Little India Makeover
Reading about plans for a makeover of Little India ('Little India Makeover in the Pipeline', Melissa Sim, 7 January 2007), it is hard to avoid feeling some reservations.
This is a district with a distinct personality, and it is this personality that makes it an appealing and enjoyable area to visit. It would be a tremendous pity if a makeover intended to give the area more appeal to both locals and tourists ended up by diminishing the very characteristics that currently draw them there.
This is a district with a distinct personality, and it is this personality that makes it an appealing and enjoyable area to visit. It would be a tremendous pity if a makeover intended to give the area more appeal to both locals and tourists ended up by diminishing the very characteristics that currently draw them there.
Another important community to consider is the many foreign workers who gravitate towards Little India during their time off.
A landscape shares a symbiotic relationship with its inhabitants. Little India is a significant landscape to the foreign workers who gather, eat, shop and mingle there. The relatively low price of its goods and services helps them eke out their pay and find an environment in which they can socialise easily.
The idea that foreign workers should be provided with spaces to gather and hold activities in the area could be positive, on condition that it offers an expansion of opportunities to these workers, rather than having the effect of isolating them further from Singaporean society. It is to be hoped that this makeover will not displace many of them from open spaces in which they already gather. We should be open, inviting and considerate of the needs of all communities in Singapore, including those that may be temporary, but contribute a tremendous amount to our economy and landscape.
It has been forecasted that another 40,000 – 50,000 foreign workers may be brought in to meet the demands of our construction boom. It is crucial that as we open our doors to their labour and skills, we also share our landscapes with them in a considerate and meaningful manner. The foreign worker community is an integral part of the Little India landscape and we should appreciate the ways in which they shape the dynamic district in ways that add colour and life. It is perhaps also pertinent to recall that Little India has been a cultural hub for Indian migrants since the foundation of modern Singapore.
Makeover considerations should therefore incorporate a determined effort to include the views of foreign workers. Theirs should be among the variety of voices heard in any discussion on bringing improvements to Little India: all its present residents and regular customers should have a say in shaping how it develops, so that the different elements that now contribute to its appeal will only be enhanced, rather than irrevocably lost.
Yours faithfully,
John Gee
(Acting President, Transient Workers Count Too)
The idea that foreign workers should be provided with spaces to gather and hold activities in the area could be positive, on condition that it offers an expansion of opportunities to these workers, rather than having the effect of isolating them further from Singaporean society. It is to be hoped that this makeover will not displace many of them from open spaces in which they already gather. We should be open, inviting and considerate of the needs of all communities in Singapore, including those that may be temporary, but contribute a tremendous amount to our economy and landscape.
It has been forecasted that another 40,000 – 50,000 foreign workers may be brought in to meet the demands of our construction boom. It is crucial that as we open our doors to their labour and skills, we also share our landscapes with them in a considerate and meaningful manner. The foreign worker community is an integral part of the Little India landscape and we should appreciate the ways in which they shape the dynamic district in ways that add colour and life. It is perhaps also pertinent to recall that Little India has been a cultural hub for Indian migrants since the foundation of modern Singapore.
Makeover considerations should therefore incorporate a determined effort to include the views of foreign workers. Theirs should be among the variety of voices heard in any discussion on bringing improvements to Little India: all its present residents and regular customers should have a say in shaping how it develops, so that the different elements that now contribute to its appeal will only be enhanced, rather than irrevocably lost.
Yours faithfully,
John Gee
(Acting President, Transient Workers Count Too)
(An edited version of this letter appeared on the Forum pages of 'The Straits Times' on 11th January 2007)