A lawyer is the last kind of person you ever want to deal with in such an authoritarian country. A lawyer here that wants to live a long life serves more as a negotiator between the client and the government, merely trying to convince the government to not be so harsh, but clearly never fighting against the government in any way. Court trials and things like that are expensive, total shams, and a waste of time.
Being an international reporter would be awesome, but I have no college degree or experience in the field, and journalism is a very dangerous profession in Cambodia, rarely done by foreigners that live here full-time because most people attempting to report the truth end up in jail or seek asylum abroad.
I could likely land a job that would sponsor my visa, but it would mean splitting the family up within Cambodia. I'd have to live hundreds of kilometers away and come to see them on the mountain once a month or so. The K-Visa would solve all of our problems, so for now we're putting our faith in that and hoping we get it sooner than three months when I have to depart Cambodia.
I see what you mean about a lawyer.
I still think you should send an article on spec to one of the western newspapers/magazines.
For writers in America/Europe, yes they do filter by college degree, but only because so many people want to cover that beat. For Cambodia, you have no competition apart from the BBC.
Try the Spectator (UK mag). The editor is famous for publishing unlikely people, because he's looking for something different. Your impressions of the bureaucracy in Suriname would make an interesting article. The stuff about the immigration lawyers in Ecuador would also make a great article. Especially as you are writing from the perspective of an American, who everyone assumes has an easy time of it - their readers will be surprised to learn it ain't so, and that's the unique perspective you'll bring to their publication.
Here's the link for submission to the Spectator. I think you need to email your stuff to the Features editor
https://www.spectator.co.uk/submit/
Normally I wouldn't take any advice like this seriously, after all, blogger to paid column writer is quite a stretch. But the way you have described this particular magazine makes me think there could be a chance, and I will certainly pursue it. Photojournalism was something I always wanted to go to school for when I was young, but university is just not affordable for everyone in the USA, so I let that dream die and became a manual laborer.
🙏🙏🙏
Good luck!
P.S. The Spectator isn't really a photojournal, though they do publish pictures accompanying articles - include a few with your submision, so they can choose.
Also, the editor believes covid restrictions were too extreme, and damaged people and countries (he's pro-vaccine, pro-common sense, anti-authoritarian). So title your article "How my family got stranded in Suriname for three years because of covid rules", to grab their attention. If you can think of a pithier title, go for it!
Be sure to detail all the costs of covid tests, visas, lawyers etc. It's the bureaucratic extortion that's the scandal of the covid episode. Yours is a love story with bureaucrats as the enemy.
This is valuable info, I will keep this in mind when I prepare an email/story. 🙏🙏🙏