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Coffeeshop Chit Chat - PRC family look bad, probably deservedly[/TD]
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[TD="class: msgtxt"][h=2]Please Sir, can you not cook curry?[/h]
August 10th, 2011 |
Author: Contributions
I did not want to write anything today. Really not in the mood. But this news report caught my eye and ire: Todayonline ¨C community disputes.
I mean we all know that some disputes can be really petty. But surely this takes the cake?
You know how we used to hear racial jokes about smells? We are all convinced that we don¡¯t smell? In actual fact we do. Chinese can have a ¡°porky¡± smell or smell of garlic. Indians can smell of coconut oil. It is just that we are not aware of it. What do we do? We can laugh at ourselves and tolerate our neighbours. I mean what do we expect? Tell the Chinese to eat less pork, use less garlic? Or the Indian neighbours not to use coconut oil?
Hygiene is a different matter. If the smells that exude from our neighbour¡¯s flat is a result of a lack of hygiene, then yes, we can complain and expect some improvement. Lack of hygiene can bring pests, or in extreme cases present a fire hazard.
Coming back to this case. I take issue not just with the complaint. I take issue with the highlighting of this specific case. In the first place, I think this is NOT a common example. In highlighting this case, it makes this particular PRC family look bad, probably deservedly so. The bigger problem is that it shows that our foreign guests are not integrating. Worse still, they know how to make their complaints heard and addressed. It spoils the market for other, more sensitive foreign guests.
Furthermore this is the sort of story that promotes xenophobia. Just read the rapidly increasing number of comments on facebook links and the content of the comments.
Next I take issue with the resolution by the community mediation centre. Is this a triumphant solution or what? I take my hat off to the Singaporean Indian family for tolerating this resolution. Cooking curry only when the neighbour is not in? Gosh, how is that wisdom? Or is that really being totally insensitive? So if the PRC family is home by six every evening, the Singaporean Indian family must cook dinner before 6 even if they eat at 8?
Tolerance of each other¡¯s culture is the basis of harmony. Imagine Muslims tolerating the Seventh month festivities that are coming up, the smoke from the joss sticks and the very loud noise of the performances of the getai or the Chinese tolerating the call to prayers from the mosques. In this society, there are many examples of such tolerance. And now, we have foreign guests who come to our country to tell our own people what not to cook? I mean¡­
By coming up with this sort of solution, CMC is almost sending a message that we need to be gracious hosts and be mindful of our guests. Our guests on the other hand, have every right to complain against us. Why not advice the PRC family about our culture and integration instead?
The request of the Singaporean Indian family is for them to give the dish a try! It is nice of them. However, the PRC family is entitled not to like curry. Offer them some dishes as good neighbours should. But if they don¡¯t want to, no need to try. Just like I don¡¯t like smelly tofu, or my future daughter-in-law does not like durians. No need for either of us to try. Live and let live.
Taking this a step further, next thing I know, durians are disallowed in all hdb flats, because some neighbours, especially those who just moved to Singapore think they smell foul. Or worse, the sale of durians is banned because we need to be sensitive to our newly arrived guests who think it¡¯s smelly beyond reason.
Sheesh!
.
SpeakSpokeWriteWrote
* The writer blogs at http://speakspokewritewrote.wordpress.com
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[TD="class: msgFname, width: 68%"] sunshinebolx <NOBR></NOBR>[/TD]
[TD="class: msgDate, width: 30%, align: right"]9:55 am [/TD]
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[TD="class: msgtxt"][h=2]Please Sir, can you not cook curry?[/h]
I did not want to write anything today. Really not in the mood. But this news report caught my eye and ire: Todayonline ¨C community disputes.
[URL]http://www.todayonline.com/Singapore/EDC110808-0000102/Number-of-neighbour-disputes-hit-high[/URL]
A family, who had just moved here from China, had resorted to mediation because they could not stand the smell of curry that their Singaporean Indian neighbours would often cook. The Indian family, who were mindful of their neighbour¡¯s aversion, had already taken to closing their doors and windows whenever they cooked the dish, but this was not enough.
