About The Margins

The Margins is an independent journal edited by Xingtong Jerry Zou, about displacement and the places people try to make a home.

Why I keep this journal

I write about displacement, including the loss of land to sand extraction and the difficulties of finding housing after resettlement. I want to understand what happened in each place, and what people need next.

Some of the writing draws on published research and other journalists’ reporting. The housing notes come from my volunteer work in Southern California. The water project is a collaboration with the group behind TEHG-UV, a device that uses human motion to power a UV lamp.

The part I keep coming back to is what happens after an idea looks promising. In the water project, that means asking who would use the device and how it would be maintained. I hope this journal can make those conversations more useful.

Editor

I grew up in Shanghai, Hong Kong and Singapore and now study in California. Through Church World Service, I have helped look for housing for refugee families in Long Beach. My interests in engineering and displacement meet in the water project documented here.

Research collaboration

The TEHG-UV project starts with a published laboratory study. The researchers developed the device and ran the experiments. My work concerns its possible use after displacement and the information a humanitarian organization would need to consider a trial.

Each article lists its sources. Photographs are credited individually, including images used to illustrate a story. For a correction or a question about a source, you can email me below.

For a question, correction or an idea worth following: jerryzou2021@gmail.com

Have a story or relevant experience? Write to me →