“Every time they punished me, I would wonder what big mistakes I made.”

– Mary, domestic worker

“My boss threatened me to admit that the accident took place in the store room.”

- Abdul, construction worker

“The work that I never thought of doing before.
The work I thought was the lowest. ”

– Iriana, trafficked sex worker

Singapore is a country with many foreign workers.

Not Here. uncovers the truths of modern-day slavery in Singapore. Featuring three cases of suspected human trafficking in Singapore – Mary, Abdul and Iriana, their experiences in the domestic help, construction and sex work industries are not new, but it is time for their voices to be heard.

Singapore is also a significant transit point for trafficked fishermen and port of call for fishing vessels. As a country where most of the goods are imported, unknowingly, you and I are complicit in this social injustice by consuming products and services that involve victims of trafficking in their supply chains. NOT HERE hopes to unveil the simple truth of what human trafficking is, how it looks like and what we can do to help.

FILM SCREENINGS

Not Here. is available for private screening,
please contact Sylvia Lee.

Produced by EmancipAsia.

READ THE RICE MEDIA ARTICLE HERE

“… we need a new second generation abolitionist movement.”

– Matt Friedman, expert on human trafficking

”… some of them say that because of depression, some cannot tolerate it anymore, they just jump into the sea and take their own life.”

- Father Romeo Yu Chang, Port Chaplain

“Most of them come with a debt to pay off over 7-8 months … they are very vulnerable to being abused or even trafficked.”

– Tam Peck Hoon, ‘”Stoptraffickingsg”’ coordinator

There are more than one million foreign workers in Singapore. They build our houses, take care of our households, prepare and serve our food in restaurants and more. Most, if not all of us, come into contact with them on a daily basis. In short, they look after our families, help keep our city clean and attractive and our economy running.

But beneath the glitz and glamour of Singapore’s shiny façade lies the untold stories of how Singapore is a destination country for exploitative labour and sex trafficking. Singapore is also a significant transit point for trafficked fishermen and port of call for fishing vessels.

In 2016, there were an estimated 9,200 modern-day slaves in Singapore. Many cases go unreported because victims are threatened to not raise red flags that might cause them to be punished, sent home and yet remain heavily in debt. As with any global cities, we in Singapore consume products that are tainted with slave labour in their global supply chains, such as seafood, fruits and vegetables, clothes, shoes, electronics, toys and many more.

Not Here. is a 26-minute documentary that covers the untold stories of exploitation of foreign workers in Singapore, and how goods and services consumed in Singapore could be tainted with slavery.

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Motivation for making this film

Since 2012, EmancipAsia has been using films to educate and raise awareness about the different forms of human trafficking around the world. While there are many documentaries exposing human trafficking situations in different continents, there is a lack of understanding of such issues affecting Singapore, which Not Here. attempts to educate, and mobilise the local community into action.

EmancipAsia’s work and messages have reached thousands of Singapore residents who often responded with awe, gratefulness …. ”thank you for telling me, I did not know.”