What do you think are some of the challenges facing Singapore as the country plays host to more people from different backgrounds and cultures?
Singapore needs to encourage Singaporeans to accommodate the influx of foreigners to prevent unnecessary social disorder. Due to the need to attract foreign talents to boost our aging workforce, the country may face conflicts due to the fierce competition of jobs between locals and foreigners. The locals may not see eye to eye with these foreign talents as they are seen as a threat to their position in the society. There is a possibility that locals may treat these foreigners with an unfriendly attitude, be it in the workplace or in public places.
Foreigners working on construction sites mainly comprise of workers from countries like Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Thailand. For many of these foreigners, they faced marginal discrimination in the society. For instance, when taking public transport, people normally shun sitting with them. It is pretty sad to see such incidents occurring in our society. Thus, one of the challenges is to raise awareness among the people on the need to embrace these foreigners instead of being suspicious of them. The locals must also understand the reasons for attracting foreign talents and how they have contributed to our economy.
Not only that, the country should also do their part by making these foreigners feel at home. For instance, several events can be organised just for them to cater to their needs. This is to convey to them that they are not neglected in our society and we do care about their welfare. It is essential for such a movement in order to let them blend into our society and become a part of us.
Hence, there is a need for the Singapore to promote good relationship between these people. Singapore has always wanted to achieve a harmonious society. Thereby, Singapore has to tackle these inevitable problems in order to attain its aim.
In your view, what are the likely political and socio-economic impacts of the demographic changes we see in the world today?
Some countries are experiencing a population boom where the population is almost doubling. In India, arranged marriages are commonly practised. Girls in their teens are match-make with older men who are in their twenties or thirties. Moreover, cultural norms like the preference over males are deeply embedded in the vast majority in places like India and Africa. Sons are favoured because they provide the manual labour that is needed to plough the farmland. Moreover, they bear the burden to carry on the family name. Thus, many married women are being burned or killed by their in-laws or husbands when they failed to produce a son.
It is sad to see such tragedies occurring due to the preference for boys. Additionally, because of such early marriages, most young girls are forced to drop out of schools. This led to a decrease in literacy rate and lowering of women status because their entire life revolves around managing the household and reproducing children. Furthermore, countries with a population boom are experiencing a lower living standard due to high cost of living incurred by the large family. This had led many to contract the deadly HIV aids virus. In places like Kenya, young women are forced to sell their bodies to make ends meet. Hence, this increases their susceptibility to the virus.
In the other extreme, countries like Japan, South Korea, Singapore and Taiwan are going through an aging population. Women undergo education and are able to pursue a career. This has helped to increase their social status. However, it is also due to such a phenomenon that aging population has resulted. More working people are placing more emphasis on their careers instead of starting a family. In countries like Japan, some believed that women with babies are considered a burden and that marriage is a dependency. Thus, to some women, they rather forsake marriage to secure their position in the competing society. Therefore, the population size starts to shrink.
With the improvement in the field of science, disabilities of elderly are reduced and they are able to have a longer life expectancy. The trend of aging will eventually lead to a decrease in the number of young people entering the workforce and to support the elderly. With a lower population size, the number of consumers will inevitably be reduced. An aging society will also lead to an increase in pension spending but it can be mitigated by rising the retirement age. Older folks also have more political influence as the older people will hold more votes than the young since the young can be forbidden to vote under a certain age limit. On the contrary, the advantage of a shrinking population is that the money spent on developing more childcare facilities can be channelled to the creation of more jobs and for other economics purposes.
With reference to the video “world in the balance”
Live Earth Concert – how effective is it?
The Live Earth was conducted last Saturday on 7th of July 2007. It was a series of concerts designed to raise awareness about man made climatic change and promote environmentally friendly living. The concerts was held in seven continents in the world and broadcasted to the global audience through radio, television and the Internet.
This major joint movement by the different countries to advocate for a more environmental friendly lifestyle is quite successful to some degree. Reports revealed that it had attracted more than ten millions viewers worldwide. Indeed, to a certain extent, it had raised our awareness to the climatic changes that are occurring globally. More than 100 artists were invited to perform in various cities for a good cause - help to spread the message to the public and in a way, influence them to be involved in a greener lifestyle. Climatic effects and measures to minimise the effects are shown on videos which are easily accessible on television and the internet, to educate the public on their roles in the campaign for a greener environment.
However, an irony was seen after the Live Earth concerts ended in the different countries. The purpose of the Live Earth was to change the mindsets of the public to save the earth, hoping that they would internalise this knowledge and put it to use. However, the aftermath of these concerts was disastrous. Plastic bottles and cups were strewn on the grounds by spectators involved in the concerts. There was no sense of environmental friendliness. Moreover, the amount of waste left behind by the audience was horrifying. Reports again revealed that the travel and energy consumption of the artists and spectators involved amounted to 31,500 tonnes. This was more than 3,000 times the annual average carbon footprint of someone living in Britain. This had led us to realise that old habits die hard. By generating this huge amount of waste, we are not saving ourselves and our homes. But instead, doing more harm to our planet Earth.
It may be time to reflect what we, the guardians of the Earth, want to achieve at the end of the day. There will be limited success to any movement to save the earth if we do not kick the habit of wastage.
Increasing number of foreign workers hit by dengue - is it due to poor living quarters?
Reports had revealed that out of over three thousand dengue cases, more than 1000 cases involve foreign workers, which means one in three patients is a foreign worker. When the public heard about this, some may link this problem to construction sites which are their workplace and where they spent most of their time. But statistics show that there are only 5 constructions sites in dengue areas and only about 14 cases originate from these construction sites. Hence, the number is too small to explain the sudden surge.
Another explanation for the staggering number will be their living quarters. Investigations by the National Environment Agency (NEA) had uncovered that the workers are living in cram and shabby environment. As many as eight workers are packed into one room. Furthermore, they had to share facilities like, bathroom with about 50 other workers.
The failure of the companies to provide proper and suitable housing for these workers had lead them to reside in these unsuitable conditions, leading them to be more susceptible to the disease. These workers could not object and dare not object when they are housed there. They knew that they had to oblige to the situation if they wanted to earn a living. Moreover, they are not equipped with the necessary information to tackle the disease.
Companies should be humane enough to provide at least proper housing for these workers. Though they had to cut costs and expenses, but it is morally right for them to provide the appropriate housing for them, or perhaps improve the current situation, for instance not cramming eight workers to one room and a bathroom to be shared among 50 workers. In addition, everyone should have the initiative to take the necessary measures to counter dengue including companies. They should be playing a role in this by educating the workers on the necessary measures and precautions to take to prevent the spread of dengue among workers. It is only through collective effort, the life threatening disease can then be eliminated.
With reference to the article "1 in 3 patients is a foreign worker" published in The Straits Times on June 30, 2007.
