character not the color the skin Martin
Luther King 1963 in is I have a dream
speech so eloquent no I’m not here to
talk about racism or color no these
workers are dirty they are smelly they
are loud they’re workers
so should we send them back but
sometimes we say things that we don’t
mean I’ve been working with them for
over 20 years now and I can tell you
know there are no angels they’re not
Saints but they’re not devils – they’re
just people at the coalface
at a sharp end of the stick doing work
that you and I don’t want to do I’ve
done management consulting for many
companies and every time there’s a
workplace accident some of these
companies go what say I worker did it
happen in our premises was it during our
working hours instead of asking is he
okay has someone attended – Ally to run
auto upon have we contacted their
families they must be worried why can we
treat people like people you see there’s
a disconnect here we see that we’re
civilized
well we’re first-world by the same time
we judge we label without understanding
did you know that there were there are
5.6 million people living in Singapore
and out of them 1.2 million
actually foreign workers excluding
domestic helpers 1.2 what does 1.2
million look like well if you were to
take the entire residential population
of Jerome Woodlands Tampines and below
you have 1.2 million where are they
do you see them at the fast-food outlets
the coffee joints
maybe they’re somewhere the discotheques
sample is very glamorous picture-perfect
it’s beautiful
these guys they live on the other side
of the looking glass looking in and I
know what you’re thinking
1.2 million you know you’ve read the
newspaper reports sometimes things go
bad little india riots 300 of them
rioting now I’m talking about 1.2
million but you can be rest assured it’s
not their character they’re not like
that even the Commissioner of Police has
ever said there’s more trouble in
Geylang and cocky than with them now
you’re probably thinking who’s this guy
standing here talking about foreign
workers see all my working life I’ve
been asked this question where do you
come from
when you migrate here I always tell them
in this way hello I’m a Singapore ena
born and raised here served my national
service was a tau recruit I finished my
reservist in case you’re wondering and
now you’re thinking who is he if he’s
local born to talk about foreign workers
see when I was growing up parents used
to tell the kids if you’re naughty the
black man will catch you the by jaga
will catch you in case your donor was by
jaga by jaga is the Sikh with a big
turban and a big beard
standing God my mother couldn’t tell me
I’ve never admitted this anyway but my
father was a migrant then he became a
Singapore season before I was born
yes I was born and raised here but he
was from Punjab India and he was
uneducated he needed thumbprint not
signature just like some of these
workers they actually don’t know how to
read and write their own name but they
would take out their work permit and
copy because it’s a law to know your own
name my father worked two jobs bus
driver and security guard he will come
home once a week to change his work
clothes I can tell you kids on me they
used to disturb and say hey your father
smelly he rides a bicycle
why not Manya yeah he didn’t he would
save everything for us
just like these workers do and what kids
are mean adults are no better his
colleagues and his friends would tell
him a singer Bella Luna balik Kampung by
Layla India I translate for you when are
you going back to your village why don’t
you go back to India and I was a kid
listening to this I was angry at him I
was embarrassed by him by the same time
my heart cried for him because I knew
how hard he worked so I vowed I said I’m
not I’m gonna distance myself from these
foreigners and foreign workers so that I
could be treated as an equal in your
society but you see you can call it
faith karma the universe it has a plan
for you and it has a funny way of
teaching you lessons after my ns
the only job I could find was in a
shipyard then construction sites then
oil and gas my subordinates my
colleagues my superiors
non-locals but it taught me a lot
lessons right now I run a few several
successful businesses helping other
companies overcome their challenges with
the 78 different nationalities that they
have on their work sites solving their
cultural or behavioral issues simply
because I know what these guys are
thinking and feeling you see you don’t
need to go to the university to learn
life lessons looking at the audience I
know that some of you have gone for NS
or have families have got sons that go
go for NS and this is hard first two
weeks are hell you don’t see your
parents no home-cooked food and no
freedom for these guys their first two
weeks are two years so let’s see whether
we can put you in their shoes just for a
short while so imagine you’re one of
them
every day you have to wake up at 4
o’clock in the morning to prepare your
meal breakfast and lunch pack it up and
then be downstairs at the roadside by
about 5:30 so lorry comes you can’t be
late for Laurie Laurie can be late for
you you’re late you get cut a salary so
Laurie comes
Laurie comes you scramble on and the
numbers at the back of Laurie tell you
how many people can be squeezed into
that Laurie and then they drive you and
deposit you at a worksite this is by
maybe six six thirty and you have to
wait there because the gates are not
open yet and seven thirty their gates
finally open and you’re not paid for
this time when the gates finally open
you rush in to punch your card or do a
fingerprint if you’re late again cut
then you do your work then you do your
work until lunch where you finally get
to take the meal that you cooked and
then you hung up somewhere now you get
to sit on a pavement
and eat then this continues your work
continues in about eight nine when
finally they send you back you take a
shower at 10 o’clock because a quick
shower because there’s over a thousand
people waiting for you then you cook
your meals you might not have time to
wash your uniforms next day happens
again and again let’s just work that’s
fine then work the hard part is when
you’re trying to work someone comes up
to you and says are you stupid ah you
because there are times that you don’t
have to work that you don’t know certain
things that’s at work then when you take
public transport you sit in a train a
total stranger or cover their nose
