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SINGAPORE: Initiatives have emerged to help foreign workers who have been affected by Singapore’s “circuit breaker” measures aimed at curbing the spread of COVID-19.
COVID Migrant Support Coalition, an informal group comprised of volunteers from Geylang Adventures, ItsRainingRaincoats, Singapore Migrant Friends, and Migrant X Me, has been distributing lunch and dinner packages since Tuesday (April 7), when the measures were implemented.
On Thursday, they delivered S $ 2,178.50 worth of lunches and dinners, 254 packages each round, to eight locations, according to numbers compiled by Geylang Adventures founder Cai Yinzhou.
Under the measures that came into play on Tuesday, foreign workers who do not stay in dorms designated as isolation areas can leave their places of residence to buy essential items.
READ: “Dedicated Strategy” to Break the Spread of COVID-19 in Dorms, Including the Housing of Healthy Workers in Army Camps
But without clear directives, some of these workers are concerned about leaving their facilities, while their employers have been told to stay indoors, said Cai, who is leading the effort to deliver the meals.
News reports that foreign workers are prohibited from leaving their dorms have further fueled concern among workers, he added.
Most of the coalition’s beneficiaries are currently in dorms converted to factories or temporary accommodation on job sites, which are generally run by the company that employs workers who live there, Cai said.
These are different from the 43 specially designed bedrooms that house about 200,000 workers. These specially designed dormitories are currently being jointly administered by government officials who have been deployed to work with their dormitory operators to manage the locations.
Five bedrooms have been declared isolation areas, in which workers cannot leave their bedrooms for 14 days. The Government has intervened to provide meals to the workers.
READ: COVID-19: Tampin Dorm Declared Isolation Area Under Infectious Diseases Act
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But for workers living in dorms turned into factories or temporary accommodation in workplaces, it’s a different story.
Workers in need of food will be referred through the Singapore Migrant Friends, an informal organization of foreign workers, which will then inform voluntary food distributors.
In addition to transporting meals, volunteers will use donations from members of the public to purchase other essential items, such as eggs, toilet paper, and soap, which will then be delivered to workers. Some people have turned up to donate these items as well.
One of the meals provided to foreign workers by the COVID Migrant Support Coalition. (Photo: Cai Yinzhou).
Other NGOs have been promoting their own projects to help workers during this period.
Starting next week, SDI Academy plans to deliver at least 2,500 welfare packages containing hand sanitizers, rice, oil, and face masks.
He is currently collecting donations and collecting the bags, the organization’s executive director Sazzad Hossain said, and the packages will be distributed to workers living in factory-converted dormitories.
Separately, ItsRainingRaincoats is seeking to deliver some 1,000 SIM data cards to workers, said its founder, Dipa Swaminathan.
“We think they need some form of entertainment when they are trapped in their rooms,” he said.
“Even though there is free wifi, (the system could crash if) 30,000 guys … have to use it at the same time.”
READ: COVID-19: Agglomeration and Emotional Health of Migrant Workers in Dorms Worry Employers
The Chulia Street Project aims to raise S $ 358,620 this year to distribute care packages, containing items like soap and a prepaid phone card, to 43,000 migrant workers.
The organization’s managing director, Lee Shaun Tzen, said they will distribute the packages to the associated dorms at Westlite Accommodation and North Coast Lodge, as well as those who have been relocated to alternative sites.
Cai emphasized the need to address the mental health of migrant workers during this period. Informal coalition volunteers have been producing 15-30 minute educational videos that workers can access online. These include language tutorials and photography and art lessons.
“The workers are unemployed now and lack meaningful commitment,” he said.
“They may be fine now, but they will be uneasy after a while.” “Being confined with 10 to 20 workers will have a great mental impact on them. An idle mind is a dangerous place.
Additional reporting by Ruth Smalley.
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