By Chow Shunqi, based on an interview in September 2017 (27 Sept) He stayed as quiet as he could so others would think he was asleep. When it was 3am, he tiptoed out of the room, walked as far as he could with an injured ankle and found a hiding spot among the bushes. There was
By Philomène Franssen, based on an interview in September 2017 One thousand dollars is what Azizul received from his employer seven months after the June 2016 accident that took place at his work site. It was supposed to be his medical leave wages, but since he was on medical leave ("MC") for those seven months, it
By Nicholas Lee, based on an interview in September 2017 “Men die, company no thinking, only thinking money”. With words like that reflecting the treatment that Miah Md Sumon and his fellow compatriots receive, it is hard to imagine the lives they lead working in a far-away country away from their loved ones. I sit
By Regina Ng and Emily Sugerman TWC2’s July 2017 research forum focused on the impact of migration on children in Indonesian households as well as health meanings for foreign domestic workers. Migrating out of poverty? Khoo Choon Yen’s presentation focused on understanding reasons behind children of migrant parents choosing not to continue with (higher) education,
By Sun Hanchen Every day, tens of thousands of foreign workers begin their day in the wee hours of the morning. They are employed to do blue-collar work shunned by Singaporeans – construction, maintenance and transport amongst others – and are often treated as faceless economic factors. But they have families, and it is in
In an earlier story[1], Liang Lei has sketched the origins of Sikder Sumon's salary case and the long time it took at the Ministry of Manpower. Here, Edgar Chan adds a bit more detail about the MOM process and discusses the wider context By Edgar Chan On the evening of 25 May 2017, at Isthana
By Kan Ren Jie Traffic jams are indeed a major source of irritation for many Singapore commuters. However, when I talk with two workers from Bangladesh, Pandit Rubel Chandra and Sofikul, they tell me that the jams that we have here are really nothing compared to the crazy traffic in Dhaka! Pandit tells me that
By Rabin Kok “When I small boy, I watching Singapore on TV. That time I thinking, Singapore very nice place.” Rashid Harun Or is a well-built man with ruddy looks, scraggly long hair and a grin which seems chiselled onto his face. He looks contemplatively into the distance, and his voice trails off for a
