Holding a framed black-and-white picture of his friend, 32-year-old Phitha Glinpudson from Thailand stood out in the crowd at a spring memorial service for foreign laborers held at St. Christopher's Parish in downtown Taipei yesterday.
Glinpudson is a devout Buddhist, but he attended the Catholic service anyway, hoping that the soul of his countryman and roommate, Anuwat Mishichaiya, would be able to rest in peace.
PHOTO: CHANG CHIA-MING, TAIPEI TIMES
"His wife and 17-year-old boy back home have been waiting for the return of his ashes and information about the cause of his death. I sure hope the memorial service helps his spirit go to heaven so it does not have to wander about in the world," Glinpudson said through an interpreter.
According to Glinpudson, Mishichaiya came to Taiwan about seven months ago in order to work as a foreman at a tunnel construction site in Wenshan District.
Mishichaiya died on the night of Feb. 25 in his sleep. The cause of his death is still unknown.
Although it is a common practice for the bodies of foreign laborers to be shipped back to their home countries immediately, the body of Mishichaiya has been awaiting an autopsy report at the morgue for nearly two months.
Occupational accidents and deaths among migrant workers, while not frequent, do happen. Since Taiwan opened up to foreign labor in 1988, records show that over the past 10 years Taipei City has seen 56 foreign laborers killed on the job.
The majority were construction workers, caretakers or domestic helpers.
Of this number 34 were Filipinos, 21 were Thais, and one was Indonesian. Men also outnumbered women with 35 male and 21 female foreign workers killed.
Yesterday marked the third consecutive year that the Taipei City Government sponsored a religious memorial service to commemorate those migrant workers who had lost their lives while working in Taipei.
Father Edwin Corros of St. Christopher's Parish said that it is important to hold the memorial service on Easter Sunday, a day that commemorates Christ's resurrection.
"This event is celebrated today to highlight the significance of the great contributions made by foreign workers in the development of the City of Taipei, just as Christ has to suffer himself and die for us to be glorified in the City of Israel," he said during the 15-minute memorial service which started at 11:45am.
Taipei City Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) also delivered a short speech at the commemoration service, which was officiated by James Liew (劉丹桂) of the Auxiliary Bishop of Taipei.
"The city would like to not only commemorate those who sacrificed their lives for the city, but also offer assistance to those who continue to make the city a better place to live," he said.
According to Ma, the city's Bureau of Labor Affairs (勞工局) established a NT$5 million fund last year to offer financial assistance to those blue-collar workers, both domestic and foreign, who need to sue their employers for compensation after workers are either injured or killed at work.
The only requirement for application to the fund is that the applicant's work be based in the city.
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