Special Feature: Heroes in a Time of Crisis

In early April, Singapore saw a sharp rise in cases as well as a seismic shift in the demographics of new cases, from our citizens to migrant workers. I still remember the exact moment I felt compelled to create a translation tool for frontliners — it was a gov.sg Telegram message on 13 April, at 11.58pm, and the first day that foreign workers in gazetted dormitories became the significant majority of the cases. I was devastated — especially knowing the difficulties they face in the local system given its unfamiliarity and a heavy communication barrier. It was that burst of emotion that drove me to create a website of English-to-Bengali medical history questions overnight, ready before a new batch of doctors were about to enter the dormitories the next day. Since then, a small community of volunteers has come together to dedicate its efforts towards document translation, phone interpretation and website development. These efforts spilled into other minority language communities as well, and the next step forward is to apply these concepts to dialects for the elderly Singapore population. Still, the greatest challenge yet is to create long-term, sustainable change for demographics that we otherwise have little incentive to fight for. In the future, I hope to continue being a health advocate for such minorities in our country.