Interesting peek into the lives of migrant workers
these claims.”
“We want people to perceive the migrant as a person who has rights and dignity. But first you have to see them as workers with a lot to contribute.”
What many have forgotten is that migrant workers play a vital role in our society, she adds.
“Evidence points to the fact that without them, Malaysia would have not been able to achieve its economic and development aspirations. Migrant workers currently make up 30% of our workforce and fill the gaps in all major sectors.”
Malaysia is not the only country relying on foreign workers, migrant work is now a global phenomenon. This year, some 232 million migrant workers aged 20 to 64 were recorded in the world. In Malaysia, the number of migrant workers has reached four million, filling the labour needs of various sectors including restaurants, plantations, construction sites and homes.
To date, the response to their workshops has been encouraging, says Chan.
“In the beginning, many had negative impressions of a migrant like scary, criminals and lazy. We are happy to say that by the end of the workshops, we managed to break some of these misconceptions. Or, at the very least, get them to recognise that migration is a complex issue and not be too quick to judge migrants based on their origins, but instead to respect them as human beings.”
A major reason for the prevailing misunderstanding and prejudice towards migrant workers is the lack of information, specifically positive information, Chan opines.
“Many only hear the scary stories or read and see the negative news about migrant workers. They don’t have the real facts,” Chan notes.
Student Anisa A, for one, admits that she would trust her Indonesian Bibik with her life, but it’s a totally different story when it comes to other foreign workers. She prefers to keep her distance from them.
“I can’t help myself,” she admits with an embarrassed laugh.
“My Bibik is like family, but when I see an Indonesian or Bangladeshi worker on the road, I’ll cross to the other side or hold on tight to my handbag because of all the news I read and hear.”
Anisa is not alone in her perception – it is shared by many others.
The Migration Works try to get them to dispel their negative notions by getting them up-close with a migrant worker in the workshops and hear for themselves the challenges and problems migrants face in Malaysia.
And as student Elvin Ng, 19, discovered after getting to know his foreign co-workers at a café, they are vulnerable to street crime too.
“One from a café I worked at told me when he first came to Malaysia, he and a few friends were mugged at their apartment by locals.”
Brickfields Asia College student Tan Kar Can, 20, agrees it is unfair to put all the blame of crime on migrant workers. “Social problems and crime in our country are mostly committed by the locals, migrant workers contribute to a smaller number of crimes. This could possibly be due to the lack of jobs for the locals and more jobs for migrant workers. Most low income jobs are taken up by migrant workers because locals don’t want to do them. So, there are those who have no choice but to resort to robbery and theft.”
Ultimately, the recent photo exhibition project was an attempt to give the public diverse peeks into the world of migrant workers.
“We usually only see pictures of them being handcuffed or squatting by the roadside after they are detained or pictures of them after they are abused. We want to show another part of their lives – taking a break from the hard work, playing football with their friends, and others,” Chan says.
For more details of Migration Works or to sign up for the campaign and view the photo exhibition, go to https://www.facebook.com/ MigrationWorks