So Much to Update!!!

Oh my gosh I feel like I have so much to update everyone on! So much has happened since my last blog post - I have started working, met the girls from the shelter and some of the guys, attended a "Solidarity Rally," met new friends, figured out the MRT system (Singer's version of the subway), etc, etc, etc.

Ok, let me start with my work: I LOVE it. The NGO I work for is pretty well known throughout the region here. My boss is 61, and has more stamina than 3 of me put together - she starts work at 7/8 am and I often receive emails from her at 1/2 in the morning. Her normal attire is jeans, a sleeveless t, and flip-flops (called "slippers" here). If you saw her on the street you wouldn't think much of her, but, unbeknownst to me until this week, she was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize in 2005 for her work with migrant workers. At present, the 2 shelters she runs house 59 women and 27 men. She estimates that 40,000 migrant workers have come through her doors in the past 10 years. The pics I'm posting are of the Solidarity Rally last Sunday; 3 groups (HOME, my organization,; Migrant Workers Count Too; and Migrant Voices) signed a treaty to work together to help foreign workers here in Singapore, fight for their rights, etc. The girls dancing are girls from the shelter here.

I am living at the newly opened Resource Center. Here we have the Legal Clinic, Resource Library, and Hotline for victims of sex trafficking. They just moved into this location (a "proper" house) on the 15th of this month, so we have been getting everything (phones, internet, furniture) set up and organized. My commute to work consists of walking up half a flight of stairs from my room to the upstairs part of the house, which is where the office is housed. Office attire is casual - really anything goes, which I love. There are 3 girls from the shelter who come to the house everyday to keep the place tidy, cook lunch for us, answer the phones, etc. They are wonderful, and never let me do anything on my own. They insist on helping me with everything, bring me coffee, etc. The eldest, who is probably in her 40s, is a mother figure who yesterday insisted on doing my laundry for me. I pleaded with her not too, but it was pointless. She would not take no for an answer. I love having the help, but I am kind of afraid I'll get to use to it and won't be able to do anything for myself once I get back to the States! We also have a dog at the shelter, a huge female German Shepard named Joey. Joey is nothing but a big lug though; she's absolutely worthless as a guard dog. But soooo sweet!

Monday was an easy day; I was really just getting to know everyone and hanging around the house. Besides my boss boss, I am working with a girl named Aveline who is an attorney. She's a year younger than me, but already barred here - you can study law right off the bat in University here instead of having to get a 4-year degree and then doing law school. She is super super nice and we have hit it off right off the bat. Tonight I went to dinner with her and she introduced me to some of her friends, and Sunday we are going to Sentosa (an island with really nice beaches) together! I think she could very well become one of my closest friends here! I also work with a French girl named Anais. She is finishing up university and will soon be practicing law back in France. She will only be here for a month, but is very sweet and quiet.

Tuesday I began "real" work. Since Tuesday, I have met with 6 women and 2 men about their cases - getting facts, information, what's going on, etc. Most of the women have suffered some type of abuse from their employer. It breaks your heart hearing some of the stories; one girl today has a bachelor's degree in Elementary Education and came here to earn money as a domestic worker from the Philippines because the pay as a teacher was so bad, only to be mentally and physically abused by her employer. Some of these women work 20 hours a day in terrible conditions, aren't given enough to eat, never given a day off, and kept confined to their employer's households. Some of these women have husbands and children and family to support in their home countries, and they come here looking for a way to support their loved ones back home. Some are mothers who haven't seen their children for a year. These are people who are abused, marginalized, and ignored. HOME offers them a free place to stay, 3 meals a day, support, guidance, love, and freedom. The Legal Clinic is here to assist them in filing civil charges against their former employers for assault, battery, false imprisonment, back pay, etc, etc, etc. And if they are accused of any criminal offense (stealing or something) we are here to assist them legally as well.

Yesterday I had a woman say to me, "Sister (sister is a term of respect here) Ashley, I know who you are. I know that you are an American lawyer, and I know that you will help me with my case. I am so grateful to you." I almost got choked up at that point. Here was this women, married with 2 children in the Philippines, broken, abused, neglected, putting her trust in my hands. Looking to me to help her, to help make her whole again. I know I'm not a real lawyer yet, but being part of this legal team, helping these women in the way I can has already affected me. I feel like I am really working towards something - it's so much more fulfilling than sitting in a classroom listening to a professor drone on about something that has no meaning, no depth, no soul to me. This is different - this is real. These are real people who need help, understanding, love, patience, kindness. They are trapped in a country with no friends, little if any money, with no real time frame of when they can go home. This is why I wanted to become a lawyer in the first place. I only hope my time here has as great of an impact on their lives as it is sure to have on mine.