To fund the required recruitment fee for his job, Habibur took a loan from Brac Bank. Even from the beginning, the repayment demands looked tight. Then the unexpected happened.
Nahid's first job turned out relatively well, but he hadn't gone home to see his family in five years. So he resigned and, soon after, had to look for another job.
Kamrul and Majumder share something important: both their illegal recruiters were based here in Singapore. In Majumder's case, an additional payment was demanded by someone in the company.
Relationships and trust figure strongly in how a Bangladeshi worker like Khairul operates in the world. In bureaucratic Singapore, they don't work so well.
Injured workers who need to attend hospital follow-ups get caught in overly-strict rules about leaving their dorms for appointments. They might miss their doctor dates.
Covid-19 will continue to appear repeatedly. If each time we see a cluster, we shut down thousands of workers, the economic cost will be very great.
Our volunteer speaks to Nodia at a point in his life where he has no control over his fate, only hope. This sense of powerlessness is a very common experience among migrant workers.
After long months of confinement, workers want to go home. But it is proving nearly as difficult as breaking out of jail. Reasons for policy remain unclear.
Akash had a salary problem in one job. He then found a new job. Eight months later, non-payment again. We learn of worse as the interview progresses.
How four workers have been affected by the suspension of many actvities during the Covid-19 lockdown from early April to early June 2020.