Sunday, September 07, 2008
Looks like ivorytowerism has set in a bit too early.
Yesterday morning, I was surprised to see a very long article in the Sunday Times on the controversy surrounding Serangoon Gardens residents petitioning against the setting up of a dormitory for 1000 foreign workers in the neighbourhood. Even though I live in Serangoon Gardens, this was the first time I had even HEARD of this petition. I guess I didn't notice that trouble was brewing up around me (but that is nothing new).
I personally don't feel very strongly against the idea of converting the unused secondary school into a dorm, because the land is vacant and foreign workers are human after all, and they need a decent place to stay in.
Foreign workers are often looked upon with derision by locals, but I think this is mainly due to prejudice and the ironic re-enactment of colonial relations of power in a postcolonial setting. I have not personally experienced any kind of harrassment from foreign workers before, and it is highly unlikely they'll actually go around on a rampage of robbing and raping.
As for drinking too much alcohol and littering at void decks, that may be true as newspaper reports in the past have shown, but this problem can be solved by building a canteen or lounge in the dorm and letting the workers have their drinking sessions there. I don't approve of alcoholism, but I can understand why the workers would want to use alcohol as an form of distraction from the exhaustion of manual labour and their sense of alienation in a land far away from home. On their part, foreign workers should remember to act responsibly, and perhaps then we can all co-exist peacefully?
But that doesn't look likely to happen anytime soon.
On a slightly related note, the old Paramount cinema complex which now houses the NTUC supermarket in Serangoon Gardens Village is going to be torn down and replaced with guess what? Yet another shopping mall. What will happen to the charm, the cozy, intimate atmosphere and funky al-fresco dining so characteristic of our neighbourhood? It's sad that yet another piece of the old world is going to be lost in the name of "development". I had thought there was actually going to be a petition about this instead...
kaoru said at 7:44 PM
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