Since 1998, home has been under a flyover for Ruslan, a man in his 40s. He spent 8 years behind bars for a housebreaking incident, and more time after that because of drug abuse. He was placed in Pertapis Halfway Home after his second stint in jail where he learnt to resolve his personal demons.
In a moving 12-minute documentary by Sabrina Poon, Ruslan talks about the simple life under the bridge and how he gets by each day but he also makes a case against the stigma on ex-offenders in Singapore. The short film was released in 2013 for the 6th Singapore Indie Documentary Fest, but is now available for the public to watch on curated video platform, Viddsee.
“They need to understand that these people really want to change. Give them an opportunity, by supporting them,” Ruslan says. Though he remains positive and determined, Ruslan delved into the bleak part of hustlin’ in Singapore, explaining how he felt that he was no longer part of society and how he would make some money enough to get by. Sure, initiatives like the Yellow Ribbon Project are doing well to reach out to the society about second chances and inspire community support but it is a slow road for society to make some mindset adjustments.
