I was in Siem Reap back in 2006, with my friends from Museum Volunteers. While we did meet some child beggars, they were very few in numbers. There were a lot of child salespeople - children trying to sell all kinds of trinkets and bags but even then, they backed off once you indicated that you are not interested.
In 2009, the number of child beggars astounded me. The number of children going "one dollar? do you have "tang-guo"?" chills me to the core. And it is not just child beggars who are asking for these gifts. We were at Bakeng for the sunrise, and while we were shooting the temple from the entrance in order to capture the golden glow, children were walking through the temple to get to school, and almost every other child who passed us went "do you have "tang-guo" lady? one dollar?" And the child salesgirl / boys - they were so very persistent that it has become irritating. I actually had to tell off two girls who trailed me up and down a road, and going non-stop "lady, you want to buy - 5 for one dollar, lady, give me a dollar, lady, give me "tang-guo""... up and down the street. I kid you not.
I cannot help but curse the influx of Chinese tourists (whether from China or Taiwan I have no idea) who thoughtlessly gave sweets to these children ("tang-guo" is Mandarin for candy / sweets). Seriously, these children have very little, if any, access to dental care - what on earth are people thinking to be giving sweets to these children? And why why why are tourists giving money to them as if money is nothing? It just encourages begging.
Look, before you curse me for being a hard-hearted bitch with not a drop of sympathy in her blood, I feel sorry for the poverty-strucken circumstances of the Cambodians as much as anyone else. However, there are ways of helping that do not encourage dependency on hand-outs. Here is a link to one NGO that is doing good work for children in Cambodia. Just think - when you give that one dollar, who do you give it to? That old man, that middle-aged woman with a missing limb or that adorable child with the big eyes and tattered clothes? I bet that more often than not, you are giving money to the child. And guess what is going to happen? Do you really think that the child will use that money to go to school? Or rather, will the child (or his or her guardian or in the worst case scenario, owner) stay on the streets simply because it makes more financial sense for him or her to be accosting tourists for handouts rather than be in school studying?
OK fine, you say, what about notebook and pencils, these are good for the children right? My hard-hearted view - no, no and no. What do you think the children are going to do with the notebooks and pencils? If they are at the temple ruins posing for photographs (and then asking for money in return) or begging for money, do you think the notebooks and pencils will be used for school? Or is it more likely that the notebooks and pencils will be sold for money? And if children are trying to sell you trinkets, and instead of buying their wares, you give them notebooks, pencils, sweets or worse, money, what have you done to them? At the least, these children are trying to make an honest living by selling their wares - why treat them like beggars who are asking for handouts? Buy their postcards damnit, or just ignore them. They are not beggars, don't treat them like they are. Don't take away what self-respect they have. Sometimes that is all they have.
- Mood:
hot
An intriguing article appeared in my Inbox this morning, about the teaching of history in schools. In the article, which was published in The Straits Times, the author lamented how our education system has failed in the teaching of history. As evidence, the author cited a case where 15 year olds at a school band leadership camp named their team 'Hitler' because they admired the dictator's leadership qualities, and another where young Singaporeans have no idea who S. Rajaratnam (a founding father of our country), is.
I wonder if the author realises (maybe she does but she is writing in a state-owned paper after all) that history is dangerous. While history can be a tool for "nation-building" (more correctly known as propaganda), the study of history is actually a training of the mind - to read between the lines of contemporaneous documents, the self-serving statements of persons with legacies to protect, and the words of the man-in-the-street, whose views and recollections are necessarily influenced by her circumstances, both at the time a "historical" event has occurred and how she has fared since then. A historian is not a person with a memory for dry facts and figures, but a person who is trained to look underneath the underneath. She does not only have to aware of the biases and the worldviews of the persons she is interviewing or who had written the records she is studying, she has also, to the extent possible, be self-aware of her own biases and her own worldview. It requires a person to be analytical, to be clear-minded and ruthlessly self-questioning and to ask hard questions. It is my two years studying history at A Levels that taught me the merits of doing intense research, of tracking down that one reference in a thousand page book to an obscure research paper that leads you to another aspect of the issue which you had never considered, of reading widely and finding odd correlations and relationships that you never realise exist, and then to put together the various nuggets of seemingly unrelated or distantly related information to form a coherent picture that may be different from what you had believed to be correct.
