His spawn managed to force an Sporn kid to apologize to her woh!
<TABLE id=msgUN border=0 cellSpacing=3 cellPadding=0 width="100%"><TBODY><TR><TD id=msgUNsubj vAlign=top>Coffeeshop Chit Chat - Indian FT complains about SGs xenophobia</TD><TD id=msgunetc noWrap align=right> </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><TABLE class=msgtable cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="96%"><TBODY><TR><TD class=msg vAlign=top><TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%"><TBODY><TR class=msghead><TD class=msgbfr1 width="1%"> </TD><TD><TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0><TBODY><TR class=msghead vAlign=top><TD class=msgF width="1%" noWrap align=right>From: </TD><TD class=msgFname width="68%" noWrap>kojakbt_89 <NOBR></NOBR> </TD><TD class=msgDate width="30%" noWrap align=right>4:46 am </TD></TR><TR class=msghead><TD class=msgT height=20 width="1%" noWrap align=right>To: </TD><TD class=msgTname width="68%" noWrap>ALL <NOBR></NOBR></TD><TD class=msgNum noWrap align=right> (1 of 17) </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR><TR><TD class=msgleft rowSpan=4 width="1%"> </TD><TD class=wintiny noWrap align=right>36372.1 </TD></TR><TR><TD height=8></TD></TR><TR><TD class=msgtxt>Jul 20, 2010
Counter anti-foreigner talk
The majority who care should speak out against xenophobic chatter and behaviour
<!-- by line -->By Radha Basu, Senior Correspondent
<!-- end by line -->
<!-- end left side bar --> PUNCHLINES
<!-- story content : start -->
IT HAS been 10 years since my husband and I moved to Singapore from India - and it is a move we have not regretted.
Coming from a country where caste, community or connections are sometimes worth more than qualifications, we grew to love Singapore's corruption-free, multiracial, meritocratic system - where passion, drive and hard work are the only passports to success.
Many of my compatriots feel the same, judging from today's story in The Straits Times that there are now more than 400,000 Indian nationals who live and work here.
It is thus with a heavy heart that I observe some pockets of behaviour that can make foreigners feel unwelcome. Last week, my three-year-old daughter complained her classmate had told her to 'return to India and never come back', and hit her. Her teacher confirmed the 'unpleasant' incident. The boy apologised, and they hugged.
The details of exactly what happened are not clear. Frankly, I do not care. What bothers me is to see a pair of three-year-olds made so aware of each other's race or nationality.
As a parent, I believe that notions of race and nationality should be cultivated much later, after children realise that though they may look different, all humans share plenty of common ground.
My older child, now 12, appears blind to race and religion. Her closest friends are Chinese.
But the isolated pre-school incident made me uneasy. How did my three-year-old daughter's Chinese classmate learn such a sentiment? If adults voice their own prejudices and they are picked up by the young, what does this augur for a multiracial society that includes a significant number of immigrants?
It is no secret that a record influx of foreigners in recent years has led to discontent among Singaporeans, who feel crowded out of their own country.
New immigrants are being blamed for a host of ills, from the squeeze in trains to the tussle for jobs.
Responding to this drumbeat of discontent, the Government has stated repeatedly over the past year that it will tighten the tap on foreign workers.
But last week, there was news that Singapore's economy could grow by an unexpected figure of up to 15 per cent this year. And up to 100,000 foreigners would be needed to fill jobs here.
Some of the anti-foreigner sentiments - such as those of older Singaporeans who fear losing job and training opportunities to younger immigrants - are valid and need to be addressed.
But I hope the influx of more foreigners does not fuel a fresh round of suspicion and rhetoric.
The Government has already stressed that in the long term, increases in domestic productivity could offset the over-reliance on foreign labour. But this cannot happen overnight.
Meanwhile, any signs of xenophobia could force immigrants to cluster together rather than mix with new friends. Offices and classrooms could morph into 'us' and 'them' enclaves. This, in turn, could strain Singapore's fragile social fabric and create a second-generation of immigrants who do not really fit in.
Also, Singapore-born citizens' concern about job prospects for themselves and their children, while understandable, may be misplaced.
