About this eBook
This collection was born of the friendship between volunteers of community clinic HealthServe and foreign construction workers. Dr Tan Lai Yong, a volunteer medical doctor at Healthserve and his team of medical students from National University of Singapore (NUS) were inspired by their experiences and Mukul's poems to respond with some writings of their own.
The poetry within these pages makes us see farther, think deeper, and listen. In listening, let us cross these borders.
Reader Reviews:
"In Singapore, migrant workers are too often painted as either troublemakers or victims: faceless laborers without individuality or dignity. This book changes that."
—Ng Yi-Sheng, writer, author of Loud Poems for a Very Obliging Audience
"Hossine’s poetry is the result of his emotion that he expresses in simple verses without any lofty ideas or unique images.”
—Golam Sarwar Chowdhury, Asiatic: IIUM Journal of English Language & Literature
“In rewriting and editing the rough translations of what were essentially raw but passionately honest versifications, the colloquial directness of ‘Me Migrant’ kept coming back to haunt me…”
– Cyril Wong
“Along the way, our volunteers have grown to appreciate the resilience of the foreign workers who come to our island home, their devotion to and love for their own families left behind in their homeland. Our respect for their labour in building Singapore grew. Along the way, we also learnt about the many talents that they have. Talents that lay hidden behind their construction helmets and protective visors; talents that remain hidden because of our stereotyping.”
– Dr Tan Lai Yong
About the author
Md Mukul Hossine was born in Patgram, Bangladesh. In 2008, he arrived in Singapore and has been working in its construction sector. Mukul writes poems, novels, and short stories. He enjoys composing poetry to remember his mother back home. His novel, Buker Simanaye Sukh (Happiness at Heart’s Edge) and his poetry collection Apurna Vasana (Unfulfilled Desire) have been published in Bangladesh. His other works have also appeared in anthologies. Mukul has spent many long nights writing poetry. His favourite poet is Rabindranath Tagore.
