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[h=1]DEAR TRS, I WAS OPENLY DISCRIMINATED BY AN INDIAN FT FOR BEING A SINGAPOREAN[/h]
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Post date:
24 Sep 2014 - 11:18pm
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Dear The Real Singapore,
I have never been one to discriminate against non-Singaporeans. Every race and nationality has its good, bad and ugly. It’s the same everywhere. My beef, however, is with the blatant audacity and flippant sense of entitlement the large majority of foreigners in Singapore exude. It is almost as though they feel it’s perfectly fine, being a guest in Singapore, to treat its citizens and property with brazen disregard.
This morning, the ATM failed on me. After completing the withdrawal process, the machine froze and no cash was dispensed. I turned to the Indian man (probably an IT professional judging from his laptop bag and employment pass dangling out of his wallet) next to me, asking if he could watch the ATM for just a few seconds in case the cash was dispensed while I alert the bank teller who was no further than a few meters away. Here’s the following exchange:
HIM: Are you Singaporean?
ME: Yeah, why? (mentally scratching my head at such an odd question given the circumstance)
HIM: You not from India. I no help.
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And that was it. With a seemingly satisfactory smirk, he walked away. Whoa! That was baffling. Perfectly fine if he was in a hurry, didn’t like my face, or was just simply not up to it. But to be openly prejudiced against a citizen of the country he’s merely a guest in, that’s something else altogether. My purpose of sharing this account is not to incite negativity, neither am I advocating the law of retaliation. But for a moment there and then, I fully understood why anti-foreigner sentiments amongst Singaporeans are on a meteoric rise. And unfathomably, my experience is probably as mild as it gets.
Then,
SINGAPOREAN AUNTY (who was at the ATM furthest away from me): No problem, I will help you look out.
Graciousness in society is becoming more of a utopian ideal. That ain’t right. It takes two to tango. Let us all treat our fellow human with respect and decency. But more importantly, let us stand together as Singaporeans.
Confused Singaporean
TRS Contributor
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Post date:
24 Sep 2014 - 11:18pm
<iframe src="http://tpc.googlesyndication.com/safeframe/1-0-0/html/container.html" style="display: none; visibility: hidden;"></iframe><ins id="aswift_0_expand" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: currentColor; width: 336px; height: 280px; display: inline-table; visibility: visible; position: relative; background-color: transparent; border-image: none;"><ins id="aswift_0_anchor" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: currentColor; width: 336px; height: 280px; display: block; visibility: visible; position: relative; background-color: transparent; border-image: none;"><iframe name="aswift_0" width="336" height="280" id="aswift_0" frameBorder="0" marginWidth="0" marginHeight="0" scrolling="no" vspace="0" hspace="0" allowfullscreen="true" style="left: 0px; top: 0px; position: absolute;" allowTransparency="true"></iframe></ins></ins>
Dear The Real Singapore,
I have never been one to discriminate against non-Singaporeans. Every race and nationality has its good, bad and ugly. It’s the same everywhere. My beef, however, is with the blatant audacity and flippant sense of entitlement the large majority of foreigners in Singapore exude. It is almost as though they feel it’s perfectly fine, being a guest in Singapore, to treat its citizens and property with brazen disregard.
This morning, the ATM failed on me. After completing the withdrawal process, the machine froze and no cash was dispensed. I turned to the Indian man (probably an IT professional judging from his laptop bag and employment pass dangling out of his wallet) next to me, asking if he could watch the ATM for just a few seconds in case the cash was dispensed while I alert the bank teller who was no further than a few meters away. Here’s the following exchange:
HIM: Are you Singaporean?
ME: Yeah, why? (mentally scratching my head at such an odd question given the circumstance)
HIM: You not from India. I no help.
<ins id="aswift_1_expand" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: currentColor; width: 336px; height: 280px; display: inline-table; visibility: visible; position: relative; background-color: transparent; border-image: none;"><ins id="aswift_1_anchor" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: currentColor; width: 336px; height: 280px; display: block; visibility: visible; position: relative; background-color: transparent; border-image: none;"><iframe name="aswift_1" width="336" height="280" id="aswift_1" frameBorder="0" marginWidth="0" marginHeight="0" scrolling="no" vspace="0" hspace="0" allowfullscreen="true" style="left: 0px; top: 0px; position: absolute;" allowTransparency="true"></iframe></ins></ins>
And that was it. With a seemingly satisfactory smirk, he walked away. Whoa! That was baffling. Perfectly fine if he was in a hurry, didn’t like my face, or was just simply not up to it. But to be openly prejudiced against a citizen of the country he’s merely a guest in, that’s something else altogether. My purpose of sharing this account is not to incite negativity, neither am I advocating the law of retaliation. But for a moment there and then, I fully understood why anti-foreigner sentiments amongst Singaporeans are on a meteoric rise. And unfathomably, my experience is probably as mild as it gets.
Then,
SINGAPOREAN AUNTY (who was at the ATM furthest away from me): No problem, I will help you look out.
Graciousness in society is becoming more of a utopian ideal. That ain’t right. It takes two to tango. Let us all treat our fellow human with respect and decency. But more importantly, let us stand together as Singaporeans.
Confused Singaporean
TRS Contributor
