<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR>Come up with a plan for Serangoon Gardens because...
</TR><!-- headline one : end --><TR>'Who in their right mind will welcome 1,000 men, likely to drink beer and ogle your teenage daughter when she walks home from the bus stop?' </TR><!-- show image if available --></TBODY></TABLE>
<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->HERE are my suggestions to allay the concerns of residents of Serangoon Gardens who do not wish to have a dormitory in their estate which can house at least 1,000 foreign workers.
- Spread them out: Demographically, the 1,000 foreign workers must never be housed in a single compound. Consider the other face to the apparent benefits of consolidation. A big building housing so many foreign workers together, may lead to inhouse fighting, inhouse gambling and other negative activities. The chance of gangs and organised crime is high.
More police patrols will not stop anything. Compare this to Switzerland, where 25 per cent of the population are foreigners. They are business professionals and political refugees or asylum seekers, at both ends of the spectrum.
The general policy in cantons across Switzerland is to spread out these foreigners and encourage them to integrate into the Swiss population. In this way, group crime and violence are minimised and foreigners have a real chance to mingle with locals. Is a local more likely to talk to an individual foreigner or a group of 10 foreigners making merry in a local coffee shop?
Can we emulate the Swiss approach?
- Social gatherings: On occasions, foreigners may want to organise meetings or gatherings. These can be 'Filipino fiesta', 'Indonesian invite' or 'Thai tombola' events. They can be organised by local community leaders, together with foreign team leaders.
In this way, foreign workers will have positive events to look forward to, at the end of each month or so. They are more likely to assimilate into the local community. The local community will also be able to mingle and communicate with the 'unknown' foreigners. Statistically, people who attend such meetings or gatherings are less likely to commit crimes against other people at meeting or society in general.
- Welcoming foreigners: Foreign workers in the labour industry are usually paid low wages. They save all their money and send it home. They normally live in harsh dormitory conditions and have to share things. I suggest some special shops or discounts from NTUC FairPrice be reserved for them. For example, no-brand canned food could be sold to them at a discount.
The benefits are two-fold. On the one hand, foreigners will feel indebted; on the other, the shops can ensure that no-brand goods are sold in bulk to less-fussy foreign workers.
We don't owe them a living, but surely they will welcome a helping hand.
- Have a plan: Singaporeans are a hospitable lot. But to enforce rules without a well thought-out plan is a sure way to fail and alarm the local community. Who in their right mind will welcome 1,000 men, likely to drink beer and ogle your teenage daughter when she walks home from the bus stop?
To introduce this change, the MP for Serangoon Gardens should offer a viable plan. If this can be done, I am sure Singaporeans will be reasonable and support the MP in this initiative.
Tan Hock Ann Switzerland
Elderly Sporns Living on $1.20 Per Day Got Any Discount or Not?
</TR><!-- headline one : end --><TR>'Who in their right mind will welcome 1,000 men, likely to drink beer and ogle your teenage daughter when she walks home from the bus stop?' </TR><!-- show image if available --></TBODY></TABLE>
<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->HERE are my suggestions to allay the concerns of residents of Serangoon Gardens who do not wish to have a dormitory in their estate which can house at least 1,000 foreign workers.
- Spread them out: Demographically, the 1,000 foreign workers must never be housed in a single compound. Consider the other face to the apparent benefits of consolidation. A big building housing so many foreign workers together, may lead to inhouse fighting, inhouse gambling and other negative activities. The chance of gangs and organised crime is high.
More police patrols will not stop anything. Compare this to Switzerland, where 25 per cent of the population are foreigners. They are business professionals and political refugees or asylum seekers, at both ends of the spectrum.
The general policy in cantons across Switzerland is to spread out these foreigners and encourage them to integrate into the Swiss population. In this way, group crime and violence are minimised and foreigners have a real chance to mingle with locals. Is a local more likely to talk to an individual foreigner or a group of 10 foreigners making merry in a local coffee shop?
Can we emulate the Swiss approach?
- Social gatherings: On occasions, foreigners may want to organise meetings or gatherings. These can be 'Filipino fiesta', 'Indonesian invite' or 'Thai tombola' events. They can be organised by local community leaders, together with foreign team leaders.
In this way, foreign workers will have positive events to look forward to, at the end of each month or so. They are more likely to assimilate into the local community. The local community will also be able to mingle and communicate with the 'unknown' foreigners. Statistically, people who attend such meetings or gatherings are less likely to commit crimes against other people at meeting or society in general.
- Welcoming foreigners: Foreign workers in the labour industry are usually paid low wages. They save all their money and send it home. They normally live in harsh dormitory conditions and have to share things. I suggest some special shops or discounts from NTUC FairPrice be reserved for them. For example, no-brand canned food could be sold to them at a discount.
The benefits are two-fold. On the one hand, foreigners will feel indebted; on the other, the shops can ensure that no-brand goods are sold in bulk to less-fussy foreign workers.
We don't owe them a living, but surely they will welcome a helping hand.
- Have a plan: Singaporeans are a hospitable lot. But to enforce rules without a well thought-out plan is a sure way to fail and alarm the local community. Who in their right mind will welcome 1,000 men, likely to drink beer and ogle your teenage daughter when she walks home from the bus stop?
To introduce this change, the MP for Serangoon Gardens should offer a viable plan. If this can be done, I am sure Singaporeans will be reasonable and support the MP in this initiative.
Tan Hock Ann Switzerland
Elderly Sporns Living on $1.20 Per Day Got Any Discount or Not?
