On Sundays, We Play
Published by: Gantala Press
On Sundays, We Play is a photo art book documenting the fascinating social world of women migrant domestic workers from the Philippines, Indonesia and India, who play volleyball on Sundays at the site of Singapore’s old airport in Kallang.
Female migrant domestic helpers, who have left behind their own families and children to work, toil all week in Singapore households. On their one day off from work, many have started playing social volleyball.
Domestic workers turn into athletes in shiny uniforms, radiating sporting prowess and sass on the courts; colourful ceremonies feature team parades and glamorous muses; friends gather on the sidelines to cheer, picnic with home-made food and sing mobile karaoke. On occasion, games of charity are played to raise funds for sick family members back home or disaster relief for home-town villages.
The work is produced by a team of sociologists and photographers, Kristine Aquino, James Loganathan, Selvaraj Velayutham and Amanda Wise, in partnership with HOME Singapore, Migrant Writers of Singapore, and the migrant worker volleyballers in Kallang.
Published by Philippine-based independent feminist press, Gantala Press, On Sundays, We Play celebrates the multifaceted identities and talents of Singapore’s migrant workers. Through photographic ethnography, poems and essays written by the migrant women, read into how these women create a sense of place in Singapore, building individual and collective resilience.
Proceeds from book sales go towards assisting the women run their Sunday leagues and charity games.
On Sundays, We Play
Slide to see
Paperback
$40.00 SGD
Reviews
“Sundays we feel free. The life of a domestic worker, we have no time for our self. [...] Thank god for Sunday. We have this place. We are free to socialise, to have some sport. You need to keep active, keep healthy because our job, too physical. You need the break, have fun. So really, thank god for Sunday. On Sundays, we play.” —Jenevie, Filipina domestic worker, Singapore
“I started working abroad in the year 2016 in Taiwan as a caregiver. It is my first time to be far from my family. Yes, it is very hard during those days. Until now, I'm still working away from my family, here in Singapore this time. [...] I started playing volleyball in high school. I joined volleyball tournaments during those days and in college as well. And until this time, I still love playing this sport. The reasons why I play it? This is one way of killing and fighting homesickness and the feeling of carrying a heavy burden, yes, it is.” —Camille Bunoan
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