Teach students history well (goodness that is a load of unwritten and unspoken assumptions here) - and you are teaching them to ask many probing and possibly uncomfortable questions about our accepted view of the past, the carefully crafted story known to every single Singaporean child who ever studied in our education system about how Singapore came to be - the story of hardworking immigrants who through sheer hard work and with no intention of ever settling down permanently here created this modern city state that we call home. The story of how we are an accidential nation, thrown out of Malaysia as we did not believe in special rights of any one race, who nobody ever thought will survive for long as an independent nation state. The story of how, under the leadership of our wise and capable and incorruptible leaders, we have became what we are today. Still a little red dot, but a little red dot that all of us are proud of.
Do we want to put the tools for tearing down this cherished and almost-sacred worldview in the hands of our young? To allow them to become truly independent, tireless, curious questioners? To allow them the means to pull our almost-mytical leaders off their dais?
During my training to become a museum guide at the Asian Civilisations Museum, I learnt that Shiva is the god of death and destruction and is hence feared. However, he is also admired, because the Hindus understand that without death, there can be no new life, without destruction, there can be no new creation.
- Mood:
tired
I am still wondering though - if country X is not a signatory to the Geneva Convention, and country Y is, then in a war, is country Y bound to treat their prisoners of war from country X as prescribed under the Geneva Convention?
( Watch the videos! )
- Mood: sleepy
Thou shalt not be a perpetrator.
Above all, thou shalt not be a bystander.
~Holocaust Museum, Washington DC
- Mood: tired
This is not a bunch of ladies who lunch and chat politely and quietly about how to do good over tea and scones, it is a bunch of ladies who have learnt how to fight for their rights, to stand their ground, to defend their turf, to bang tables and demand to be heard. It is a bunch of women who understood whether instinctively or through bitter experience that to "SHUT UP & SIT DOWN" will not get you anywhere. And if in the process, they were told off for being "rude" or acting like "hooligans", well, so be it. I did not, and I am sure most of the women in that hall did not, get to their current position in life as independent knowledgeable women, by being meek and subservient.
The Christian fundamentalists were simply outclassed. They were out-organised (what on earth happened to the red-shirts mid-way through the EGM, only the white-shirts remained to keep the crowd under control), out-prepared (one self-declared "Feminist Mentor" whose claim to the title is her being cited on page 73 of a book on outstanding women, and one research paper on the superiority of abstinence over condom use by some academic in Utah of all places does not good preparation make) and out-voted (what happened to the busloads of bible-toting ladies?). Women who spent their lives fighting inequality whether it is for themselves or for women in general, women who never joined AWARE previously but whose lives have been touched by AWARE, women who refused to allowed the name of Christianity to be sullied by the actions of a gang of bullies, women who believed in the importance of a secular state for a diverse community, women whose inate sense of fairness has been offended. All these women turned up, and queued for hours, first to get into the meeting hall, and later to get to the sole microphone to give the Christian fundamentalists a sound dressing-down. The depth of knowledge and experience these women represented - lawyers, academics, NGO activists, event organisers, students, social workers - is breathtaking. Collectively they knew so much about feminism, the fight for equality, comprehensive sexual education, activism, social issues etc etc - listening to them speak at the microphone was like having a crash course in civil society work. I think even the Old Guard were surprised at how many of us turned up - as one of them said, you gals came out from the woodwork, we don't know where you came from. The new Exco, inexperienced, unable to defend their views or (with the exception of Josie Lau who earned respect for keeping her cool under relentless fire) even to maintain their composure, did not have a chance.
We Singaporeans always mock ourselves for being apathetic. On 2 May 2009, we have proved ourselves wrong.