because you’re smelly or walk away and
pull their kids away because they are
fearful you can’t say anything all these
workers are very afraid of losing their
jobs going back home means loans and
families waiting for them so they keep
quiet plain you’re also thinking no I
see them outside they joke and laugh
please forgive them because when they
see their friends and talk about family
they cheer up and they forget their
place see it takes a lot for them to do
what they do for two years can you what
cappuccino now cost 6 bucks it’s
expensive a meal costs 10 have you seen
any of them queuing up for that which
leads me to ask you this what do you
think their monthly salaries are so I’m
gonna do a quick survey I’m gonna see
how many people raise their hands when I
flash some answers so I hope you can
participate all right I’m gonna flash
some answers and you tell me what you
think their salaries are how much do you
think they earn a month if you think
great you can put them down
if you think it’s B please raise your
hands tell me the same person again
right if you think it’s C please raise
your hands okay if you think it’s D
please raise your hands thank you for
those they have chosen a and B later
after this please give me your numbers
I’ll pass it to them I’m sure you make
very generous bosses for those that
chose C very close very pragmatic but
harsh reality is far worse you see they
earn about fourteen fifteen dollars a
day and to do that they have to take a
loan of about six to seven thousand
dollars to pay an agent to come here and
work six seven thousand doesn’t seem
much buy imagine to pay off that loan
you need to work for one-and-a-half to
two years and that’s hopefully you get
work every day so they save what they
can and that means they cook their own
food if they can so in some dormitories
there’s how to cook their own food but
in a communal kitchen because you also
don’t burn down the whole dormitory what
does their food look like now lots of
rice and maybe one dish
then of course there’s some dormitories
because it’s a business they would not
allow you or them to cook food they will
not allow Kate that food in they will
cater the food I said it’s business so
what they do is they will cook the food
and they start preparing about maybe
midnight and they’ll dump the food at
the roadside or where the workers will
come and collect it about 3:00 3:30 in
the morning
some workers come out earlier and they
help to put the food on structures so
that the dog’s the cats and rats don’t
get to it so next time you see plastic
bags on the road near dormitories or new
workers hangout please don’t kick
because that’s their breakfast and
that’s their lunch what they’ve taught
but you see the hardest lessons to come
they’re here for two years they might
not see their kids first smile first
words or first time that they walk and
some of them don’t see when their
parents pass away and as a man you take
it and keep it because you don’t worry
your family just like some of you go for
NS or your studies when parents ask you
how is everything you say everything is
good
you’ll fake it you’ll lie because you
don’t want someone else to worry a long
time ago I had a project called Roberson
walk and I had to work us Anthony and
Roger so they came to me one day and
said boss my name is Bossa boss can we
use the show flat I said okay sure
so on a Saturday night they opened up
the show flat I was there and they were
clean for first time in my life I saw
them clean best suit even combed their
hair and they had this old camera we put
the film inside and turn every time you
take a picture you turn don’t know what
else some of you have seen that and
Roger would pretend to cook in the
kitchen Anthony will take pictures and
then those saw then they will sit on the
couch and watch the fake TV and then
they’ll saw
they’ll be on the dining chairs so I
asked them why are you going through all
this and they said so we can send the
photos to our mothers so that they won’t
be worried said but I knew exactly where
they lived they lived in a basement to
coppa of a building under construction
180 workers in a copper with plywood
walls bunk beds thin mattresses dirt and
mud on the floor and yet they were
you’ve probably also seen reports on
photos on internet where a worker helps
our elderly cross the road or where
there’s a heavy downpour someone owes an
umbrella then there was one not too long
ago where toddler was dangling from the
third-floor balcony and everybody was
busy taking photos and calling for help
these two workers came out of nowhere
climbed the outside of the building
saved the toddler came back down the
outside left remember when I said call
it universe call it live call it karma
well my father used to work in a place
called suddenly around an area called
slowly slowly even back then had a lot
of workers just hanging around because
they were dormitories and one of these
nights while he was working he had a
stroke and he fell outside the gate the
boss who he had worked with for more
than thirty years got into his car in
his nice murse
drove off past the gate I can tell you
it is very hard to miss a human body the
only reason he survived was there was a
grove workers who rushed over and said
uncle are you okay and they called for
an ambulance and they stayed with him
workers not the guy with the five Cs
see these guys have empathy towards
others they might be less educated than
you but he can care they might have less
than you but they have a heart what they
now at the start I said there’s some
kind of disconnect there is a disconnect
between humans to humans and within our
own feelings you see some of you say
that you don’t go overseas and help out
with charity work disasters great some
of you said you won’t start businesses
so that you you want to find passion to
solve the world’s problems wonderful but
here’s a catch without compassion how
can you have passion if you don’t care
about people
then whatever you’re trying to solve
doesn’t matter if you can’t recognize
the people that are right in front of
you why are you going overseas see I
want to teach my kids to respect others
and treat people people the way they
should be treated at work I hope to
change the lives of these guys yes I
understand they’re just workers yes they
are not angels they don’t perfect angels
neither I did Devils but here might be
an idea was spreading
can we start treating these workers and
everyone around you as fellow human beings