TWC2 celebrates International Migrants Day

Written on 17 January 2022.

TWC2 in Singapore uses International Migrants Day to celebrate their longstanding relationships with three affiliates they support: Filipino Family Network (FFN), a self-organised ground-up group of Filipino domestic workers; Indonesian Family Network (IFN), a self-organised ground-up group of Indonesian domestic workers; and Overseas Foreign Workers in Singapore (OFWS), a mixed-gender, but mostly male, group of migrant workers.

For IMD 2021, TWC2 took a group from each affiliate organisation to visit a tourist attraction they may never have visited before despite working in Singapore for many years, as the expensive entry fees are a major deterrent. There was a fourth group, consisting of workers directly under TWC2’s care – injury or salary case workers who are out of a job. The groups visited Jurong Bird Park, the Madam Tussauds museum of wax figures, and the Singapore Zoo. A video was made from each trip and the videos were compiled into a Facebook Live event on 12 December, together with lucky draws and other games.

However, the authorities had refused to let the OFW group of workers out of the dorms. Therefore, on the weekend of 17-18 December, TWC2 organised a small carnival event for them, with arcade games, a photo booth, claw machines, and other fun activities, as well as booths where TWC2 staff and volunteers talked to the workers about their rights and where to seek help if needed. More than 7,000 workers came to the carnival during the two days.