- Mood:
jubilant
( Christians in Singapore, please read this ... )
- Mood:
hopeful
( Who can find a virtuous woman ... )
I find that I still like this passage on re-reading it. It portrays a woman who is independent, skilled, hardworking and resourceful. Very much what a modern woman still aspires to be.My friend also mentioned a passage in Tales of Narnia that she felt was very insightful as to just what is a true Christian. I just looked it up in my copy of The Complete Chronicles of Narnia and I think (we were drinking at that time yah?) the passage she referred to is this:
- Mood:
thoughtful
The picture that is emerging in the AWARE saga is one where a bunch of Christian fundamentalists have basically worked themselves up into a hysteria over how AWARE is portraying homosexuality in a neutral rather than negative light (doesn't this sound absurd on its face alone?) and instead of clarifying the issue with AWARE itself, or making complaints to the Ministry of Education or the schools where AWARE has conducted programmes, or even writing to the press, decides to organise a coup and take over AWARE. Brilliant, and then have the cheek to ask what Singapore is coming to?
By the way, I don't condone death threats, BUT I do find it rather interesting that only Christian fundamentalists making hate speeches or conducting coups get death threats. Or so they claim. Is there any way we can check whether police reports have actually been filed?
By the way, I don't condone death threats, BUT I do find it rather interesting that only Christian fundamentalists making hate speeches or conducting coups get death threats. Or so they claim. Is there any way we can check whether police reports have actually been filed?
- Mood:
sick
- Mood: optimistic
pledge ourselves as one united people
regardless of race, language or religion
to build a democratic society
based on justice and equality
so as to achieve happiness, prosperity and progress for our nation
- Mood: thoughtful
![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small}
mrsbudak quoting someone said "The Sith Lord has finally come out of the woodwork."The takeover of AWARE is an organised coup by a group of Christian fundamentalists (I am not even going to call them conservatives anymore) who believe that their way is the only right way and everyone else is wrong.
Blogging about religion is always a rather risky business in Singapore, given how sensitive we are about the potential for religious dissent. However, I think it is time that we all buck up - if we can tell members of the Islamic faith to stand up and speak up against Muslim fundamentalists, I really do not see why we can't say the same about the Christians (or for that matter, the Buddhists and the Hindus and the Jews etc etc).
I don't think I am being unreasonable - all I am asking for is respect - respect for the human race in all its diversity. I suspect that my own personal views on many things will be considered conservative in nature, but what draws a bright shining line between me and fundamentalists is that I respect that there are other people, some in circumstances that I cannot even begin to imagine, who thinks differently or choose courses of action that I do not condone for myself. And I accept that, because I am in no position to tell another person with respect to his or her own actions affecting himself or herself, what is right and what is wrong. I accept that the world is imperfect, and to pretend otherwise is simply to live in an ivory tower that does nobody any good.
AWARE is a secular NGO that promote gender equality, furthering women's rights. Is a lesbian not a woman? Is an abused wife not a woman? Is a teenage girl with an unwanted pregnancy not a woman? Is a divorced woman not a woman? Is a single woman not a woman? Is a single mother not a woman? Is it fair to a young girl struggling with her sexuality to keep her ignorant of means of birth control? Can you, as a women rights group, pretend that there are no lesbians, no single mothers in Singapore? Is there only one way to be a good woman, a good human? Is there only one way to lead a good life? Good by whose standards anyway? And who are you to judge?
The AWARE EOGM is taking place on 2 May 2009. I am asking all women of Singapore (men can't vote sorry), please, register as members of AWARE, and turn up to vote on that day. I am not asking that you vote for any one side. I am asking that you come and listen and vote according to your convictions and your beliefs. AWARE is the most prominent woman rights group we have in Singapore with the ability to influence legislation. It needs to representative of us, not of only one interest group. Christians (including Catholics) form less than 15% of our population, which means Christian fundamentalists form a much less significant proportion of that. Why should they speak for us, or act in our name?
Even if you are apathetic and think that this does not concern you, chew on this poem that has been making its rounds around the internet lately:
( Read more... )
Give these fundamentalists an inch, and where will you and your children be in ten years time?
