With the death in December of Benedict Anderson, the world lost a towering figure in studies of the region.

LANGSA, Indonesia, 15 June 2015 (IRIN) - Nur Yanah can’t hold back the tears when she recalls hundreds of emaciated boat people arriving in her native Aceh province after being rescued by local fishermen in defiance of the government decision to leave them adrift. The new arrivals were Bangladeshis escaping poverty and ethnic Rohingya fleeing persecution in Myanmar.