Migrant workers in Singapore use TikTok to show what it's like in Covid-19 quarantine

The discussion about how Singapore treats its migrant workers is a conversation that’s been long overdue, and it took a global pandemic to put the spotlight on their woeful living conditions here. 

Concerns over migrant welfare have grown in the past few days in light of news that about 20,000 foreign workers have been quarantined in their dormitories as a result of Covid-19 clusters there. 

Getting quarantined would be relatively okay for us Singaporeans who have comfortable homes and enough space for some semblance of privacy, but it certainly isn’t the case for the country’s migrant workers — most of whom are sequestered in isolated purpose-built dormitories or temporary quarters near construction worksites. 

The living conditions are less than ideal. Workers who spoke to The Straits Times noted that the rooms are infested with cockroaches, while the urinals in the toilets are overflowing. Rooms are often packed with up to 12 people inside, and facilities are said to remain unsanitary with overflowing garbage. 

But while Singaporeans have pushed hard to raise funds and improve the living conditions of the people who make up most of the country’s manual labour workforce, what do these quarantined workers themselves think of their situation? One doesn’t have to look far — just take a gander at TikTok, the social media platform of choice for Singapore’s migrant community. 

@ravisharmayvs

##singapore govt. 100 GB data lockdown spl. free ##foryou ##tiktok ##tiktok_india ##foryoupag

♬ original sound - ravisharmayvs

@mohammadnur440

lockdown sg

♬ urfa - urfaurfa1

@ravisharmayvs

##foryou ##tiktok ##singapore spl. lockdown free food provide singapore govt. I proud ???

♬ original sound - ravisharmayvs

@sbhuiyansaifsg

##changiairportsingapore ##tiktokofficial ###tiktokbangla @1992ely6 @loveme23jae @devi_januari @12345zira @31928993793 @farmatsya @dwitta02 @talitatalita

♬ original sound - user56039587093662

No dancing and lip-syncing going on here, just migrant workers trying to make the best out of the situation and document what it's like in quarantine within the two dormitories gazetted as isolation areas. 

@jahanappel

Singapore Dormitory

♬ original sound - Famous Faisal

@sukhdevsingapore

Many thanks to the Singapore GovernmentGiving us free food.##toh_guan ##singapore

♬ original sound - man_pahwa

@alamgir653

Our Weslight dormitory ???

♬ original sound - waseemkhanwaseemk284

@sukhdevsingapore

##stayathome ##covid19 ##singapore

♬ Waheguru Simran - Bhai Joginder Singh Riar

Earlier this week, Manpower Minister Josephine Teo pledged to raise the standards of foreign worker dormitories once the global pandemic blows over. 

“Let us cross this important hurdle during this 'circuit breaker', and then we can deal with this issue in a dedicated way. You have my word,” she assured in a Facebook post. 

For the latest updates on the coronavirus, visit here.

ilyas@asiaone.com