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[Singapore] - Banglas in dormitory lockdowns complain the food is not Bangla food, terribly unedible for Banglas! Judge the food photos for yourself!
- Thread starter UltimaOnline
- Start date
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opin...reveal-countrys-two-very-different-realities/
Singapore’s new covid-19 cases reveal the country’s two very different realities
A man walks in front of the Marina Bay Sands resort, lit up in tribute to health-care workers at the Merlion Park in Singapore on Wednesday. (How Hwee Young/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)
By Kirsten Han
April 16, 2020 at 11:25 p.m. GMT+8
Kirsten Han is a journalist and writer in Singapore.
Singapore’s government is often praised, domestically and internationally, for its planning and foresight — and, in the past few months, particularly for its response to the coronavirus pandemic. But recent developments have demonstrated that you can’t have foresight for things you refuse to see.
A sharp increase in covid-19 cases among the country’s migrant worker population has now forced the government to take drastic measures. On Thursday, Singapore saw its highest number of new cases thus far: 728, the vast majority of which were among migrant workers. Nine dormitories, housing more than 50,000 men, mostly from Bangladesh, India and China, have been declared “isolation areas.” On Tuesday, the government put all dormitories effectively on lockdown, meaning that about 300,000 workers now have restrictions on their movements within their complexes.
AD
Full coverage of the coronavirus pandemic
The government appears to have been blindsided by this turn of events. "Unfortunately, we do not have the luxury of the benefit of hindsight,” Minister for National Development Lawrence Wong said in response to a question at a news conference on April 9. Wong is also the co-chair of a task force put together to lead Singapore’s covid-19 response.
He added: “The virus is moving so quickly. If I'd known, I would have done things differently. But no one can tell the next step.”
While one can appreciate the number of considerations that the task force has to grapple with, an outbreak of the coronavirus among migrant workers should not have come as such a shock. The country has nearly a million work permit holders, usually referring to low-wage workers such as domestic workers or manual laborers. Though domestic workers are required to live with their employers, those who work at construction sites, shipyards, petrochemical refineries, or even as cleaners in neighborhood estates, live in dormitories, often with about 12 to 20 people in a room. One of the earlier clusters of covid-19 was at a construction site.
Migrant labor rights groups have been warning for years that these cramped, crowded conditions were a recipe for disaster. Transient Workers Count Too (TWC2) and the local media reported an outbreak of chickenpox in 2008. The same organization pointed out in 2016 that migrant workers were in need of better housing to protect them from the spread of dengue and Zika. This March, before the outbreak of covid-19 among migrant workers really hit home, TWC2’s president wrote that the "risk of a new cluster among this group remains undeniable.”
There is no way the government did not know of the conditions in which migrant workers live and the risks that they would face during a global pandemic. The reality that covid-19 so harshly reveals is that there has long been two Singapores: one for citizens, long-term residents and expatriates, and one for the low-wage migrant workers who provide the back-breaking labor upon which Singapore gleams.
While immigrants on work visas for white-collar jobs have rights to family reunification and paths to eventual long-term residency and citizenship, low-wage work permit holders have no such options. They aren’t even allowed to marry Singaporeans or permanent residents in Singapore without first seeking permission from the government.
The Opinions section is looking for stories of how the coronavirus has affected people of all walks of life. Write to us.
This logic has even extended into virus containment measures. At the April 9 press conference, Wong said that it was “important to realize and recognize that we are dealing with two separate infections” — one rising among migrant workers, and a more stable situation among the rest of the population. A later update, shared by the minister on Facebook, separated migrant worker cases from imported and community cases. A separate task force has been convened specifically to look at migrant worker dormitories, with the military and police force roped in.
While returning Singaporeans and permanent residents serve isolation periods in the comfort of hotels, some even with laundry and personal shopping services, there is now a desperate hurry to find alternative solutions for the huge migrant worker population. Those confirmed to have the coronavirus have already been relocated, but the government is still facing an urgent need to reduce population density within dormitories.
Healthy workers performing “essential services” are being relocated to empty public housing flats, so they can continue cleaning and managing the facilities that Singaporeans need. Floating lodgings, military camps and even car parks at projects still under construction are also being put to use in the rush for different accommodation options.
