Foreign workers in a state of uncertainty

Worrying times: (From left) Monir and Hamzah with the other workers hanging outside their bedroom quarters near a construction site off Penang Road in George Town.

GEORGE TOWN: Indonesian labourer Hamzah Voho has to put up with about 20 other foreigners in a container home near a construction site off Penang Road here.

“When we stopped working after the movement control order (MCO) started, we were told that we will receive health screenings.

“So we waited. But until now, nothing has happened. No government official has come to conduct health screenings or tell us when it will be done, ” said Hamzah, 48.

“We used to go for blood tests before but now, none of us know what is supposed to happen.”

Hamzah and the others live in two 20ft (6m) containers with a floor space of about 146sq ft and a small kitchen.

He said they would get together for meals daily.

“We have two or three people in the group who cook for everybody each day. We eat together after distributing the food, ” he said.

“So far, we are not worried about being infected as the workers in our group are healthy and well.

“No one showed any symptoms or felt unwell, ” he added.

Hamzah, who is from Surabaya, said he would go back to his village every two years but his plans would have to be put on hold for now.

“The situation in Indonesia is not good too, and I do not think things will get better any time soon.

“So, I will stay put after the health screenings, ” said Hamzah, who is jobless now.

Another foreign worker, Bangladeshi Monir Hossin, 33, said some of them would go to the market on alternate days and had their temperature checked there.

“So far, the checks are all okay, so I think we should be fine, ” he said.

Monir said the workers hoped that they would receive health screenings soon “to have a peace of mind”.

“Many of us here are missing home, but I think I will not be returning even after the travel ban is lifted because I have not been earning for the past month. It would be impossible to return home to my wife and kids with no savings.

“Even before the Covid-19 pandemic, I could not earn enough to pay for a trip home.

“So after this, I think I will continue to stay here and work for a few more years, ” he said, adding that he had not been home for the past six years.