New kid on the block!

When I came home today, I found a room-mate sitting on the bed and sobbing quite loudly. She was someone new and I have never met her before. I decided to talk to her and found out that she just moved in this morning. She had sought out an agent to seek for a job in Singapore as the agent had promised good pay, good living conditions and a new and better life. Incidentally, I found out later that this was the Singapore side of the agent was the same one who took my sister here.

When she reached here and found that she had to live 8 in a room, she was totally devastated. I had the same feeling when I first came, just that the living conditions when I came was worse than here. I decided to console her and told her my story when I first came to Singapore.

She said she missed her son. She as a 5 year old son back in China but she decided to come here hoping to make a better living and give her family a better life. I told her that she will get used to Singapore very quickly and settle down fast. Then everything will be OK. I could see myself, just like her when I first came... no friends, feeling cheated and totally frustrated.

The Singapore side of the agent was not much help either. They made her wait at the airport for hours and the next day, she had to look for her employer on her own, and she is not even familiar with Singapore. I wonder why some agents are so irresponsible. Afterall, they make great money bringing us here. We paid good money (SGD8,000+) to the agent and assuming their cost of bringing us here is about SGD2,000, they still make SGD6,000 between them (China and Singapore side). I remember when my sister came at midnight, that the agent will only go fetch her the next morning, which means she has to stay at the airport throughout the night! If not for the fact that I am already here in Singapore, can you imaging how scary that can be... staying at the airport in a strange land, all by yourself?

I really hope agents can be more responsible. They have a job to do, to ensure our safety, to get us on time to our employer, at least on the first day, to orientate us to the country, and show us how to get around on train or buses! This new room-mate told me the Singapore agent won't even speak to her in mandarin, pretending they cannot speak mandarin and insist on speaking in english which she does not understand!

I offered her an apple to console her and went for my evening jog. Later when I came home, I bought 2 packets of mee hoon, one for my sister and one for her, just in case she did not bring any money with her. I feel really sorry for her!

I also don't want my readers to get the wrong impression of why I am posting her pictures here. They are not to embarrass her but to show to readers how tough it is go have to move to a strange country to work! It isn't fun and most of us don't like it, but for the sake of a better life, we have to do it! I've gone through it and I know how it is... I feel for her every single tears because I shed just as many... though silently!