Be Appreciative of Foreign Workers

The Straits Times, April 15

Ya Wen and Jia Jing

In this article, the writer reflects that the foreign workers have contributed a lot to Singapore and that we should acknowledge their hard work and the amount of effort that they put in. Rain or shine, these foreign workers have to painstakingly build HDB flats, condominiums,  all the things we take for granted and call our home. The writer feels that we must show our appreciation for the role that they have played in building Singapore. 

I fully agree with the writer. In fact, the action of appreciating the foreign workers has always been taught to us when we are children. We are told to respect our domestic helpers and thank the cleaners. However, clearly not many people do this and I find it very upsetting. There are many children who are rude to their domestic helpers, calling them names. Some children even hit and shout at them. Also, many construction workers live in abominable, degrading housing conditions given by their employers. Some employers even refuse to pay them their hard-earned salary and attempt to cheat them out of their money. The sad truth is, it is very difficult for people to start appreciating foreign workers. They don't carry out the action of actually doing it, and their words are hollow. This is so as people look down on foreign workers because they do the 'dirty' work nobody wants to do. 

In my opinion, this kind of attitude should be changed. Should we not follow the morals we have learned when we were children, to thank and appreciate the work these people have done for us?