By Ana P. Santos
Readers and netizens know Lian Buan through her reporting on the Philippine judiciary for Rappler, Asia’s Nobel Prize winning newsroom. Buan’s reports are rigorous in research and exhaustive in scope but written in easy to digest language allowing readers to understand the inner workings of the judicial system.
Buan is momentarily taking off her hat as a senior reporter for Rappler to take up a masters in human rights at the Birkbeck University School of Law in London. Buan is among the 23 Filipinos awarded the Chevening scholarship to pursue postgraduate studies in the United Kingdom for the 2022-2023 academic year. The coveted Chevening scholarship is highly competitive. An estimated 50,000 people globally apply for the scholarship but only 2-3% are selected.
The pursuit of a masters degree and living in London again–yes, again–is very personal to Buan. Tinig UK sat down with Buan to talk about her “unfinished business” with London and her conflicted emotions about having two countries to call home.
Tinig UK: You’ve said that you and London have “unfinished business”, what do you mean by that?
England is like my second home. My family is based here. I tried to study here in 2016 when Duterte became president, but I discontinued my masters because of a confluence of reasons. One of those reasons was that the Supreme Court had granted a hero’s burial to the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos, Sr. and there was widespread protest. I wanted to be home for that. After covering six years of the Duterte Administration and the rise to the presidency of the dictator’s son, where else to open a next chapter of my life but in my second home?
Tinig UK: Is that why you have written about how you often feel conflicted about leaving the Philippines at this time?
After Marcos Jr. won the presidency, there was a conversation about whether it was still worth staying in the Philippines. That conversation was more intense in the journalism ranks. Why stay as a journalist in the Philippines when voters chose not to believe what you say? And to the 31 million (who voted for Marcos, Jr.), your reports on ill-gotten wealth, human rights violations, disinformation are all seen as lies?
There is a great migration happening. People are moving either to other countries or other jobs in the industry, and I did not want to be part of that. I wanted to stay when it was most difficult to stay, but a Chevening scholarship was too great an opportunity to pass up.
Tinig UK: But you’ve also written about how you want to make human rights fun again in one of your posts. How can we make that happen?
Duterte demonized human rights. It was as if being pro human rights was being pro-criminal. That is not true at all. Food is a human right, a decent house is a human right, a humane commuting experience is a human right, internet is a human right. Filipinos have to realize that they enjoy what they enjoy because of people and institutions who protect all of these human rights. But also that human rights are only upheld if we uphold all rights, and not just one.
Tinig UK: Let’s talk about your Chevening scholarship and the immense opportunity that it comes with. You’ve lived in London before and certainly no stranger to it, but this time, what are you looking forward to experiencing in the UK?
To be exposed to the world. To be able to look not just left, right and center but at everything in between. To share the trauma of nationalities from other countries with repressive governments, and to be inspired by those who come from progressive and developed nations. To see life outside of what I am used to, from worst to best.
Tinig: As a Chevener, you are part of a large group of Filipino alumni. You’ve probably gotten a lot of advice and tips about surviving life in the UK as a scholar. What’s the best piece of advice that you have been given?
If Filipinos invite you to dinner at their home, go and bring a take-out tupperware. It’s a great way to save money.
Top photo: Lian Buan receiving her certificate as a Chevening scholar from British Ambassador to the Philippines Laure Beaufils. Credit: Lian Buan.
About the author:
Ana P. Santos is an award-winning journalist who reports on the intersections of sexuality, sexual health, and labor migration. Her work has been published in Rappler, The Atlantic, the Los Angeles Times, Al Jazeera and DW Germany. Ana also writes a gender and sexuality column for Rappler called “Dash of SAS”, a spin off of her Facebook page, Sex and Sensibilities.com. Ana has a postgraduate degree in Gender (Sexuality) from the London School of Economics and Political Science as a 2020 Chevening Scholar.
