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Toothache as existential crisis
By Xinlin Basir Ullah is a stout man with an easy smile. However, when he came to TWC2 last Tuesday, it was not a smile but a face contorted in pain that we saw. He had a bad toothache in his right jaw which had been troubling him for the past two months. Lately, however,...
Injured worker goes home, loses 13 kg in 7 months
Asad is the man above. The picture on the left was taken in August 2011 before he left Singapore; even then he was slim, around 60 kg. The picture on the right was taken in March 2012, seven months later. He had lost 13 kg and looked ten years older. While in Singapore, he was...
SMU students create video sensation from Little India interviews
A striking new video of candid conversations between Singapore Management University students and Bangladeshi construction workers has become a YouTube sensation in Singapore. Between its release on March 7, 2012 and the end of the month, more than 37,000 people have viewed the seven-minute student film, “Unsung – The Invisible Workforce behind this City.” Benjamin...
Cloudy case — TWC2 draws the line
This is an uncommon story. It’s a story about a case in which Transient Workers Count Too decided we couldn’t help any further. Like any organisation, funds and volunteers’ time are limited, and if we are uncritical, expending resources on less deserving cases, then more deserving ones go unattended. However, this side of our work...
Soap kitchen day
A group from Paya Lebar Methodist Church came by to our soup kitchen at lunch on Saturday, March 24, 2012, to give out goodie bags stuffed full of useful things to the workers we serve. Things like soap, toothpaste and shavers may look like unglamourous and utilitarian items, but for workers left totally broke, they...
Steady and focussed, reports Committee at AGM 2012
Reporting on yet another successful year helping 1,908 migrant workers, the Executive Committee of Transient Workers Count Too described an organisation that is in steady hands, very focussed on its mission, at the Annual General Meeting held on March 25, 2012. Of these 1,908 workers, 1,458 came through the helpdesk of our Cuff Road Project,...
Worker flees captors through jungle at night
Jahangir waited till all seemed very quiet outside the room where he was held. It was 11 p.m. He climbed out of his window and tip-toed across the grass to the fence. Summoning a burst of energy, he climbed and topped it in a single bound, half-tumbling into the jungle on the other side. But...
Overview of income and expenditure in 2011
In a brief presentation made at the Annual General Meeting held on March 25, 2011, Transient Workers Count Too treasurer Alex Au gave a cautious assessment of TWC2′s financial health. Recalling how at the start of 2011, the previous (interim) treasurer Russell Heng predicted a cash crunch in 2011, Alex spoke about how TWC2 tightened...
Old dreams asunder, Ahsanur finds new hope
In Bangladesh, men who have returned from labours in distant Singapore often regale their young compatriots with glowing tales of a city of abundant opportunity, where hard work finds good reward. But for many seeking a better living and lured by the promise of this distant island nation, the reality can fall badly short. So...
No office, no website, yet $100,000 in illegal profit
46 men this week join a long list of foreign workers penalised by officialdom for being duped by local companies looking to make a quick buck. Yes, you read that right: They were penalised for being victims. Each has received a letter from the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) banning them for working in Singapore for...
