Foreign workers “did not bring Covid-19 into Singapore”

As Singapore continues its efforts to fight against the spread of Covid-19, the vulnerability of foreign workers has been brought to light. Given this, a netizen has recently taken to social media to express his sentiments towards these foreign workers in Singapore and to urge Singaporeans not to discriminate against them despite the increase in cases within their dormitories.

Though many believe the Covid-19 virus originated in Wuhan, China, given the rise in cases among foreign workers in Singapore, the migrant workers have been faced with rather racist attitudes as some people have begun to associate them with the virus. An example would be a recent report of a Chinese woman in Singapore who allegedly held her child back from an Indian mother out to buy milk for her baby. According to the report, the Chinese woman told her child, “If you see any Indians, don’t stand near them. They are the ones spreading coronavirus.”

In another report, a woman infamous for derogatory tweets took to social media and referred to Covid-19 as the “apuneneh coronavirus,” which is an insulting phrase regarding Indian men.

It is sentiments such as these that strike a chord with people like Facebook user Naveen Reddy Baddam, who took to the public Facebook group titled True Life of Singapore Migrant Workers on Saturday (April 18) to issue a call for Singaporeans to sympathise with foreign workers instead of ostracising them.

“I urge everyone to spare a thought for the foreign workers,” he wrote. “They were not the ones who brought in the Covid-19 virus. They were not the ones who travelled overseas and brought the virus to our shore.”

In defense of the migrant workers, he argued that their presence in Singapore is beneficial to the country. “They merely came to Singapore to do jobs that we Singaporeans do not want to do and now they are paying for the irresponsible behaviour from many of us,” he said.

With the number of cases in foreign worker dormitories increasing and their living conditions finally being brought to light, Mr Baddam urged Singaporeans to deal with the group of workers with compassion, saying “I d(on’t know) how many more of them will be infected but please do not at any point in time, put any blame on them.”

He also stressed that playing the blame game is pointless. “No use finger-pointing at anyone too. Just take the moment to reflect on ourselves. We can all do better than this.”

Attached to his post were photos of foreign workers in various occupations and engaging in good deeds.

/TISG