Yesterday Singapore celebrated her 44th Birthday.
The usual National Day Parade was on, with the usual spectacular combination of pomp and ceremony with glorious costumes, mind-boggling mass displays and amazing showmanship from our uniformed men (I love those hot navy divers), culminating in the 8:22 moment when we were all supposed to stop wherever we were to recite the pledge together....
In today's papers, among the recap of yesterday's celebrations, an interpid reporter went around asking folks who didn't participate in the 8:22 moment, and I was sad at the responses - "don't see the point", "no one else was doing it".
Maybe our founding fathers - Lee Kuan Yew and company - have done too good a job, in making our nation progress from a little dot that was kicked out of a federation due to a combination of fear and prejudice - to a 1st world nation that prides (too much?) itself for punching above her weight in whatever she sets her mind to do. Maybe we Singaporeans have become so complacent and lethargic, and have too much of the mindset that we can always go somewhere else if life gets too tough here.
This year's National Day song was "What do you see?" - which drew the usual combination of yeahs - "cool" "a song for today's generation" and nays - "can't sing along" "nonsensical lyrics". I was reminded of the past, when "Count on Me" and "We are Singapore" also drew cries of derison, and yet have become classics that we sing at every NDP. The very words that drew derison in the past have now become prophetic words that have come true - we did have a vision for tomorrow, and all of us, regardless of race, language or religion, have become a nation of Singaporeans.
Where else in the world do we have friends of other races, religions, languages, living, working and playing together? I have lived for years in Canada, and believe me, multiculturalism results in a Bable of people who live and die in their own communities, never venturing forth to befriend "the Other". One can die of loneliness in a beautiful country, surrounded by nice people.
At this point, some of you may be wondering "Heather, do you have a point?"
Yes, I'm getting to it. You see, about 14 years ago, I came thisclose to giving up my pink IC for Canadian citizenship. All I had to do was take the Oath of allegiance and that was it - I would have been a Canadian. It was my dream, to live and die in Canada, in the city that I fell in love with the first time I saw it, when I was just a young teenager. To this day, sometimes I wonder if I should have taken that Oath....then I remember all the reasons that stopped me from doing so - my mother's fantastic cooking, life-long friends that knew me so well they could recount my primary school mishaps, a verbal shorthand with fellow Singaporeans that start with "Can or not?" and the ending of every sentence with "lah" or "leh". I once tried to teach a Canadian friend the difference between lah and leh, and that lesson did not cross the Pacific too well.
You see, there is nowhere else on this earth that I belong, not really. I still yearn at times for the cool fresh air and the beautiful mountains of "my" Vancouver, especially on those hot muggy days when you need a shower 5 minutes after stepping out of your home on the way to work. And we all complain about those nasty Singaporean drivers who don't give way and don't signal, forever complaining about how people in other countries aren't like this.
But then, people in other countries really aren't like Singaporeans. We are truly unique, a nation still struggling to find and embrace her own identity. Give us time, we are still very young, a mere 44 years old. Where else on earth do we belong? A transplanted Singaporean will still hunger for chao kway teow and kopi-c. All the pastas and capucinos in the world don't
quite
equate to our local food. Admit it, just like me, don't you feel a certain peace and serenity in your heart whenever you come home from abroad and see the beautiful flowers and greenery lining the ECP?
This is Singapore. And I am proudly SINGAPOREAN!
Labels: Singapore
