Stories of Transient Workers in Singapore

Bondage

I felt a heavy weight on my chest and awoke in surprise, only to find that the elderly man I was tasked to look after had one hand on my chest and was attempting to climb on top of me. I screamed and pushed him off. This was not the first time this had happened. As I got up to get help, my employer stopped me at the door of the room and grabbed me by the arm. “Say anything, and you will regret it.” As I tried to escape her grasp, a wave of nausea overcame me, I was working 20 hours a day without break, with what little sleep I had disturbed each night. The next thing I knew, I had blacked out and fallen to the ground.

When I awoke, I was in the hospital, surrounded by agents from my agency. They looked me in the eye and said “You still have a considerable sum of debt, and a family waiting for you back in Cambodia, if you know what’s good for you, you better not say anything.” I was awake, but my nightmare had only just begun.

Footnote:

This depicts the violation of article 5 of the UDHR, which states that no one should be subject to degrading treatment, article 19 of the UDHR, which lists the right to freedom of expression, article 23 which lists the right to favourable working conditions, as well as article 24, which lists the right to rest from work. This case is an extremely severe case of mistreatment, for not only was the maid molested, she was also bound and unable to resist her employer as she needed to send money back home. The situation most foreign workers are in makes them easily exploited, due to the fact that most are in urgent need of money. This story thus shows to a considerably large extent, the exploitation of foreign maids by our agencies.