Each year, tens of thousands of migrant workers travel to Singapore hoping for a better life. Most of them pay large fees to agents who promise them work as laborers in the construction and shipping industries. When the economy was booming, those promises were largely fulfilled. But as a global recession takes hold, horror stories are emerging.

30-year old Mohamed Ismail from Bangladesh signed a contract with a recruiting agent who promised him a job for a fee of 9,000 Singaporian dollars, around half what the average Bangladeshi earns in a lifetime. The agent sent him to work as a laborer for a ship builder, but after 18 months, Ismail is forced home with nothing but debts. He is jobless, homeless, and reliant on friends and local NGO's for help. His migrant dreams have turned into a nightmare.

This film follows Mohamed Ismail and some of his colleagues who have taken their complaints to Singapore's Ministry of Manpower. They claim they were not paid for nearly six months, had unfair deductions taken from their salaries and had to pay $100 rent to live in the dismal conditions of shipping containers. Watch what happens.

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About Al Jazeera - Witness

Rageh Omaar presents Witness, a half-hour daily documentary series which features short, specially commissioned or acquired films gathered from independent filmmakers.
 
Each documentary reveals the unknown lives of ordinary people, following their lives, telling their stories and portraying the challenges that confront them. Our witnesses are people in a situation or those who have observed them first hand.
 
The films cover conflict, belief, the past and the future and as well as bringing new stories to light they showcase the talents of a new breed of multi-skilled, frontline journalist. In the studio, Rageh will further explore the issues raised in the films, with expert guests on the subject matter and the filmmakers themselves.