As soon as we land on the country of our choice, we (he /she) become a vessels of the employer.
But as we look through the community, we are the people who you employ. We do your dishes, clean your rooms,your homes, cook your meals, feed your babies, act as your security guards, accountants, advisors, health experts, care takers and even caretakers of your kids.
We are part of you and we will always be a part of your family. We need your kindness and all that you require for yourselves. You cant live without us so be a part of of us. We are human too!
Shot on Black Magic Cinema Camera : RAW 2.5K + Canon 50mm.
Keyframe edited / Retouched: Adobe Photoshop
All these Cinemagraphs are made with Flixel Cinemagraph Pro
Thanks to the three beautiful faces (Roja, Jamielee, Sareena) used in this project and the team at Eternal Pictures, Tedry , KD, Mooshan and Reefside Maldives for providing us SONY TV’s to exhibit these images with life also to Transparency Maldives.
(Others) – Exhibition on Migrant Worker Lives in the Maldives
Introduction
The estimated official figure of migrant population in Maldives according to the latest census is 58,683. The unofficial estimates are around 200,000 bringing the size of the migrant population in Maldives up to more than half of the total Maldivian population of the country.
Regardless of this figure, migrant workers have few rights and state redress mechanisms are not accessible to these workers, further victimizing those who are already being exploited in forced labor conditions. The language barrier and the lack of public interest litigators in the country further limits their access to the justice system. A high number of migrant workers, especially those working as manual labourers, often sell all their assets to come to the Maldives and are reliant on their new employers for sustenance for themselves and their families back at home. Often times, they face threats or even violence for speaking up about injustices. Their living quarters are generally provided by their employers, so if they are dismissed they also lose their housing. The majority of the cases that Transparency Maldives’ free legal advice center receives from migrant workers include complaints of non-payment of wages, often for months, withholding of travel documents and identification and inhumane living conditions.
Migrant workers live and work in unimaginable conditions, sometimes being forced to do work that is not permitted in their work permits. They are underpaid or unpaid, their passports and identification documents withheld by agents and employers, effectively crippling workers from rectifying their situation or reaching out to the justice system. Transparency Maldives’ Advocacy and Legal Advice Center provides free legal advice and assistance to expatriates and Maldivian citizens. Over the past three years we have assisted over 560 migrant workers with cases of non-payment of wages, unacceptable working conditions, poor housing, withholding of their passport by employment agencies and employers, and being forced to do work that is not permitted as per their work permit. These are not newly emerging issues and they closely reflect the findings reported in U.S Department of State’s Trafficking in Persons Report (2014). The report notes fraudulent recruitment, confiscation of identity and travel documents, withholding or non-payment of wages, or debt bondages as some of the forced labor situations faced by the migrant workers in Maldives.
This Exhibition is a platform provided by Transparency Maldives for local artists to showcase their thoughts and perceptions on the issues faced by migrant workers in the country. We hope that the exhibition will raise interest in and awareness of the public at large of the plight and conditions of migrant workers.
Exhibition: 30th July – 5th August at National Art Gallery, Maldives
Exhibition showcase the works of Maldivian artists: Afu Afzal Shaafiu, Shaari, Ali Nishan -Millzero, Ali Samahy Niyaz, Nazaal, Munshid Mohamed, Mariyam Omar, Nash’ath and Nadee.
Curated: Kareen
Organised: Transparency Maldives
More details on this exhibition.