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THEY are integral to our daily lives.
That's what I realised when I tried avoiding the services provided by foreign workers for three days.
Close to one in four people living in our midst is a foreigner. That is according to the latest data released by the Singapore Department of Statistics on Tuesday.
Of the 1.3 million foreigners here, about one million are working.
When assigned this task by my supervisor, I was pretty confident I would be able to breeze through it.
My younger sister was less certain though. "How are you going to do that? It's impossible," she said.
I was determined to prove her wrong.
But as soon as I embarked on my experiment, I had to eat my words.
As I stepped out of my house on the first day, standing in the middle of my condominium's driveway was Mr Moorthi Ravi, who is from India. He is in charge of the maintenance and cleanliness of the estate.
He was sweeping up litter and fallen leaves.
Ten minutes later, I boarded the bus that would take me to the MRT station, but I feared that the bus driver would be a foreigner although he looked local.
To be sure, I pretended to ask him for directions so I could determine his nationality from his accent.
Singlish
It was a huge relief when the driver, decked out in cool shades, replied in welcoming Singlish that I was on the right bus.
But I was not so lucky over the next two days.
Twice, I had to miss a bus and wait an additional five to 10 minutes because the first bus was driven by a foreign driver.
In the office, the first thing I did was to hide my wastepaper basket under my table. One of the cleaners is a foreigner.
I also had to be extra careful when using the toilets at my workplace as some are cleaned by foreign workers. Thankfully, the one nearest my office are usually cleaned by local aunties.
Hunting down an eatery which does not hire foreigners was tricky too as they seem to be everywhere. They are taking orders from customers, cooking in kitchens, serving food and drinks and washing pots and plates in the back of restaurants.
Eating out became less enjoyable and more of a chore because I had to decide where to eat based on who the food outlets hired and not what I wanted to eat.
I could not even order drinks at the kopitiam near my office because it hired foreign workers. I had to resort to the office canteen.
During the course of my experiment, there was one occasion when I had to eat at a restaurant which has service staff who are foreigners.
I could not say no as it was a friend's birthday and she had picked the restaurant.
Trying to shop for that friend's birthday present was a nightmare as well.
Aside from having to contend with the weekend crowd, I had to bar myself from many of the retail outlets as they were run by foreign sales staff.
I saw a bag that I thought my friend might like but I could not buy it because the sales assistant was a foreigner.
Instead of the one hour I had planned to spend, it took me close to 2 1/2 hours before I found something to buy at a departmental store.
By the end of it, I was exhausted and in need of the loo. I could not use the public toilets in the shopping mall as it was likely that they would have been cleaned by foreign workers.
After three inconvenient days, I gave up.
My sister was right.
Unless I stayed home all day and became a total recluse, there was no way I could avoid foreigners in my daily life.
Even during those times when I did successfully do so, it was often at a price - my time.
This made me think about Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong's National Day Rally speech on Sunday in which he took pains to explain why Singapore has to stay open to immigrants and foreign workers.
They were necessary to gain talent, to grow the economy and create jobs for Singaporeans, and to make up for Singapore's population shortfall, he said.
Although the expected inflow of 80,000 more foreign workers next year is much smaller than the numbers in previous years, it would be a long while before we stop relying on them like we do now.
So the next time I want to blame foreigners for crowding out our little red dot, I would first remind myself what life was like without them in those three short but trying days.
THEY COUNT
THERE are about one million foreign workers in Singapore in different sectors of the economy. But who are these people behind the numbers?
We show you four of them working in different occupations that you are likely to encounter daily.
Miss Marie Flores, 23, marketing associate and retail consultant at a shoe shop
From: Quezon City, Philippines
How long: Seven months
Why she's here: She wanted to work in a new and fresh environment and to gain experience. She said she loves the working environment here as everyone is treated equally regardless of whether one is a boss, an associate or a colleague.
Miss Zheng Zhang Hua, 28, waitress
From: Hangzhou, China
How long in S'pore: 3 1/2 years
Why she's here: She has never travelled outside of China and wanted to see the world. She said the local aunties at her workplace treat her like their own daughter.
Mr Moorthi Ravi, 44, estate cleaner
From: India
How long: More than 12 years
Why he's here: Back home, he was a farmer but he came here because of better pay. He has two daughters and a son in India.
Mr Chen Xiaobing, 40, bus captain
From: Dalian, China
When: Has been here for more than a year
Why he's here: He was also a bus driver in China but he wanted to give his family a better life and came because of the higher pay. He volunteers at a local temple during his free time.
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