The covid-19 response is stretching the ministries to the limit, and ministers have pleaded with the public for understanding. One sympathizes with the civil servants grappling with a mammoth task. But it shouldn’t be forgotten that the political leadership has not only neglected, but also enabled, the exploitation and discrimination of Singapore’s lowest-paid migrants.
The minister for manpower has pledgedthat living conditions in dormitories will be further addressed once this crucial period is over, while the prime minister himself has made a commitment to care for the well-being of these workers. These promises need to be kept. When people eventually return to their regular routines, Singapore cannot return to this exploitative model that pretends migrant workers aren’t really part of the local population, even as it profits off their labor.
Read more:
Cheryl Lu-lien Tan: In Singapore, a quarantine offers surprising lessons
Jackson Diehl: The winners and losers of the coronavirus’s global test of governance
Michael T. Osterholm and Mark Olshaker: Facing covid-19 reality: A national lockdown is no cure
Fareed Zakaria: What America can learn from Singapore about racial integration
Coronavirus: What you need to read
The Washington Post is providing some coronavirus coverage free, including:
Updated April 17, 2020
Live updates: The latest in the U.S. and abroad
More news today: DIY household cleaners that work if you’re short on supplies | An oral history of the coronavirus pandemic
Mapping the spread: Cases and deaths in the U.S. | Map of cases worldwide
What you need to know: How to make your own fabric mask | What to do if you get laid off or furloughed | Stay-at-home orders by state | Calculate how much money you might receive from the stimulus bill | Follow all of our coronavirus coverage and sign up for our daily newsletter.
How to help: Your community | Seniors| Restaurants | Keep at-risk people in mind
Share your story: Has someone close to you died from covid-19?
Show More
43 Comments
Singapore’s new covid-19 cases reveal the country’s two very different realities
By Kirsten Han
April 16, 2020 at 11:25 p.m. GMT+8
Kirsten Han is a journalist and writer in Singapore.
Singapore’s government is often praised, domestically and internationally, for its planning and foresight — and, in the past few months, particularly for its response to the coronavirus pandemic. But recent developments have demonstrated that you can’t have foresight for things you refuse to see.
A sharp increase in covid-19 cases among the country’s migrant worker population has now forced the government to take drastic measures. On Thursday, Singapore saw its highest number of new cases thus far: 728, the vast majority of which were among migrant workers. Nine dormitories, housing more than 50,000 men, mostly from Bangladesh, India and China, have been declared “isolation areas.” On Tuesday, the government put all dormitories effectively on lockdown, meaning that about 300,000 workers now have restrictions on their movements within their complexes.
AD
Full coverage of the coronavirus pandemic
The government appears to have been blindsided by this turn of events. "Unfortunately, we do not have the luxury of the benefit of hindsight,” Minister for National Development Lawrence Wong said in response to a question at a news conference on April 9. Wong is also the co-chair of a task force put together to lead Singapore’s covid-19 response.
He added: “The virus is moving so quickly. If I'd known, I would have done things differently. But no one can tell the next step.”
While one can appreciate the number of considerations that the task force has to grapple with, an outbreak of the coronavirus among migrant workers should not have come as such a shock. The country has nearly a million work permit holders, usually referring to low-wage workers such as domestic workers or manual laborers. Though domestic workers are required to live with their employers, those who work at construction sites, shipyards, petrochemical refineries, or even as cleaners in neighborhood estates, live in dormitories, often with about 12 to 20 people in a room. One of the earlier clusters of covid-19 was at a construction site.
Migrant labor rights groups have been warning for years that these cramped, crowded conditions were a recipe for disaster. Transient Workers Count Too (TWC2) and the local media reported an outbreak of chickenpox in 2008. The same organization pointed out in 2016 that migrant workers were in need of better housing to protect them from the spread of dengue and Zika. This March, before the outbreak of covid-19 among migrant workers really hit home, TWC2’s president wrote that the "risk of a new cluster among this group remains undeniable.”
There is no way the government did not know of the conditions in which migrant workers live and the risks that they would face during a global pandemic. The reality that covid-19 so harshly reveals is that there has long been two Singapores: one for citizens, long-term residents and expatriates, and one for the low-wage migrant workers who provide the back-breaking labor upon which Singapore gleams.
While immigrants on work visas for white-collar jobs have rights to family reunification and paths to eventual long-term residency and citizenship, low-wage work permit holders have no such options. They aren’t even allowed to marry Singaporeans or permanent residents in Singapore without first seeking permission from the government.
