Migrant Voices will not be able to put together a performance piece for SeptFest. Instead we will stick to having performances by bands.

See u then.

Septfest Rehearsal, 20th August 2006 @ Spell #7, Little India (supposed 8th session)

The past 2 weeks have seen cancellations of workshops for our Sunday rehearsals at Spell 7. Instead, we utilised the space for meetings and discussions on SeptFest - the upcoming and 2nd major project on our plates. Needless to say, we were jittery over the execution of our planned performance piece.

And that's why 20th August was uplifting for us all. The Indonesian women were having their annual Independence Day celebrations at the embassy in the day and came to our rehearsals halfway. Jegan, missing the presence of Richard, was solo but was joined by a friend, John later on for doodling.

The women and Jegan were let in on our SeptFest plans. Nina, Migrant Voices Artistic Facilitator, opened a discussion on how they felt using 3 settings:

- Before Arrival to Singapore

- After Arrival

- Months after Arrival

Jegan brought up his scenarios of a tearful goodbye to his family and of how he was dissapointed of Singapore spending days in cramped containers with other workers. He also spoke of the difficulty of contacting home as the first few months were a blurry start and he had no easy access to cash to purchase a SIM card and call home. This happens as workers are typically faced with heavy levy payments and in some cases, not paid for a few months to clear it off before they do get some salary later.

The Indonesian women had varied stories. They spoke of Indonesian agencies (before arriving) that trained them to pick up skills on managing typical household appliances seen in Singapore. And of how Singapore is seen through pictures. They spoke of various rules like cutting hair as they were told, Singaporean employers dont like it. This is saddening for the women especially since hair is a feminine aspect of beauty for them and looking like a man is culturally unacceptable.

One of the women spoke of her fear when landing in Singapore as she was told her employer is fierce but soon found out he wasn't. She also spoke of her immense loneliness to the point of being excited over the sound of airplanes as she wondered if the direction of the plane is heading towards Jakarta, her home. Her employer, seeing her state one day brought a pen, paper, envelope and a stamp to her encouraging her to write home. Indonesian women coming to Singapore for work, at times are under the impression of a better life and job but this may not be the case for some. As such, their family when sending them away bid farewell with hope and pride seeing their daughter 'succeeding'. Yet, for some this can be the other way around as some would reveal the reality to their family back home.

Next week, our rehearsal is cancelled. We will commence the week after.