Yesterday we watched a video during our lecture for gender and sexuality. It was about the Samsui women in Singapore and how immigration and gender intersects to bring about some impacts on the women. Although the video was only 20 plus minutes, I think it reallly provides an insight into the lives of these women.
Before the video, I did not really know who the Samsui women are. I only knew that they wear red headgear with blue outfits. That's all. Apparently they are women who mostly came from a place called Samsui and they travelled to Singapore either in search of better life or having some family problems back home. The red gear is to protect them and because it is an outstanding colour, they could be identified easily. The video showed them working in construction sites without any gloves or boots! That's super dangerous. When they have bruises from carrying the heavy cement or bricks, they would not see a doctor as they can't afford it. Even if they stepped onto a nail, they did not seek any doctor's advice too! They would use some folklore remedies such as garlic.
While watching the video, I fet quite sad, especially when they interviewed the women who were in their 80s when it was being recorded. Each of them have their own sad life story. Now, they live in small flat units with their fellow Samsui friends and I think its really heart-wrenching when you see them getting old and lonely. They had nothing much to do and most of the time they would just sit around and wait for time to pass. Some of them even carried on working as Samsui women till their 70s. I think these women have become a long-forgotten part of Singapore's history. Before foreign workers came, they were the ones who did the construction work for us!
