Photo Essay

Illuminating social issues in Singapore – Foreign Construction Workers
Essay and photographs by: Hu Ching

Singapore is a country renowned for its public apartment housing system, beautiful architecture and high rise skyscrapers, signaling its intent as a first world nation.

Yet before we can appreciate the beauty of our infrastructure, the land has to be tediously laboured upon by diligent construction workers. So who are the people who should be credited for all the success? Often working behind the scenes and behind signs that exclaim ‘Danger!’, foreign construction workers are the country’s invisible people- physically they are seen, yet no one bothers to offer a greeting to them or even smile at them. Their jobs demands much from their physique - strenuous tasks includes carrying, shoveling and lifting heavy construction materials, welding metal, operating noisy machinery and building infrastructure, all under the blazing sun or unsympathetic rain. They have to wear uncomfortable helmets at all times while working in dangerous and high-risk conditions. Sometimes, projects need to be rushed to meet deadlines and these workers have to work around the clock, 7 days a week.
Yet how many Singaporeans do not mind sharing a bus seat with these poor folks? The truth is, we do mind. We are afraid of their odour - a result of labouring under the heat for hours. We are afraid of the dirt on their clothes - a result of building shelters, roads and beautiful structures for us. We are afraid of their appearance, and we refuse to embrace them into our society.

Meagre daily wages, cramped living conditions and simple diets are not what these workers deserve for their toil. They also definitely do not deserve looks of discrimination from the rest of the society.

They communicate with their loved ones through weekly phone calls. For them, this is their only affordable form of luxury. Despite working in an air-conditioned nation, these workers have never enjoyed the cooling relief of the air-conditioner. Their only form of shelter from the sweltering tropical heat comes from a temporary corrugated-zinc resting area, supplemented with worn-out chairs. Singapore needs and welcomes foreign workers with open arms, yet do Singaporeans think likewise? Do we acknowledge the presence of these workmen, or do we treat them without kindness, respect, and equality? Do the citizens of Singapore harbor thoughts of discrimination and indifference when they see the yellow helmets?

There are already physical barriers being erected between these foreign workers and the rest of society – white metal sheets that mark the boundaries of a construction site forms a barrier that make them even more invisible to pedestrians. While such barriers cannot be torn down, what we can do, as Singaporeans, is demolish the psychological barrier that has been inevitably formed between these workers and the rest of society. Being generous and kind does not demand a lot from us. We can discard the fear, the uncertainty, the suspicions and the superior complex that divides us from them. They deserve the credit which has been robbed from their pioneers since the early days of building the first HDB apartments.

I am not making audacious requests here. Simple acts of kindness will make their day a brighter one. A sincere smile can relieve them of their aches and sores. A sincere greeting can make them feel less ostracized and more welcomed. Let’s break down this psychological wall, gesture by gesture, act by act. It is time for these silent heroes to emerge from the shadows of society. It is time for us to recognise our true heroes. We owe them a lot, and we have to start repaying our debt, gesture by gesture, act by act.