Have to thank my dear friend Kelly Chan for pointing out an omission in earlier discussion on the Singaporean Expat. I failed to mention a group of people who really don't have it so good - the poorer Expats.
It was too simplistic of me to suggest that all Expats are caressed on a Singpaorean bed of roses. There are the Expats who either hold very low-paying jobs, or none at all. For them, Singaporean society can be harsh. Everybody expects them to be somebody they're not...
2 comments:
sudhir sudhir sudhir. Any bloody ang moh working (or not working) in singapore is not automatically called an "expat". to be an expat in singapore means you are hired on "expatriate terms" which usually comes with housing, special allowance, and perks.... otherwise bangladeshi construction workers also expat ah?
Wait, I dont see why we should have sympathy for the poor expat and this so called 'burdensome' expectation that we as a society place on him. first, if he is poor and travelling, he is like any expat that migrates in search of work. the bangladeshi worker is technically an expat migrant laborer, but we do not place expectations on him. well, we do, but we expect him to be just that, the bangladeshi migrant worker, an expat at a comfortable distance from our society.
in fact, once we say expat, there are already certain connotations (these expectations we are talking about) that go along with it. most of them can be used as an advantage. if an expat comes and is poor, in other words, at least he is still an expat.
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