"I no money, I no job," said Kesar (real name withheld on request), explaining why he worked illegally for a short spell. After he complained to his employer about deductions from his salary, he was threatened. "Boss angry and he say 'I send you back to Bangladesh'." Fearing capture and forced deportation by repatriation agents
The midnight air was humid and still. Russell slid his car into the driveway fronting the block of flats marked for the rendezvous, turned off his headlights, and rolled down his window glass to listen intently to the sounds emanating from the block. Nothing unusual so far -- a bit of distant television, a mother
Without work, Abubakar (right, above) was not getting any money and had to depend on free meals served by TWC2, but it wasn't because the scaffolder wasn't willing to work. It was simply because his boss was penalising him for refusing to take a pay cut. The boss had not assigned him to any work
Hanis came to Singapore in August 2009 from East Java for a job as a domestic worker. Like so many others, she hoped to make enough to help support her husband and two children -- a four-year-old son and a daughter aged 11, whom she left in the care of her mother. Her husband
There are many stories about migrant workers being housed worse than animals, in unsafe and unhygienic conditions. But it is hard to grasp how bad things can be without the visual image. With phone cameras becoming ubiquitous, these images are coming out. The first is a video first posted on The Online Citizen, showing utterly
Avelyn (seated, centre) hands out a meal coupon By Ramesh “You’ll get more than you give,” says Avelyn Wei, a 24-year-old St Joseph’s Convent physical education teacher, on being a volunteer at TWC2’s Cuff Road Food Programme. “I’m not trying to romanticise what I do, but my eight months as a volunteer on
Merry Maids from NJCPW075 on Vimeo. By KS Touched by the plight of foreign domestic helpers, a group of teenagers from the National Junior College decided to produce an animation video related to this issue. “Merry maids”, a two-minute video, was an idea suggested by group mate, Serena Khoo, who is half-Indonesian. Hearing stories from
By Ramesh Companies are using gangsters to intimidate, threaten and to ultimately send ‘troublesome’ workers home. Ali (not his real name) has seen better days. He wanders the labyrinthine alleys of Little India in search of friends and familiar faces. On some days all he needs are a warm wave of recognition and reassuring words,
Up till then, it was a quiet morning at TWC2's office. Up till when the phone rang. On the other side was a woman whose voice told of deep concern. Mrs K (not her real name) told TWC2 staff member Mansura that there was a domestic worker in an apartment a few doors away from
In the one-and-a-half years working in Singapore, Rashid said he was short-paid by $21,000. This arose out of the way the employer computed his salary, which appears to be in violation of the Employment Act. "My basic salary was $700 a month," which is roughly the going rate in Singapore for migrant construction workers without
