With a spike in COVID-19 cases, abrupt lockdown and travel bans have left thousands of work pass holders trapped outside Singapore without a way back to their second home.
Heartbreaking family separations
Ever since "circuit breaker" was in place, households across Singapore have learned to practice safe distance as normality. For many foreign professionals and skilled workers, being isolated from their families isn’t a choice.
Under her husband’s Employment Pass, Jiong Lu, a full-time mother, has been living in Singapore for more than two years. Yet sudden border closure and cancelled flights have torn her family apart. According to Ms Lu, her husband is currently stuck in Central Manila and coping with insufficient necessities. “It’s very depressing. A few weeks back, the Philippines required people to show quarantine passes to enter grocery stores and supermarkets. But my husband was not a citizen or resident with a proper pass, so he couldn’t even shop. Then he said they closed delivery service after 5 p.m, so there were days that he only had one meal.”
Dan Townsend, a fire investigator, realised he couldn’t get home from England just two days before lockdown. “My company sent me to the UK for a court conference but it was cancelled unexpectedly. And the notice was too short for me to book a flight or do anything to return before Singapore barred short-term visitors”, he said. “My partner and I are the emotional supports for each other, but now she is left there alone. It’s really sad.”
Whilst locking himself inside an apartment in India, Rishab Parikh, a software developer, couldn’t stand missing his wife. “She was pregnant when I left Singapore and I planned to go back at the end of March. But suddenly, I received the information from my company that I was not allowed to enter Singapore anymore”, he said. “Now I can’t help my wife; she stays up alone the whole night for our newborn. I even missed the chance to hold my baby when she gave birth. And that’s the moment I might never have again.”
Many stranded fathers like Mr Parikh didn't get to hold their newborns
Photo: Pexels
The pandemic has caused not only mental distress but also financial hurdles for the stranded workers and their families. Facing a prospect of salary cuts, many struggles to bear double rents on their accommodation in Singapore and the country where they are quarantined.
“My wage has been cut down to 70%, and my landlord in Singapore refuses to provide any assistance”, said Mr Townsend.
Ms Lu shared a similar concern as her husband has been informed of delayed salary payment. “His company is looking at layoffs, so he is very worried. I mean, I do have some freelancing jobs, but it isn’t enough for the rent, plus I have to take care of our baby. And my husband must pay for the apartment in Manila, too. This situation is really frustrating.”
How does government response?
A majority of foreign applications for re-entry has been constantly rejected, as shared in Getting back home to Singapore, a Facebook group joined by over 3,000 offshore work pass holders. Those contacting their embassies have been advised to submit requests weekly but very few approvals are granted.
Many pass holders have reached out to their government's representatives for help
Photo: Official Facebook page of British High Commission in Singapore
"We understand the government's need to prioritise their citizens and permanent residents, but there is a level of humanity they should at least take into account, that's all lives matter", said Mr Townsend.
"I don't have a problem with Singapore protecting their people, but why don't they let us go back and quarantine at our own cost? I don't mind paying extra, I just desperately need to see my family again", Mr Parikh added.
Despite relentlessly seeking entry permits, these workers received nothing other than a standard paragraphed refusal by email from Singapore Ministry of Manpower (MOM). "The employer has sent out on average five to six applications so far but all are denied", Ms Lu said of her husband's hopeless situation.
A rejection letter from Singapore Ministry of Manpower
Photo: Getting back home to Singapore Facebook Group
Most applicants are upset to see a notable proof of discriminatory practices from Singapore government. It is believed that work pass holders are considered inconsequential in time of crisis whilst they persistently contribute to the country's taxes. As of December 2019, the foreign workforce made up one-third of Singapore's total labour participation, of which there have been over 300,000 high and semi-skilled workers.
"My husband applied almost every day. The latest one, I went to MOM and waited for 5 hours to have a video call with an officer. I don't get why they asked me to queue just for a video call that can be done at home", Ms Lu added. Regardless of her efforts to explain her family's predicament, she said the officer stopped replying her follow-up emails.
"There is basically no instruction at all", Mr Townsend expressed his disappointment towards the government's ambiguity. He said MOM would know the exact numbers of stranded work pass holders and should have implemented a queue management system for those applications. Instead, the current cold-mannered approach leaves these pass holders fending for themselves without specific timelines and guidance, thus giving an impression that "government doesn't care".
Stranded work pass holders tweeted to seek attention from Singapore Ministers
Photo: Twitter @Sushmanu
Recently on June 3, Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced the operation of "fast lane" for essential and business travels between Singapore and China. Still, there is not yet an arrangement for stranded pass holders to get back. Many workers wonder how long this state of limbo will last under the unrelenting spread of coronavirus, whereas the government seems to focus their attention on Chinese profitable businesses.
The fact that Singapore's leaders fail to elaborate on any plans to help workers trapped outside raises a new chorus of criticism over the way their system works. "I feel like they are creating a system that they don't know how to manage", said Mr Townsend. "MOM doesn't bother how people like us experience their system, they just want to make sure it works for them", Ms Lu added.
Alongside unsolved COVID-19 clusters from migrant workers' dormitories, the quandary of stranded employment pass holders again questions how Singapore is treating foreigners. The government's ignorance of their faultlines is likely to propel racial stereotypes and xenophobia, a pre-existing issue that remains manifested in this multi-ethnic city-state.
(*) To keep confidentiality and protect their anonymity, names of interviewees were changed in the article
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