Over the years, Singapore's migrant community has been increasing drastically, and the article highlights this. One word pops out. Racism.
Just think of Singapore as a plate, and the different races as the food from a Eat-All-You-Can Salad Bar at Sizzlers. You take a lot of food, too much in fact. Tastes of foods can and will clash. Potato salad and Pineapple Tidbits taste terrible. Chicken Soup doesn't go with Romaine Lettuce. Worse still, the food can fall right off your plate and create a mess.
Not trying to make a meal of things, I feel that the racism is totally ludicrous. What has happened to Racial Harmony? I mean; a Singaporean in a Lexus is a businessman. A "Chinese National" in a Lexus? Go figure. These innocent jokes which are done in the name of fun are merely the tip of the iceberg. It’s no different from the Blacks and the Whites in America in the time past. The increase in immigrants is nothing for us to invent jokes about. Who is going to do all the physical labour for us? Physical labour, in the eyes of most Singaporeans, is considered "dirty work" and most singaporeans would prefer white collar jobs. If we do not have foreign labourers in Singapore, our Circle Line would merely be a fantasy. What happened to Singaporeans and D&T? We should learn to feel grateful for all the contributions these migrants have put in for the country.
Mr. Mah was asked how population growth through migration will affect Singapore's ethnic mix. The migrants are here for our good. To preserve racial harmony, everyone just needs to understand that. I don't mean they should think they are lower than us just because they are building the underground MRT Line, or anything. I feel that we need to understand that there is no shame in doing these "lower-down" jobs. I think we should eradicate this mindset that there is a spectrum of job "ratings" with some being marginally lower.
Why is this mindset even there? I find it quite immature, really. There is a Circle Line construction site right next to my house at Marymount Road, and despite rain, cold or even hot sun, the resilient workers there continue working consistently, not giving in to "a few droplets of rain".
Migrants do not consist of just construction workers. Regarding maids, many of us have them in our homes; their function? I feel that most people in Singapore treat their maids as inanimate objects whose only purpose in their house is to cook and clean. This idea is comes from the fact that just because maids gain monetary rewards from their work, we should learn how to sympathize with people who have left their family and friends and have come here to make a living.
The ironic thing is, most of these people whom some of us look down on do not complain at all. They have resilience, perseverance and courage to leave home and come to an alien country. These people may be somewhat despised on now, but wait till we go abroad.
1 comment:
Hi bryan:
Interesting use of food as an analogy to illustrate your point. I agree with what you say about foreign workers. Perhaps you could talk more about the import of foreign talent--will they post a threat to Singaporeans' jobs?
Jon Ng
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