In 2008, for instance - the year where the foreign workforce hit a record high - 221,600 new jobs were created here. If the economy were dependent only on resident workers, there would be a gaping shortfall, as resident births in the mid-1980s were around 40,000 a year.
Finally, research has shown up the strengths of heterogeneous workplaces. London Business School don Lynda Gratton said in a recent Straits Times interview that her study of more than 150 teams from multinational companies showed that people from diverse backgrounds and specialities were more likely to come up with innovative services and products than those cut from the same cloth.
The professor, rated by the Financial Times as one of the top 20 business thinkers in the world, believes those who collaborate, rather than compete, will take the lead in a new world order shaped by technology and innovation.
As the world emerges from the recession, Singapore needs more than just gleaming skyscrapers to be a global city.
Earlier this year, I hosted a young Boston-based Indian couple scouting for jobs here. She has a PhD and does post-doctoral research at a Harvard University lab. He has an MBA from Wharton Business School and works in financial services.
They wanted to move here to be 'a four-hour flight away' from their ageing parents in India. They were confident of getting jobs here. They loved Singapore's warm weather, food, cleanliness and safety, and were full of admiration for Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew.
'Well, it is settled then?' I asked.
I was shot a question in response: 'What is the most negative thing about Singapore that would affect us directly?'
Without thinking much of it, I referred them to online forums that had been spewing vitriol against foreigners, which I had read the previous day.
They were shocked by what they read, they said later, adding that they felt such sentiments had no place in a 'global city', while not new to 'small-town America'.
They eventually grew cold to Singapore - and have shelved their plans for now. Of course, they had other reasons for the change, but the anti-foreigner rhetoric could have played a part.
To be sure, these are isolated incidents.
My compatriots and I have experienced warmth and kindness from many Singaporean friends. Those of us who chose to sink roots here and raise our children here a decade ago remember a Singapore that took us to its hearth.
Hence the need for us to nip any xenophobia in the bud.
Those of us who make Singapore our home should speak out against the ugly rhetoric and work together to break down the 'us' and 'them' walls and collaborate to build a better future.
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
<TABLE id=msgUN border=0 cellSpacing=3 cellPadding=0 width="100%"><TBODY><TR><TD id=msgUNsubj vAlign=top>Coffeeshop Chit Chat - Indian FT complains about SGs xenophobia</TD><TD id=msgunetc noWrap align=right> </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><TABLE class=msgtable cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="96%"><TBODY><TR><TD class=msg vAlign=top><TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%"><TBODY><TR class=msghead><TD class=msgbfr1 width="1%"> </TD><TD><TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0><TBODY><TR class=msghead vAlign=top><TD class=msgF width="1%" noWrap align=right>From: </TD><TD class=msgFname width="68%" noWrap>kojakbt_89 <NOBR></NOBR> </TD><TD class=msgDate width="30%" noWrap align=right>4:46 am </TD></TR><TR class=msghead><TD class=msgT height=20 width="1%" noWrap align=right>To: </TD><TD class=msgTname width="68%" noWrap>ALL <NOBR></NOBR></TD><TD class=msgNum noWrap align=right> (1 of 17) </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR><TR><TD class=msgleft rowSpan=4 width="1%"> </TD><TD class=wintiny noWrap align=right>36372.1 </TD></TR><TR><TD height=8></TD></TR><TR><TD class=msgtxt>Jul 20, 2010
Counter anti-foreigner talk
The majority who care should speak out against xenophobic chatter and behaviour
<!-- by line -->By Radha Basu, Senior Correspondent
<!-- end by line -->
<!-- end left side bar --> PUNCHLINES
<!-- story content : start -->
IT HAS been 10 years since my husband and I moved to Singapore from India - and it is a move we have not regretted.
Coming from a country where caste, community or connections are sometimes worth more than qualifications, we grew to love Singapore's corruption-free, multiracial, meritocratic system - where passion, drive and hard work are the only passports to success.
Many of my compatriots feel the same, judging from today's story in The Straits Times that there are now more than 400,000 Indian nationals who live and work here.
