China was just a step to my destination--a meeting in Northern Thailand. I'm here with representatives of all the countries where we work for 2 main reasons: one, to see the work that our partner in Thailand is doing, and two to share ideas and discuss our work around the world. Below is a photo from a community of an ethnic group called the Palaung. Many of them came from Burma and have settled in Thailand under less than ideal conditions. It was really interesting for me to listen to, and participate in a dialogue between this group and our staff from different countries. One of the things that strikes me more and more, here, and in other parts of the world is the situation of 'stateless' people. I have a hard time imagining the impact it must have on someone to leave one place because they are unwanted, and arrive in another place where they are also unwanted. People carry on, inspite of the odds, as people do, but one can sense in a meeting like this a kind of vulnerability that is very moving.