We Don't Have to Live This Way
Weekly column written for the Singapore Unbound newsletter. Sign up here . The report of Human Rights Watch on Singapore 2020 makes for dismal reading, because the litany of violations of human rights has not changed very much from previous years. In fact, as in the United States, the pandemic has exposed and deepened structural injustices against the poor in Singapore. As the report observes, "While Singapore had initial success in controlling Covid-19 infections in the country, a surge of cases among migrant workers in early April led the government to put all dormitories on lockdown , restricting the movements of almost 300,000 foreign workers. While some “essential” workers were moved, the bulk of the migrants were confined to hot, overcrowded rooms with little ventilation, leaving them at risk of infection. As of August 13, 52,516 dormitory residents had tested positive for the coronavirus , making up more than 90 percent of all reported cases in Singapore."...