Filipino
Singapore also sees many Filipinos coming to Singapore. Due to bad working conditions and too many workers in the Philippines, many Filipino women choose to come to Singapore to work as a domestic worker. However, like many other foreigners here, they face xenophobic feelings towards them.
Even when many try to seek better lives in Singapore, many don’t actually get a better life. Maid abuse is a worrying trend that has been on the rise in recent years and with that, we must ask ourselves, “Have we taken them for granted?” Why are so many people being xenophobic towards these domestic helpers when they make-up many households, taking care of young children, doing household chores and lessening the burden of Singaporeans?
Filipino domestic workers are one of the sources of where Singapore’s domestic workers come from. Others include Indonesia, Vietnam and Myanmar. A majority of Singapore’s domestic workers are Filipino. They can be easily identified by the way they speak and can be spotted in places such as Orchard Road on weekends. However, we also need to understand the plight these people go through as they work in Singapore and empathise with them. Like many migrant workers from other countries, Filipinos domestic helpers come to Singapore to seek a better life, not only for them, but also their family. Many a time, they leave their family and friends behind in the Phillippines to come to Singapore for a period of time. Even then, when they find a job in Singapore their pay is only about $500 to $600 a month, which is barely enough for their own living expenses, even if their employers provide them with housing and food. Imagine if you were in their shoes. Would you want to put up with all this discrimination on top of all the other burdens that you already have?
A case study below shows the extent of the problem. In 2014, a group of Filipinos in Singapore organised a Philippine Independence Day. Many were worried that allowing the Filipinos to celebrate their Independence Day at Orchard Road was not a good idea. It was also loudly opposed by many Singaporeans. This drew surprise from the FIlipinos who said that they had already been holding the celebration for a few years. However, people such as Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and then Acting Minister of Manpower Tan Chuan-Jin condemned the actions of the people who created an uproar.
This case study left many people wondering if Singaporeans too xenophobic. If Singaporeans have no problem celebrating Singapore Day in major cities such as London, we should allow Filipinos to celebrate their independence day in our country.