Indian, B'deshi celebs tell their tales of struggle to migrants stuck in Singapore

Celebrities of India and

Bangladesh are narrating the story their struggling days in a series of video streamings on YouTube to boost the morale of Bengali speaking migrant workers who are stuck in Singapore because of the ongoing lockdown.

Popular personalities such as Indian actors Prosenjit Chatterjee, Rituparna Sengupta and singer Lopamudra Mitra and Bangladeshi actor Firdouse Ahmed and director Mostafa Sarwar Farooki were roped in for the project, "Our Stories, Your Stories".

The series, in which the celebrities sing, recite and speak about how they reached the pinnacle of their career in their respective episodes, is being run by Darpan, an NGO, with active support from the Singapore government.

 

"I had interacted with these Bengali migrants living in Singapore a few years back. It was an unforgettable experience. I am looking forward to my session," Chatterjee said.

While Rituparna Sengupta talked about her crisis situations and how she came through it, Bangladeshi star Firdaus dwelt on his childhood dreams and narrated how he reached where he is now, saying one should not run short of motivation in any situation.

"I am very happy to be associated with this project. Darpan had approached me. If we can motivate the migrant workers in this way.... I think this is a very noble and benevolent work," Sengupta said.

The Singapore government is also sharing the episodes of "Our Stories, Your Stories (Amar Tomar Sabar Katha)" on its Facebook page.

An estimated 3 lakh Bengali speaking migrant workers are now stranded in Singapore.

Over 28,000 people have been afflicted with COVID-19 in Singapore and most of whom are workers from India and Bangladesh.

Earlier this month, Singapore's Minister for Communications and Information S Iswaran released a video message in Tamil and Bengali to address the concerns of foreign migrant workers, who are the worst-hit by the coronavirus outbreak in the country.

Last month, former cricketer Sachin Tendulkar, composer A R Rahman, actors Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan recorded messages for the migrant workers, which were posted by the Indian-origin minister on social media.