THEIR PERSPECTIVES
NHID, 34
Audio Techician
"They move away from me on bus and MRT."
Sometimes, when I sit beside someone on the MRT, and he moves away. Even when he doesn’t say anything, I feel like he is unhappy. When I stand beside someone, they will move away too. They look at me and think “oh foreign worker” and they don’t come near me. But not every Singaporean is like that.
NICOLA, 41
Domestic Helper
"My employers celebrate my birthday."
I've been in Singapore for 4 years, and worked for a Chinese and a Malay family. Singapore is very safe, and the people are very kind, compared to other countries. I don’t think it’s hard to make friends with Singaporeans but I’m very shy. I can’t express myself well even though they are friendly.
HALEL, 25
Gardener
"My colleague taught me English."
My colleague is my teacher. When I first came, I didn’t understand English but she said, “Brother, I teach you!”. Now I understand and we talk a lot. I even talk to my boss! The “sisters” working with me - we’re all friends. Other than that, I don’t talk to other people a lot when I work cos I do everything by myself.