Why I eat on the floor
The picture of a foreign worker eating on the wet ground instead of using a nearby bench may have shocked some Singaporeans.
But to Bangladeshi site supervisor Kazi Shihab Uddin, 42, such behaviour is par for the course.
"We workers think we are dirty, so we don't eat on the table," says Mr Shihab Uddin, adding that he has seen other workers do this too.
"I think it is sad. Why are workers feeling (that they are) different from other people?"
The picture was first posted on citizen journalism website Stomp on April 24.
Mr Shihab Uddin believes the inferiority complex among migrant workers stems from differences in status and wealth.
It could also be due to the way some Singaporeans tend to be condescending when interacting with them, he says.
One example is signs at some malls disallowing workers to use the toilet when they are in construction gear.
"Yes, sometimes our boots are dirty. I can understand. When we wear the uniform, people think we are dirty."
What happens when they are out of uniform? He replies: "We still have this feeling."
The result, he says, is that migrant workers have low self-worth even when they are not working.
When asked if he blames anyone for this treatment, he says no.
But he feels that Singaporeans could do better to appreciate and be friendlier to migrant workers in the construction field.
Mr Shihab Uddin, who came to Singapore in 2008, says: "We work very hard, sometimes starting at 4am until our transport comes at night. Sometimes we work harder than Singaporeans because we see them watching the clock, and they go off when the time is up, and we are still working.
"Many buildings here, we have built."
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