It is thus with a heavy heart that I observe some pockets of behaviour that can make foreigners feel unwelcome. Last week, my three-year-old daughter complained her classmate had told her to 'return to India and never come back', and hit her. Her teacher confirmed the 'unpleasant' incident. The boy apologised, and they hugged.
The details of exactly what happened are not clear. Frankly, I do not care. What bothers me is to see a pair of three-year-olds made so aware of each other's race or nationality.
As a parent, I believe that notions of race and nationality should be cultivated much later, after children realise that though they may look different, all humans share plenty of common ground.
My older child, now 12, appears blind to race and religion. Her closest friends are Chinese.
But the isolated pre-school incident made me uneasy. How did my three-year-old daughter's Chinese classmate learn such a sentiment? If adults voice their own prejudices and they are picked up by the young, what does this augur for a multiracial society that includes a significant number of immigrants?
It is no secret that a record influx of foreigners in recent years has led to discontent among Singaporeans, who feel crowded out of their own country.
New immigrants are being blamed for a host of ills, from the squeeze in trains to the tussle for jobs.
Responding to this drumbeat of discontent, the Government has stated repeatedly over the past year that it will tighten the tap on foreign workers.
But last week, there was news that Singapore's economy could grow by an unexpected figure of up to 15 per cent this year. And up to 100,000 foreigners would be needed to fill jobs here.
Some of the anti-foreigner sentiments - such as those of older Singaporeans who fear losing job and training opportunities to younger immigrants - are valid and need to be addressed.
But I hope the influx of more foreigners does not fuel a fresh round of suspicion and rhetoric.
The Government has already stressed that in the long term, increases in domestic productivity could offset the over-reliance on foreign labour. But this cannot happen overnight.
Meanwhile, any signs of xenophobia could force immigrants to cluster together rather than mix with new friends. Offices and classrooms could morph into 'us' and 'them' enclaves. This, in turn, could strain Singapore's fragile social fabric and create a second-generation of immigrants who do not really fit in.
Also, Singapore-born citizens' concern about job prospects for themselves and their children, while understandable, may be misplaced.
In 2008, for instance - the year where the foreign workforce hit a record high - 221,600 new jobs were created here. If the economy were dependent only on resident workers, there would be a gaping shortfall, as resident births in the mid-1980s were around 40,000 a year.
Finally, research has shown up the strengths of heterogeneous workplaces. London Business School don Lynda Gratton said in a recent Straits Times interview that her study of more than 150 teams from multinational companies showed that people from diverse backgrounds and specialities were more likely to come up with innovative services and products than those cut from the same cloth.
The professor, rated by the Financial Times as one of the top 20 business thinkers in the world, believes those who collaborate, rather than compete, will take the lead in a new world order shaped by technology and innovation.
As the world emerges from the recession, Singapore needs more than just gleaming skyscrapers to be a global city.
Earlier this year, I hosted a young Boston-based Indian couple scouting for jobs here. She has a PhD and does post-doctoral research at a Harvard University lab. He has an MBA from Wharton Business School and works in financial services.
They wanted to move here to be 'a four-hour flight away' from their ageing parents in India. They were confident of getting jobs here. They loved Singapore's warm weather, food, cleanliness and safety, and were full of admiration for Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew.
'Well, it is settled then?' I asked.
I was shot a question in response: 'What is the most negative thing about Singapore that would affect us directly?'
Without thinking much of it, I referred them to online forums that had been spewing vitriol against foreigners, which I had read the previous day.
They were shocked by what they read, they said later, adding that they felt such sentiments had no place in a 'global city', while not new to 'small-town America'.
They eventually grew cold to Singapore - and have shelved their plans for now. Of course, they had other reasons for the change, but the anti-foreigner rhetoric could have played a part.
To be sure, these are isolated incidents.
My compatriots and I have experienced warmth and kindness from many Singaporean friends. Those of us who chose to sink roots here and raise our children here a decade ago remember a Singapore that took us to its hearth.
Hence the need for us to nip any xenophobia in the bud.
Those of us who make Singapore our home should speak out against the ugly rhetoric and work together to break down the 'us' and 'them' walls and collaborate to build a better future.
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
