A story of a man from India was recently posted on the webpage ricemedia which shows how he encounters racism on a daily basis in Singapore. There were many encounters where he sensed that racism occurs every single day and he stated on how he felt pity for these people for having such a mindet.
Here are some of the situations that he had encountered which he felt that it was racist.
- ““Indians not allowed, thank you.”
This was what an agent said to me back in April, when I was looking for a new home here in Singapore. Trouble is, this wasn’t even an isolated incident. Before long, I had to either start looking for houses owned by Indian families, or give a caveat to agents beforehand that I am, in fact, Indian.”
- “In that look in the eyes of one person. Or a smile returned with hostility during a walk in the park.”
- “A friend of mine from India was having lunch with his Chinese girlfriend (from Hong Kong) at an Indian restaurant one day. Out of nowhere a middle-aged, Singaporean Chinese lady leaned over and said something to her in Mandarin, in a low tone. His girlfriend snapped in response that it was none of her business. A long silence followed.
When my friend asked what the matter was, she told him that the lady informed her that “Indian men are not trustworthy, you know, so be careful.””
- He accidentally brushed the hand of a Chinese woman. He apologized but the woman shouted. f**k off, you people do it intentionally, I will take you to the police.
- The other stupid thing I hear is that “Indian houses are dirty.”
- “Indian houses smell like curry”
Even with such incidents, the man from India stated that, if you ask me if I think Singapore is a racist country, my answer would still be a big no. He went on to say that Singapore is a vibrant country and has those attributes that make him love it like his own country, India.