Capping Hari Raya weekend with World Cup

Foreign workers gathering at arts space Dibashram to catch the Costa Rica v Serbia match last night. The venue was provided by owner A.K.M. Mohsin, a Bangladeshi permanent resident. Muslim workers began their Hari Raya celebrations by going to the mo
Foreign workers gathering at arts space Dibashram to catch the Costa Rica v Serbia match last night. The venue was provided by owner A.K.M. Mohsin, a Bangladeshi permanent resident. Muslim workers began their Hari Raya celebrations by going to the mosque last Friday. ST PHOTO: LIM YAOHUI
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On the upper floor of a shophouse in Little India last night, some 20 workers from Bangladesh crammed around a television set, waiting for the start of the World Cup football match between Costa Rica and Serbia.

One of them fiddled with the TV, using his mobile phone to create a hot spot to set up the streaming broadcast. As they waited, the others passed the time by playing the harmonium and tabla drums, singing songs from home.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on June 18, 2018, with the headline Capping Hari Raya weekend with World Cup. Subscribe