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On 12 July 2015 (Sunday), a group of more than 20 Bangladeshi migrant workers walked through the gates of Jamiyah Children’s Home not as construction workers but as volunteers. Not attired in bright yellow construction hats and luminous vests, but instead wearing t-shirts emblazoned with the words “MWC Volunteer” across the back, these migrant workers have generously given up their day of rest to spend time with the disadvantaged children of Jamiyah Home. It is an unusual but welcoming sight to see two vastly different groups of people in our society in the same place, sharing the same faith and spending time with one another.
Initially, some children eye us uncertainly, others greet us shyly with hesitant smiles and some rush up to us, embracing us as if we have been friends for a lifetime. Most of the children, aged around 8 to 12, greet us and the migrant workers with keen curiosity. They huddle together at the back of the multi-purpose hall, and with the confidence of numbers, approach us with suppressed excitement, as if assessing, almost daring us, to open ourselves up to their world. Almost immediately, the children begin to feel entirely at ease among our party of unfamiliar faces, as only children can, with the instinctive sincerity and bold eagerness that children possess.
Steadily, in organic spontaneity, some children brought pieces of coloured paper and began folding paper planes together with the student and migrant worker volunteers. Other children brought the Kendama, a traditional Japanese wooden toy that has been gaining popularity here in Singapore, and showed off their skills to everyone’s delight, and delighted at the attention they received.
 
Children have the admirable quality of being colourblind. It didn’t matter who they were talking to or playing with; it didn’t matter if we were Singaporean or foreigner, male or female, young or old; whichever race or nationality we happened to be, the children granted us the privilege of being able to spend the day with them.
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Not at all a typical Sunday for this group of Bangladeshi Muslim migrant workers; they have dedicated their precious time and sacrificed their single day off that week to volunteer at both the Jamiyah Children’s Home as well as Nursing Home. Over at the Children’s Home, the migrant workers volunteered to do some landscaping work in the Home’s Garden of Hope which had become slightly overgrown and unkempt. As the migrant workers themselves were also fasting, we had planned for them to take turns in groups of 10 to work on the garden while the others took a rest. We did not want to tire them out especially during the time that they were fasting.
However, all 22 migrant workers marched out unfazed into the blistering heat, surveyed the plot of land and declared they could clear it within 15 minutes. Before we could protest that they should not overwork themselves, the migrant workers organized themselves rapidly, allocating each man with targeted jobs. They armed themselves with gloves and various gardening and landscaping tools, advancing towards the plot of land with what I can only describe as driven enthusiasm. These migrant workers were in the construction sector but had knowledge of basic landscaping. They tackled their jobs with as much drive and focus as I can only imagine they do during their regular jobs. They worked relentlessly, pulling up weeds, removing rocks, levelling the ground. And between all this, they threw the occasional joke around, laughing unabashedly as they worked, almost transforming into the poster image of “A Happy Worker”.
 
For Muslims, the month of Ramadan is devoted to worship, charitable deeds and acts of compassion. And this was the attitude they brought to their work, genuinely committed to doing something meaningful.
We had modest expectations as to how many migrant workers would willingly give up their only free day to contribute their time to essentially do more work. But with more than 30 individuals spread between Jamiyah Children’s Home and Nursing Home, we were all pleasantly surprised. This made me rethink and reexamine how we’ve placed certain judgments and perceptions on migrant workers. We assume we know all there is to know about this group of migrant workers, but these are individuals who refuse to be forced into generalized categories that we as a society arbitrarily place upon them.
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“Walao eh!”
I look up and realized that the Singlish phrase came from the mouth of a migrant worker. I smile to myself, wondering if anyone else heard this colloquial phrase uttered so fluently from a foreigner. In fact, it isn’t uncommon to hear migrant workers’ speech embellished with our favourite colloquialisms like lah and lor. Such slang is so seamlessly incorporated that we sometimes don’t realize they’re using it because it sounds so natural to us. While various groups have been trying to foster greater integration among migrant workers and local Singaporeans, it seems that migrant workers have taken the first step and adopted the subtleties of our language, the language that we all so ardently defended and claimed as our own, our identity.
When one of the workers asked if there was another bag where they could dispose of the weeds and pebbles, another worker chimed in with a “mei you” (“don’t have” in Chinese). Picking up the different phrases of different languages and using them so comfortably reflects the ease at which they feel in a country. Speaking in their own language would have signified difference and distance, albeit a comfort to them to be able to converse in their own native tongue but alienating for the rest who don’t understand. Adopting a foreign language possibly shows their willingness to integrate, but more than that, it suggests a familiarity and an attempt to connect to the people and the environment they are in. These migrant workers could easily choose to remain detached and isolated from us, but it is the understanding and desire to make their living here more bearable and more pleasant that they try to bridge the language gap. Because of the understanding that living together amicably is a much better existence than living in hostile division and discrimination.
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The day ended with the breaking of fast together. With hands clasped, fingers intertwined or palms open in a gesture of gratitude, the migrant workers mouthed the prayer in Bengali as the prayer was being recited in Malay by the rest of the home’s residents. Together with the children, various Guests of Honour and student volunteers, the migrant workers broke fast together with us in an act of inclusion that went beyond status, race, religion or age.   There is something that can be said for giving back to society. Volunteering and contributing back to society doesn’t require large capital, huge resources or advanced technology or knowledge. It is not exclusive only to those who can write a big cheque to make a meaningful impact. All you need is a willing heart and a commitment to make meaningful change. In the first of a series of getting migrant workers to give back to society, we have tried to demonstrate this very willingness and commitment that society can hopefully recognize. Many migrant workers have had to constantly endure hardship and work above and beyond what they are expected to do. Many of them accept perpetual work without days off, willingly take on extra hours of work in order to earn more money, and function daily and tirelessly on sometimes insufficient or inadequate rest and food. They come forward readily offering their time, not because it’s required of them but because they find the work meaningful. It does not matter who we are or who we represent in society – the willingness and desire to give back to the community has the ability to transcend all barriers and bias. And a community that has individuals who step out to give back is a community of valued individuals.
Rachael Ng
To read more articles written by students from Raffles Institution Community Advocates, please click here for the Hari Raya Celebration at Jamiyah Children's Home or here for the Hari Raya Celebration at Jamiyah Nursing Home.
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