For starters Reyes, I live somewhere near the Jalan Kayu area -
where they converted the old Farmway HDB flats to a series of
workers' quarters, so I do know what you're talking about. However,
I must concede that I live overseas for a large part of the year,
but whenever my mum tells me about the how these workers hang
around the vicinity of the Jalan Kayu area, and leave their beer
bottles stewn all over the place, I can't help but feel concern to
the safety of my loved ones and those living around me
So I do know what you're talking about.
But my point is that to get to the root of the problem or issue,
we have to stop seeing these individuals as mere economic utilities
- as people we are making money out of for their cheap labor, but
rather as human beings who have needs and wants like all of us.
Because when we see them as mere tools, as sub humans upon a
hierarchal specturm of human beings, we denegrate them to a state
where we fail to understand the true nature of the situation and as
such offer sub-par solutions which will lead to greater
problems.
We need foreign workers, that is the way our economy is set up,
and expelling them is definitely not the solution. But where are we
to house them? Some say quarters are the way forward, others argue
that we should built settlements far away from 'civilization'.
Other just don't know what to do, but just scorn at their mere
appearance because unlike us, they are 'different' and somehow
their difference they exact are somehow a threat to our safety and
existence.
Foreign workers do commit crimes, their ways unsettle us
evidently, but locals do commit crimes, but they look similar to
us, so somehow walking along some street in Ang Mo Kio, is somehow
safer than walking along Little India on a Saturday night. The
notion of difference magnifies the threat of their presence. A
crime committed by a foreigner when reported in the mainstream
media is magnified in it's prominence, as compared to some crime
committed by a local. I'll really to see the numbers comparing the
statistics of crimes committed for every foreigner as compared to
Singaporeans or 'locals'.
Another complaint is that they go on liaisons with our domestic
workers. It is a concern as should our domestic workers contract
vernal diseases or end up pregnant, it will be a health concern and
incur monetary expenses upon our families. Therefore, if we were to
allow foreign workers into our estates and heartlands, somehow or
rather these laisons will become a health hazard. But look at this
more humanly, for most of us we have our families with us, our
spouses, our loved ones. These structures construct the central
core of our sense of security and we will feel threatened if these
aforementioned structures are threatened - these basically embody
our needs and functionality as human beings. Similarly, foreign
workers like us, have needs too. They need that structure that we
possess, for which many of them do not get to participate in for
most part of their lives here. Some would say, that is something
they have to put up with, because they have chosen this path, but
who would chose a path to part with ones loved ones, unless forced
by their situation. So somehow their socio-economic situation has
become their own fault and they have to somehow be derided into the
periphery of human existence because of a situation they were born
into?
It is a want for them, the only way to offer one to overcome a
want is to offer a greater incentive, an opportunity to grant a
greater want of theirs. Reward them, for those who have no criminal
records or have shown examplarary working
ethics, reward them with a renewal of their contracts for a longer
period or for the really promising ones, further training and even
a path to Permanent Residency or even citizenship. Some will argue
and not be able to phantom the sight of 'these foreigners'
eventually having the same rights as us, but this notion boils down
to the same sub-human narrative that just does not encompass this
debate, but all debates concerning immigration into our country,
which concerns the future of this nation.
Well, i think you hv to pardon my Fuhrer Adolf Reyes.
We believe humanity has its limitation. The human instinct as
per animals seek territorial protection even we are of the same
group. Therefore, when terrritory of one is being step on,
offensive barriers will be built upon.
The debate here is therefore not the case of not welcoming the
foreigners or the sight of foreigners who we acknowledged that they
helped our economy as it is today, but the placement of their
dormitory should not be at the expense of the local in term of
privacy and living standard we had worked so hard to achieve
as it is today. And we do not place the blame on the foreign
workers, they are deem as innocent as they can be, but we
placed it on the govt who knows how to collect levy from
each workers but do not know how to house them correctly.
As a taxpayer, stakeholder and citizen of Singapore, dun we have
the rite to tell the govt not to build dormitory near our homes as
such it may affect our lifestyle??
Spokewoman
For my Fuhrer
Nutzism
