Thursday, 28 March

Singapore's 'pandemic of inequality'

World News
Zakir Hossain Khokan

Having already caught Covid-19, recovered, and gone back to work, Zakir Hossain Khokan thought his worst days were behind him.

But last month a new cluster developed at his dormitory, and like thousands of migrant workers in Singapore, he was ordered back into quarantine.

"Day and night, we are just inside one room," he says. "It's actually torturing our mind. It's like jail."

Singapore is home to more than 300,000 low-wage foreign workers from countries like India and Bangladesh, who mainly work in industries like construction and manufacturing.

Their right to live in Singapore is tied to their job and their employer must provide accommodation, at a cost.

They commute from their dorms in packed vans to building sites where they work and take breaks alongside men from other crowded dorms - perfect conditions for the virus to spread.

Source: BBC