Labour Day Celebration

As part of the efforts to celebrate Labour Day, INTEGRATE brings together a burst of flavours from across Asia through the lives of migrants in Singapore. Come be part of it.

This is the second time Migrant Voices is presenting INTEGRATE. First showcased in 2006 at The Substation and Timbre, we are now taking the show to Post Museum and extending the event to 2 days (3rd and 4th May). The events are held on weekends in order to encourage greater participation from both non-work permit holders and those who only have Sundays off from work.

With partners, TWC2 and HOME, Migrant Voices will present works done largely by work-permit holders (foreign workers) and Special pass holders (those seeking re-dress with authorities) through past workshops.


SATURDAY, 3rd May 2008
12.00pm - INTEGRATE officially opens, the Post Museum gallery will have photographs and artworks on display. Migrant Voices, TWC2 and HOME will each have a booth at the space so you're welcome to look through merchandise or ask us questions.

4.30pm - Poetry Readings & Open Mic sessions from poets & artists. A talkback session will also follow after the readings.
6.00pm - USE, a drama piece, written by Hemang Yadav. It will be performed by members of Three Men Productions, who made one of the winning entries for the "Fly by Nite 2008" video competition. This piece draws from personal experiences and observances of our interaction with "them".

7.00pm - Film Screenings @ Post Museum's screening room, RSVP by invitation only (filmfest@migrantvoices.or

g), entry at $20 per person. A talkback session will also be held with representatives from TWC2 and HOME, advocacy and welfare groups leading the foreign labour movement in Singapore.

The Films:
The Story of Stuff, 20 minutes
From its extraction through sale, use and disposal, all the stuff in our lives affects communities at home and abroad, yet most of this is hidden from view. The Story of Stuff is a 20-minute, fast-paced, fact-filled look at the underside of our production and consumption patterns. The Story of Stuff exposes the connections between a huge number of environmental and social issues, and calls us together to create a more sustainable and just world. It'll teach you something, it'll make you laugh, and it just may change the way you look at all the stuff in your life forever.

Breaking Labour (Malaysia), 30 minutes
Malaysia's rapid economic growth in recent decades has spawned an unbridled recruitment of migrant workers numbering up to three million. This documentary film traces the migrant workers who suffered in detention camps in Malaysia and tells the stories of those who are still struggling in Malaysia seeking for justice. It reveals the dreams of potential migrant workers and their hopes for a better life. It chronicles the quest for survival in and out of detention camps of migrant workers from Bangladesh, India, and Indonesia.

Foreign Dreams (Singapore), 7 minutes
About a letter home written by an Indian construction worker. Born in Hong Kong, Elgin Ho was exposed to the film industry as early as five years old. He is currently an undergraduate majoring in Digital Film at the NTU School of Art, Design & Media. Foreign Dreams was awarded the Silver Crow bar at the prestigious Singapore Student Creative Awards 2002 and has been screened in film festivals around the world.

Don't Fence Me In (Burma), 20 minutes
"Don't Fence Me In: Major Mary and the Karen Refugees from Burma" chronicles the life of 70-year-old freedom fighter Major Mary On and her people's struggle for self-determination. Major Mary's charismatic storytelling is accompanied by rare, clandestine footage smuggled out of the refugee camps along the border between Burma and Thailand. The film reveals the Karen refugees' spirit and determination to survive as political and historical forces conspire against them.

Din Bhrantok Nabeek (Bangladesh), 30 minutes (approx)
A documentary about the migratory process from sending countries in this case Bangladesh. The story looks into the life of its character right from when he made the choice to migrate to meeting an agent and then to the failure of reaching his destination.