This video isn't perfect, but it perfectly sums up the humanity that exists in this tiny city, despite the less than desirable headlines it's made across the world in the past year.
Last weekend, local youth Khairul Hafis uploaded to YouTube Builders of Singapore, a film he produced with friends Haziq and Luqman for the Storytelling Parade competition.
Watching it after a Reddit prompt, we were touched by the boys' passion for Singapore's construction workers, many of whom are Bangladeshis, and the conversation they had with some of them, who despite the constant challenges say "Singapore people (are) very good, because all Singapore people (are) equal."
It's interesting to note that the trio chose this topic because, being "something uniquely Singaporean", it would give them a better chance at standing out in an international competition. A foreign working policy is definitely not exclusive to Singapore, but the world coverage — both good and bad — the country has received on its 'builders' has earned it an edge.
Said Haziq, who conducted the street interview, "The examples quoted by the men I interviewed, as well as the habits I've observed among Singaporeans, like pinching their nose when passing by a foreign worker and tweeting unfavourably about them, proves these workers are oppressed." "It's time for us to move forward as a society, and learn to be more accepting to not just them, but other newcomers. They're human too, you know? With feelings and emotions. They helped build our skyscrapers; it's not easy. It's appropriate that we show them some respect."
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Singapore neither here nor there in terms of workers' rights, study finds
Singapore's stern response to 'The New York Times' edtorial about "angry migrant workers"
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This video isn't perfect, but it perfectly sums up the humanity that exists in this tiny city, despite the less than desirable headlines it's made across the world in the past year.
Last weekend, local youth Khairul Hafis uploaded to YouTube Builders of Singapore, a film he produced with friends Haziq and Luqman for the Storytelling Parade competition.
Watching it after a Reddit prompt, we were touched by the boys' passion for Singapore's construction workers, many of whom are Bangladeshis, and the conversation they had with some of them, who despite the constant challenges say "Singapore people (are) very good, because all Singapore people (are) equal."
It's interesting to note that the trio chose this topic because, being "something uniquely Singaporean", it would give them a better chance at standing out in an international competition. A foreign working policy is definitely not exclusive to Singapore, but the world coverage — both good and bad — the country has received on its 'builders' has earned it an edge.
Said Haziq, who conducted the street interview, "The examples quoted by the men I interviewed, as well as the habits I've observed among Singaporeans, like pinching their nose when passing by a foreign worker and tweeting unfavourably about them, proves these workers are oppressed." "It's time for us to move forward as a society, and learn to be more accepting to not just them, but other newcomers. They're human too, you know? With feelings and emotions. They helped build our skyscrapers; it's not easy. It's appropriate that we show them some respect."
Read Also:
Singapore neither here nor there in terms of workers' rights, study finds
Singapore's stern response to 'The New York Times' edtorial about "angry migrant workers"
Coca Cola drone delivery stunt calls attention to Singapore migrant workers