- Mood:
pensive
Personally, I think that one's religious convictions is just that, personal and no one's business but her own (with an important caveat carved out for persons who think that terrorism and mass murder are accepted means of practising their religion). Christian conservatives have as much right as any other person to run for office in any organisation, including AWARE. Similarly however, I expect Christian conservatives to adhere to the fundamental principles of the organisation they are participating in as much any other person. A Buddhist who joins a church with a view to converting its members to Buddhism is acting in bad faith, to put it mildly. And ditto for persons who seek to join a secular organisation with a view to changing it to one that advances a religious agenda.
Thus far, I have not found anything that the new Exco has published or issued regarding its agenda. Given how its members have in effect, staged a power-grab, I find it rather curious that the new Exco is unable, until now, put forward its plans for AWARE. I want to know where the new Exco stands on a host of issues because these directly impact on the programmes that AWARE has been running, including its views on:
- work-life balance;
- sexual harrassment in the workplace; and
- family planning (including abortion and use of contraceptives).
The new Exo is legitimately elected under the constitution of AWARE, and while the background of the Exco collectively gives rise to questions, I am of the view that we need to give this Exco a chance to explain its agenda (which it has not) before blindly casting our vote to throw them out. I am hoping that such a chance will arise at the EGM on 2 May, but until then, I will reserve my vote as an AWARE member. I need to know more.
- Mood: curious
This line by Jon Steward about what he assumes the press should be applies to Singapore too, don't you think?
I’m under the assumption, and maybe this is purely ridiculous, but I’m under the assumption that you don’t just take their word for it at face value. That you actually then go around and try and figure it out.
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- Mood: thoughtful
Anyway, this is a lovely quote from an article I came across that sets out quite well what I always thought:
"In the world of finance, too many quants see only the numbers before them and forget about the concrete reality the figures are supposed to represent. They think they can model just a few years' worth of data and come up with probabilities for things that may happen only once every 10,000 years. Then people invest on the basis of those probabilities, without stopping to wonder whether the numbers make any sense at all." (emphasis mine)
I do not really agree that quants are the root of the credit crisis, or that we should pin the blame on one man who came up with a deceptively simple formula (I don't think it is simple, but that is just me). Heck, the root of this crisis, like all crisis is human greed, that blinds us to some fundamental truths. One thing I am glad about though is that this hopefully marks the beginning of the end of the blind faith in numbers.
- Mood:
frustrated
Nonetheless, virtually nothing riles me up as much as reading a badly drafted document, email or blog entry full of slang, bad grammar and spelling errors. My guess is that as English is not my mother tongue in the strict sense of the word, I had been taught to respect English the way many people are taught to respect Maths (just as 1+1 = 2, so it is always "you are" and never "you is").
- Mood: tired
- Mood: irritated
I don't like Coke Zero - it is sweet without the kick of real Coke.
( Of Ill-Health & the Lousy MAS Response to the Structured Products Debacle ... )
- Mood: exhausted
I do not consider myself a single-issue voter but ultimately, I believe in choice. In other words, while I personally may not care for abortion, or gay people, or marriage or religion, I care about having the freedom to choose. Choose to abort a child or have a child, choose to have a life-long partner of the same or different gender, choose to get married, stay single or in a long-term relationship, choose to believe in the existence of a supreme being or many, or none, as the case may be. We are in a diverse society, where people of different values live together, the least we can do is to respect those differences. In the context of Singapore, the best analogy I can draw is this - my vote may not matter because I am in the minority, but my ability to cast that vote (as opposed to sitting pretty due to a walkover) is important to me.
And it is sick that anybody in any position of authority can say that a rape victim or an incest victim should not have the freedom to abort a child from the crime. I really don't care that a person takes that position - if that person is a victim and decides that to keep the child, good for her. But I care if that person tries to impose that view on everyone else, I'll object. And if I can, I'll make sure that person never reaches a position of authority that allows him or her to impose such views on the rest. And if that person is a she, then, even more so, shame on her. If that is sexist, so be it.
- Mood: grumpy
- Not What, Not How, but Who? Western Companies Face a Worldwide Talent Crunch, September 22, 2008 in Knowledge @ Wharton
Another way to ask the question - what is the point of working your heart out if it only keeps you in the same place?
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