Leaving San Sebastian Behind

One of my earliest recollection of our trips out to neighbouring Singapore, is passing thru some huge colonial times mansion in this place called Sembawang and asking my folks why the people living there looked so sad, and the meaning of the cloth banners that were tied to the chain-linked fence. It wasn't until I was older did I find out that the sad people were the Vietnamese Boat people caught in Singapore, and that they were awaiting deportation.

Migrant worker

• A person who moves from place to place to get work

In the year 2001, according to the Asian Migrant Yearbook, we had an estimated 1.9 million migrant workers in Malaysia, out of which an estimated 1 million are undocumented. Indonesians, Filipinos, Bangladeshis, Sri Lankans, Burmese, Cambodians, Indians, Pakistanis, etc, all leaving their homes and family behind to come here to put food on the table.

Though we hate to admit it, majority of us either 1) view them with utter disdain, often staying clear of them unless they are our domestic help, or 2) completely ignore their existence and our dependence on them. It is far and few who include them as their friends or social circle.

With this in mind, it was a humbling experience in Church this morning as the parish invited a migrant community to participate in the service. These individuals made up almost half the congregation. But even in this community ~ a supposed community of brotherly love ala Philadelphia and one united in Faith, it was hard to be oblivious to the following in the hour that I was there:

1. They all were allocated a section of the church to sit in. Why were they not invited and encouraged to sit spread out among the normal congregation?
2. The congregation who came just on time for service, had a look of digust when they found themselves having to sit outside due to the increase in crowd. Did they think themselves more worthy to be seated in the normal pews inside the Church than these individuals?
3. The service remained business as usual, with no effort to "culturise" the service. I was sorely disappointed on this note, particularly when half these workers do not know the English language and thus, was merely being in the presence.
4. The migrants were dressed in their Sunday's best to worship in the Church proper. I was rather glad that I did not don my usual kit of my torn Levi's and a t-shirt. I would have felt unworthy to be participating alongside them as their reverence stood out so clearly!

I'm not saying that I am holier-than-thou but in all honesty, I do not think my perspective is as narrow. Sure, there would be some bad eggs among the almost 2 million residing on our segment of earth, but that does not give us the right to sideline these people and discount them from our communities.

My kids asked me who were those people on the other side of the church. My explanation, in as simple terms as possible, that they were from other countries, coming to ours, to find work. Luke then asked where they all brothers and sisters and if they had any children. And And I felt my heart breaking as I told them that they were possibly related but unlikely. And that their families were back in their own countries.

Have we become so arrogant that we believe that we would never be Migrant Workers but only Expatriates when we leave our land and gain employment in another country? In all honesty, no matter how bad our country is, we would never achieve true citizenship in another country ~ that is how the way of the world is. Hence the term, 2nd class citizens. But we have gone a step further - we downgraded them another class.

We have forgotten that they too are human beings, and should be given the same rights to earn a living - particularly when the number 1 reason they are here stems from our own community's snobbery of being too-good-to-do-menial-labour.

Women’s Aid Organisation (WAO) for Programme Consultation Meeting on the Protection of Domestic Workers Against the Threat of Forced Labour and Trafficking reported in 2003, that half of the 1.9 million are made up of undocumented migrant workers. I'm not condoning their rights to be here without legal permission granted. But I'm also not discounting their desperation of existence that forced them to accept such a way of life.

By being undocumented persons, they will have virtually no access to legal recourse when their rights are violated as they will be reluctant to let their presence be known to the authorities through reporting. Their decision in this thing we call life has rendered them as invisible and vulnerable. Do we have to add on to it by pinning the blame of every theft in the neighbourhood, every snatch-robbery in the malls or every new shanty town that comes up on them?

I have been thinking for the last five years, of wanting to leave this country and move to San Sebastian. I have to admit though, that lately... that dream has been vaporising and I think tonight, I am finally ready to say out loud that it's been cast so far from my mind, I no longer think it's gonna happen.

And that is precisely why I am alright tonight, to say that San Sebastian would be somewhere I would take Lydia and Luke, someday for a vacation. Quite possibly, I might even tell them that I had dreams of us living there. But that for the time being, until we have no one left but ourselves, our roots remain where they are - where our families are. You don't need having a 5-year old telling you innocently that it must be difficult for these individuals, to be far away from their mum and dad, to know that there is no place like home!

We would never live in a global village unless we ignore the colour, creed, religion and income statement of the person next to us. And so for once, let us not be more ignorant than a child.