Foreign workers ‘are just like us’

SINGAPORE — From the moment she enters the soup kitchen in Little India for this interview with TODAY, it is clear that photographer Bernice Wong is a familiar sight to the migrant workers who had come in for a meal — she asks one worker warmly whether he had breakfast, while smiling and waving to the others.

Not too long ago, this sight would have baffled her friends and family, who considered it unlikely “for a young girl to be so involved in the migrant worker cause”.

“They were like, ‘I don’t know them and I don’t care, and it doesn’t bother me’,” Ms Wong says, before adding: “We once had a talk at a secondary school about migrant workers, and they mentioned that these workers were ‘scary’.”

Such are the mindsets the 24-year-old has set out to battle along with two other friends, through Beyond the Borders, Behind the Men (BTBBTM), an online social initiative documenting the lives of Bangladeshi workers in Singapore.

Her involvement with migrant workers — and subsequently BTBBTM — started back when she was studying at the National University of Singapore (NUS) in 2009, when she volunteered at the soup kitchen.

Their warm response — even after she stopped volunteering for a year — inspired her to do something to “document their stories and then share this with other Singaporeans”.

Thus BTBBTM was born, co-founded with Joses Kuan, 27 and Ng Yiqin, 25. The trio “tapped on (our) own skill sets” — photography, writing and videography.

The project started out as a one-off photography exhibition at The Arts House and a short film screening, along with stories posted on their website.

Along the way, the team felt they could do more than retelling stories, and what sprang forth was “a music session, where local musicians and the workers collaborate”.

“What we provide in this project is an artistic perspective that hopes to engage people into seeing them as equals, people who are trying to care for their families at home and are also facing the same global problems of economic insecurities” says Ms Ng

It is a tough call to make in the current climate of anti-foreigner sentiment, but slowly and surely, BTBBTM wants to help change Singaporeans’ attitudes towards migrant workers.

Ms Wong adds: “We need to constantly remind ourselves that these people are here not to serve us ... they’re here because they are working hard for their own families and loved ones back home as well.”

The workers have been receptive to being profiled, as they are quite curious about her interest in them, “when most girls would stay far, far away from them”.

“I was once ignorant about them too, until I started volunteering, and I realised that just like us, they have families — they are fathers, brothers and sons,” she says.

Helping BTBBTM achieve success within a short time was the platform provided by the Internet and social media.

“If it was not for being online, I think we may not have the same reach,” says Ms Wong, who was among the “trailblazers” who spoke at the Community Service Weekend organised by *SCAPE on July 7.

BTBBTM’s Facebook page currently sees close to 800 likes and the team also maintains a website with stories and videos of migrant worker stories.

In addition, BTBBTM has seen opportunities come their way: The workers they work with were once “offered (a chance) to perform at VivoCity”, and they have also spoken at schools including Cedar Girls’ Secondary School and Meridien Junior College.

While the group has not experienced any nasty trolling from netizens harbouring anti-foreigner sentiment, Ms Wong says people have left comments like: “Why do you care so much about them?”

She shrugs it off, adding: “Well, the haters are going to hate anyway, right?”

The team has followed up with a second short film to be released later this month.

“As long as we can change one life, that’s more than enough for us already,” Ms Wong says.