Photo 5 of #workmenonthemove #MastodonPhotoExhibition
In the past, migrant workers in #Singapore were housed in overcrowded container camps. Up to 25 men slept in one container.
A Thai #migrant said: "Well, how can you describe it? It's like a box."
The migrant workers are not free to decide where they sleep, but are accommodated by their employers in dormitories. There is hardly any privacy, so conflicts are inevitable.
(c) photo by Srikhoon Jiangkratok
Photos 3 and 4 of #workmenonthemove #MastodonPhotoExhibition show the skyline of #Singapore.
For the #MigrantWorkers it was an impressive view as many of them had never left their village before. In my interviews, they often talked about homesickness. The skyline has changed a lot over time. This transformation and the boom of the island nation was only possible through the efforts of millions of migrant workers.
#migration
Photo Credits: 2011 W. Zhang, under CC BY 2.0 and 1994 S. Jiangkratok
Photo 2 of #workmenonthemove
#Migration always has a price. Migration is not only about people going somewhere, but also about people who are no longer there. This photo shows a daughter waiting for her father's annual visit. The television he brought with him from Singapore during the last visit is a constant reminder of his absence. Whole generations grow up in #Thailand either with only one parent or with their grandparents.
#visualGeographies
(c) photo by Srikhoon Jiangkratok
Photo 1 of #workmenonthemove shows a proud man in front of a house in #Burriram (#Thailand). In the Northeast of Thailand it is common that men leave the village and work overseas such as in #Taiwan, #Brunei, or #Singapore. This has a strong impact on the male identity, as young men are often confronted with societal expectations to provide for their families and return home as successfully as the other men from the village who have made it abroad.
#migration
(c) photo by Srikhoon Jiangkratok
I would like to try a little experiment and start a #MastodonPhotoExhibition.
In the next days and weeks I will be posting a series of photos on the topic of #labourMigration in #SoutheastAsia based on the digital exhibition #workmenonthemove I did together with Srikhoon Jiangkratok a return migrant from #Thailand who took over 900 photos documenting the life and working conditions of transnational labour migrants in #Singapore.
Dr. Simon Bunchuay-Peth