The Opinions section is looking for stories of how the coronavirus has affected people of all walks of life. Write to us.
This logic has even extended into virus containment measures. At the April 9 press conference, Wong said that it was “important to realize and recognize that we are dealing with two separate infections” — one rising among migrant workers, and a more stable situation among the rest of the population. A later update, shared by the minister on Facebook, separated migrant worker cases from imported and community cases. A separate task force has been convened specifically to look at migrant worker dormitories, with the military and police force roped in.
While returning Singaporeans and permanent residents serve isolation periods in the comfort of hotels, some even with laundry and personal shopping services, there is now a desperate hurry to find alternative solutions for the huge migrant worker population. Those confirmed to have the coronavirus have already been relocated, but the government is still facing an urgent need to reduce population density within dormitories.
Healthy workers performing “essential services” are being relocated to empty public housing flats, so they can continue cleaning and managing the facilities that Singaporeans need. Floating lodgings, military camps and even car parks at projects still under construction are also being put to use in the rush for different accommodation options.
The covid-19 response is stretching the ministries to the limit, and ministers have pleaded with the public for understanding. One sympathizes with the civil servants grappling with a mammoth task. But it shouldn’t be forgotten that the political leadership has not only neglected, but also enabled, the exploitation and discrimination of Singapore’s lowest-paid migrants.
The minister for manpower has pledgedthat living conditions in dormitories will be further addressed once this crucial period is over, while the prime minister himself has made a commitment to care for the well-being of these workers. These promises need to be kept. When people eventually return to their regular routines, Singapore cannot return to this exploitative model that pretends migrant workers aren’t really part of the local population, even as it profits off their labor.
Read more:
Cheryl Lu-lien Tan: In Singapore, a quarantine offers surprising lessons
Jackson Diehl: The winners and losers of the coronavirus’s global test of governance
Michael T. Osterholm and Mark Olshaker: Facing covid-19 reality: A national lockdown is no cure
Fareed Zakaria: What America can learn from Singapore about racial integration
Coronavirus: What you need to read
The Washington Post is providing some coronavirus coverage free, including:
Updated April 17, 2020
Live updates: The latest in the U.S. and abroad
More news today: DIY household cleaners that work if you’re short on supplies | An oral history of the coronavirus pandemic
Mapping the spread: Cases and deaths in the U.S. | Map of cases worldwide
What you need to know: How to make your own fabric mask | What to do if you get laid off or furloughed | Stay-at-home orders by state | Calculate how much money you might receive from the stimulus bill | Follow all of our coronavirus coverage and sign up for our daily newsletter.
How to help: Your community | Seniors| Restaurants | Keep at-risk people in mind
Share your story: Has someone close to you died from covid-19?
Show More
43 Comments
趁火打劫。
This people hard labour all their life.
They cook simple rice plus curry and eat happy.
When you give them example SIA set lunch box?
You thinking they Happy.
You are wrong.
Anyway why don't just provide simple Curry rice for them?
This people don't need Sweet sour fish or fried chicken wing lunch box.
Off course government score points international media with Fancy lunch box.
They cook simple rice plus curry and eat happy.
When you give them example SIA set lunch box?
You thinking they Happy.
You are wrong.
Anyway why don't just provide simple Curry rice for them?
This people don't need Sweet sour fish or fried chicken wing lunch box.
Off course government score points international media with Fancy lunch box.
Its not halal. Thats why chicken are all set aside.
Chinese food taste like shit. It's got a bad aftertaste. That's why you need plenty of alcohol to wash it down.
If I may make a suggestion. Maybe PAP can get the food supply ftom Bangladesh biman instead of SIA.
The gravy all soak into the rice after a while. Maybe should separate gravy ftom rice.
The food will be tastety if they stop using hands. So unhygienic.
What will ho ching say to this.tbey are like kids?
Let calculate when dust has settled down.
I like your reply.
Lifting and bashing at same time.
They want more notes then boxes.
Xia suay Cantonese prostitute descendant with fake freedom of speech real criminal bully that likes the post
Jo Teo living with the Banglas or not?
I am happy to eat their food since it’s free. Can they send one set to me ? I can do w some free food.
why? you aiming for the plastic containers ah
hanor, it's like casting pearls before these bangla swines.
i'll be thankful and gladly accept these meals as it looks so much better than my 1 meat and 1 veg caipng
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