¡°They said: ¡®Can you please do something? Can you don¡¯t cook curry? Can you don¡¯t eat curry?¡¯,¡± said Madam Marcellina Giam, a Community Mediation Centre mediator. But the Indian family stood firm. In the end, Mdm Giam got the Indian family to agree to cook curry only when the Chinese family was not home. In return, they wanted their Chinese neighbours to at least give their dish a try.
So, here is my rant.A family, who had just moved here from China, had resorted to mediation because they could not stand the smell of curry that their Singaporean Indian neighbours would often cook. The Indian family, who were mindful of their neighbour¡¯s aversion, had already taken to closing their doors and windows whenever they cooked the dish, but this was not enough.
¡°They said: ¡®Can you please do something? Can you don¡¯t cook curry? Can you don¡¯t eat curry?¡¯,¡± said Madam Marcellina Giam, a Community Mediation Centre mediator. But the Indian family stood firm. In the end, Mdm Giam got the Indian family to agree to cook curry only when the Chinese family was not home. In return, they wanted their Chinese neighbours to at least give their dish a try.
I mean we all know that some disputes can be really petty. But surely this takes the cake?
You know how we used to hear racial jokes about smells? We are all convinced that we don¡¯t smell? In actual fact we do. Chinese can have a ¡°porky¡± smell or smell of garlic. Indians can smell of coconut oil. It is just that we are not aware of it. What do we do? We can laugh at ourselves and tolerate our neighbours. I mean what do we expect? Tell the Chinese to eat less pork, use less garlic? Or the Indian neighbours not to use coconut oil?
Hygiene is a different matter. If the smells that exude from our neighbour¡¯s flat is a result of a lack of hygiene, then yes, we can complain and expect some improvement. Lack of hygiene can bring pests, or in extreme cases present a fire hazard.
Coming back to this case. I take issue not just with the complaint. I take issue with the highlighting of this specific case. In the first place, I think this is NOT a common example. In highlighting this case, it makes this particular PRC family look bad, probably deservedly so. The bigger problem is that it shows that our foreign guests are not integrating. Worse still, they know how to make their complaints heard and addressed. It spoils the market for other, more sensitive foreign guests.
Furthermore this is the sort of story that promotes xenophobia. Just read the rapidly increasing number of comments on facebook links and the content of the comments.
Next I take issue with the resolution by the community mediation centre. Is this a triumphant solution or what? I take my hat off to the Singaporean Indian family for tolerating this resolution. Cooking curry only when the neighbour is not in? Gosh, how is that wisdom? Or is that really being totally insensitive? So if the PRC family is home by six every evening, the Singaporean Indian family must cook dinner before 6 even if they eat at 8?
Tolerance of each other¡¯s culture is the basis of harmony. Imagine Muslims tolerating the Seventh month festivities that are coming up, the smoke from the joss sticks and the very loud noise of the performances of the getai or the Chinese tolerating the call to prayers from the mosques. In this society, there are many examples of such tolerance. And now, we have foreign guests who come to our country to tell our own people what not to cook? I mean¡­
By coming up with this sort of solution, CMC is almost sending a message that we need to be gracious hosts and be mindful of our guests. Our guests on the other hand, have every right to complain against us. Why not advice the PRC family about our culture and integration instead?
The request of the Singaporean Indian family is for them to give the dish a try! It is nice of them. However, the PRC family is entitled not to like curry. Offer them some dishes as good neighbours should. But if they don¡¯t want to, no need to try. Just like I don¡¯t like smelly tofu, or my future daughter-in-law does not like durians. No need for either of us to try. Live and let live.
Taking this a step further, next thing I know, durians are disallowed in all hdb flats, because some neighbours, especially those who just moved to Singapore think they smell foul. Or worse, the sale of durians is banned because we need to be sensitive to our newly arrived guests who think it¡¯s smelly beyond reason.
Sheesh!
.
SpeakSpokeWriteWrote
* The writer blogs at http://speakspokewritewrote.wordpress.com
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