It had another name but I don’t remember it.

Everyone just called it the Pusat: the Centre.

They were there because they had lived on the streets and worked in massage parlours and brothels. Because they had been the victims of incest, rape and unprotected sex.

The Pusat: a school, a jail, a home. A purgatory for the sins of others.

A collection of sorrows.

***

Outside, it was the never-ending summer of Malaysia. The sun was high, the sky relentlessly blue and the grounds

This photo sequence first appeared in Issue 4 (Aug. 2008) of Cha

For enlarged images link to:
http://www.asiancha.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=199&Itemid=127

This photo sequence first appeared in Issue 5 (Nov. 2008) of Cha
For enlarged images link to:
http://www.asiancha.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=264&Itemid=142

Robert Abel has published three novels and three collections of stories and numerous articles. His writing awards include a National Endowment for the Arts Creative Writing Fellowship and the Flannery O’Connor Award for Short Fiction. In 1987, 1994 and 1997 he taught at universities in China. His most recent novel, Riding a Tiger, was published by Asia 2000 in Hong Kong. Visit his website for more details. (Photo by Qian Gu.)

Martin Alexander has been a featured writer at