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Hello,
My name is Sean Meling Murray, I'm 26 years old and come from Stavanger on the west coast of
Norway. A year ago I moved to Oslo to study photojournalism. Before that I lived in Bergen where
I studied media science at the University for three years. I became interested in photography while
working for the student newspaper, and have since then worked for a variety of papers and
magazines in Norway.

I have been to Southeast Asia before, but never Bangladesh, and I am really looking forward to
experiencing a culture which is so radically different from our own.

I plan to spend most of my time in Kathmandu, where I'd like to work on a variety of different
subjects. I am very interested in traditional cultures and beliefs, and would love to do a story on
shamanism in Nepal. Shamanism is a 50,000 year old way of life and is practised among a variety
of Nepal's ethnic groups.

I would also like to work with Tibetan refugees. The plight of the
Tibetans has been covered extensively in the Norwegian press (especially during the 2008 Olympics
and the riots in Myanmar) but I have yet to see a story on this subject from Nepal, where there are a
large amount of refugees.

I am also interested in the Gurkhas; Nepali soldiers who fight for the
British and Indian armies. There has been a lot of media coverage of the Gurkhas in Great Britain
lately, because the government has refused their right to pensions and citizenship.

Finally, in Nepal,
I'd like to work on a story about kamlari system, where young girls from rural areas are sold to
wealthy Nepalis and Indians as servants, which is basically a form of human trafficking.

Hopefully I'll be able to spend a week in Chittagong in February, where I want to do a story on Jafar
Alam, Bangladesh's self-proclaimed first surfer. He runs a small surf camp in Cox's Bazaar
where he teaches street children to surf.

Looking forward to seeing you! All the best for now,
Sean

sean.meling@gmail.com
http://fotomeks.blogspot.com/
http://www.seanmurray.no/