Verses of Hope: Migrant Literature in Singapore
22 February 2021
From modern skyscrapers to clean households, traces of migrant workers' labour are everywhere as they work tirelessly to support our country. However, while the results of their labour are highly visible, their presence is muted in comparison. But migrant workers and domestic helpers do not just toil under the hot sun or tend to families – they create art too. Many workers channel their hopes, dreams and desires into writing during their free time. Short stories and poetry in anthologies capture their rich experiences and memories. Migrant literature, a growing scene in Singapore, offers a platform for migrants to share their stories. Call and Response 2 is a project in the migrant literature scene. Launching on 21st February 2021, the poetry anthology features both migrant and local writers as they explore common experiences, including migration and travel. To learn more about the people in the migrant literature scene, we spoke to three contributors of the book.
Zakir Hossain Khokan, Editor of Call and Response 2
Former freelance journalist and two-time winner of the Migrant Poetry Competition, Mr Zakir Hossain Khokan, 41, is a leading figure in the migrant literature scene. When he first moved to Singapore in 2003, Mr Zakir was under the impression he was here for a job different from the one he was assigned to – construction work.
Depressed and lonely, he sought refuge in poetry. Soon enough, Mr Zakir had found himself a community of fellow artists and writers. “After work, we would all gather by the road and share our poetry. We would read, critique and enjoy each other’s writing,” said Mr Zakir. Writing poetry and meeting fellow writers helped to improve his mental health. “If I don’t write, I don’t think I’m alive. Art is oxygen to me,” he added. This led to him creating Migrant Writers of Singapore on Facebook, a group that aims to bring together migrant literature enthusiasts. It has since grown into a locally recognised platform with writers taking part in the Singapore Writers Festival and organising their own events. Mr Zakir dreams that one day, every single bookstore in Singapore would have books published or written by migrant workers.
During the circuit breaker period, Mr Zakir and his team started a Facebook page ‘Daily Life in Covid-19’. It was a safe space for workers to document and express their time in quarantine through social media so that they would feel less alone. In an interview with The Straits Times last year, Mr Zakir said: “All everyone thinks is that we do dirty, dangerous and difficult work. But we can also be poets, photographers, film-makers. We can be inspired by what we do.”
Through artists coming together in Migrant Writers of Singapore, he hopes that Singaporeans will see migrant workers in a different light. “Right now, migrant workers seem to be on the fringes of society. Hopefully, with more local writers joining and recognising this community, this will change,” said Mr Zakir.
Rolinda Espanola, Contributing Writer of Call and Response 2
Ms Rolinda Espanola is no greenhorn when it comes to writing. The 44-year-old had her poetry published in books such as 'No Cinderella', when she was still working in Singapore from 2012 to 2019 as a domestic helper. Ms Espanola got her start in writing when she was in high school back in her hometown of Bacolod in the Philippines.
“It was my way of expressing my thoughts,” said Ms Esplanola, who took a hiatus from writing until 2001when she started working in the Middle East. She continued writing even when she started working as a domestic worker in Singapore. “Back then, I wrote my work as though I was writing a diary entry. No one read my work,” said Ms Esplanola. She only discovered her potential as a writer when she was shortlisted for the 2015 Migrant Workers Poetry Competition. “That was when I discovered my talent,” said Ms Espanola. From then on, her interest in poetry was piqued. She “started learning and reading about the different forms of poetry” and attended writing workshops conducted by Sing Lit Station, a non-profit organisation aimed to grow the local writing community. When Ms Espanola was in Singapore, her poetry reflected her own experiences, and explored the struggles faced by domestic helpers and the need for women to be empowered. “Some of my works are rather rebellious,” she said. “A lot of my works explore the feeling of being unequal.”
She added: “As a domestic worker, you are not able to express all your feelings because you are in a foreign land. You have certain boundaries to adhere to.” Poetry, she said, circumvents these boundaries.“With poetry, you can do everything you want to do and write about whatever you want. It is very liberating.” Ms Espanola, who cites poets such as Maya Angelou and Cyril Wong as some of her writing inspirations, shares her work on her Facebook account and on migrant writers groups like Migrant Writers of Singapore. Her passion for writing continued unabated even as she stopped working as a domestic helper and returned home to the Philippines in 2019. However, she still holds the migrant worker community in Singapore close to heart. “I hope that more and more domestic workers will be empowered to write and show their creativity and talent.” Ms Espanola said. “Employers have to realise that these women are not just helpers or cleaners. They have the ability to write too.”
Bhing Navato, Editor of Call and Response 2
Like Mr Zakir and Ms Espanola, poetry is a big part of Ms Bhing Navato’s life. Hailing from the Philippines, the 48-year old domestic helper is an editor for Call and Response 2, “I enjoy working with local writers. It’s nice that we can be united and understand one another better through writing,” Ms Navato shared. She hopes that migrant literature can help to raise awareness about migrant workers’ struggles. Through her interest in writing, she also wants to change the public perception of her community; that they don’t just loiter at Little India or Lucky Plaza on Sundays, but devote time to developing other talents as well.
Ms Navato began her writing journey when volunteering with the Humanitarian Organization of Migrant Economics (HOME). “As I talked to fellow domestic helpers suffering from abuse, it was just too much for me to handle,” she said. “I needed an outlet to tell other people about what has been happening to them. “ Poetry served as her catharsis. Through writing for HOME, she could express her feelings without fear and speak up for the domestic helper community. Ms Navato’s works explore themes of love and depression, based on stories that she heard and her own personal experiences. “I avoid difficult words in my poetry because I want people to understand and connect instantly with my pieces,” she explained. Her writing pursuits have brought her many opportunities and helped her make a name for herself. In 2018, she was invited to give a presentation at the Singapore Girls’ Home. She shared her favourite poem, Eye of Hope, with the girls during the visit; a piece about staying strong in the face of adversity.
She felt that the poem was able to give them hope that they “will be out of that place” one day to lead a “new life”. In an interview with HOME, she commented that the girls were touched by her story as she could see their eyes “brimming with tears”. In the future, Ms Navato hopes to experiment with different poetic forms by learning from her peers. She also dreams of publishing her own book. To all aspiring migrant poets, she advised: “Don’t just write for yourself. Write to motivate and inspire others.” Migrant literature has flourished over the years. Through platforms like Migrant Writers of Singapore and anthologies that are becoming more prominent, the stories of migrants can now be shared. It is a safe space for these migrant workers to come together and express themselves freely. The release of Call and Response 2 signifies a step forward for migrant workers and locals to come together through the medium of writing. Perhaps one day, migrant literature will be respected and recognised just like Singaporean literature.
Ashley Tham, Eunice Sng and Isabel Joy Kua
You can buy the book, Call and Response 2, here.
This article was written by WeeVolunteer, a student-led volunteering organisation founded and based within the Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information.