Voyage 15840 is a photo book compiled by TIWA(Taiwan International Workers’ Association). Migrant workers,which can be viewed as immigrants, speak out their feelings via daily photographs and simple words. Through simple images and words, they try their best to reveal their interior thoughts to us. The book thus provides a chance for us to understand them more. I choose one of the stories from the book as my post.
The story written on page 48 draws my attention because of its unfamiliar look. The photograph was taken by Alice E. Dimzon, who is a factory worker. At first, you may think it is just a normal lunch box and there is nothing special about it. Later, as you take a closer look, it is easy to see that the drumsticks are much smaller and than usual. Significantly, the most meaty and delectable part is missing, I suspect that this has to do with discrimination and disrespect. You would not expect to see this normally in the restaurants in Taiwan. As to the lunch box itself, it looks boring because of its dull color. As a whole, it seems unpalatable. I would not have something like this personally.
Yearnings and sadness are the fleeting feelings captured in the words because Alice mentions that every time she opens the box served in her factory, she already loses her appetite. Yet, she still forces herself to eat it even though she dislikes the taste so much. If she doesn’t do so, she will starve and have no strength to do the heavy work in the factory. Thanks to the sauce from the Philippines, she can rely on it when she doesn’t like the taste of the food. With it, she doesn’t need to worry about the taste anymore. We enjoy Korean delicacies with special sauce to enhance the flavor but that’s totally different from her situation.
As a citizen in Taiwan, as it should be, I don’t have problem adapting myself to Taiwanese food. However, I may get a chance to study abroad in the future. To stand in their shoes, I can easily experience migrant workers’ alienated situation. What’s more, migrant workers see what I don’t see. If I didn’t read Voyage 15840, I would never get the chance to take a look at the meal served in the factory, not to mention the challenge they face. Before I read the story and saw the image, my impression about migrant workers was that they worked in factories or took care of the old. I never thought about the difficulty they confronted in daily life. Although there are exotic restaurants, the taste may not be as authentic as it is in their homeland. Here is a crueler question: “Do they have enough money to afford the exquisite meal after being exploited so many times?” The answer is probably “No.”
Alice E.’s story makes me understand migrant workers better than before. It gives me a lot of new aspects and points of view. Also, I can comprehend their ways of thinking and of experiencing culture shock. As an immigrant, I believe she has many stories to tell. Maybe the story I choose is only the tip of the iceberg. However, it has already broaden my horizons.
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