.’ That […]

Democracy in Southeast Asia – A Story Untold

June 15, 2015June 15, 2015tomLeave a Comment

I was recently commissioned by a Thai English language magazine to write a short satirical piece abut Democracy in SE Asia. After much back and forth, the publication decided not to go ahead with the article, apparently due to the current political climate in Thailand. In the West – by which I generally mean the […]

Hell in our Time – The Rohingya of Sittwe

June 3, 2015June 4, 2015tomLeave a Comment

Here’s an account of my visit to Sittwe, home of many Rohingya, in August 2012. This is not a particularly hands-on story, nor did it involve any courage on my part. Better reportages on the same subject have surfaced in the media in recent days. But as Sittwe is now sealed off and as no […]

Tom Vater´s images of Bangkok´s on May 19th at Onasia

May 21, 2010May 21, 2010tomLeave a Comment

A few of my images of the conflict between Red Shirt protesters and the military can be viewed at the website of Onasia Images, along with many other photographs from the conflict by Onasia photographers.