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To Singapore...from an expat returning homeSingapore gets more
things right than other countries, even if its citizens
disagree
ByDavid Fedo, Published The Straits Times, 28 Jul 2012
ON THE eve of National Day,
after a little more than five
years of living and working in
Singapore, my wife Susan and I
take leave of this amazing
country. We will return to our
home just outside of Boston,
Massachusetts, to take up our
old lives among our American
family and friends.
But the truth is, after Singapore,
our lives will never be the same.
Singapore's impact on most
expatriates and other visitors,
no matter how long they reside on this island, is often forever.
It's the palpable feeling that
somehow Singapore gets more things right than most other
countries, and that day-to-day life here
is on the whole better than in many other places. Not perfect,
of course, but better.
Think of the excellent schools, polytechnics and universities,
for example, and the fact that there
seems to be less unemployment, homelessness and crime here than
elsewhere - bugaboos that
plague so many other nations in today's volatile economy.
The diverse races and religious groups respect one another. The
food is wonderful, with a variety
unmatched anywhere, even in Paris, New York or Beijing. Medical
care is exemplary. The green
spaces, now crowned by Gardens by the Bay , are spectacular.
Younger and now even some older
Singaporeans may take these virtues for granted; those of us who
are foreigners do not.
Our story is not an unfamiliar one for expatriates. Susan and I
arrived here on a contract for two
years, and have stayed for three more. Our work for Wheelock
College (its home campus is in
Boston) and our imported bachelor's degree in early childhood
education has been a pleasure. We
loved our Singapore students, all young women committed to the
nation's children, and our faculty -
a collaborative group from Wheelock-Boston, Ngee Ann Polytechnic
and the Seed Institute - have
been extraordinary.
Wheelock has just signed a long-term agreement with the
Singapore Institute of Technology and will
be in this country for many years to come. Susan and I will
watch from afar as the Wheelock-
Singapore partnership grows and flourishes.
Beyond all of its other virtues and attractions, including its
economic and commercial successes, the
arts in Singapore over recent years have truly 'blossomed', to
use the word Professor Tommy Koh
does in an article in the National University of Singapore's
Alumnus magazine. 'We were once
described by our critics as a 'cultural desert',' he explains,
but says those days are gone for good - 'no
one would say the same thing today'.
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Prof Koh is right. Yet I wonder if many Singaporeans fully
appreciate the remarkable blossoming of
the arts - call it an explosion - through the seasonal festivals
and year-round array of productions,
performances, publications and exhibits, as much as those of us
who come from outside Singapore.
Too often I have heard Singaporeans downplay their country's
artistic achievements, saying 'It (the
play or gallery opening) was okay, I guess, but it's not New
York or London.'
But Singapore doesn't have to be New York or London. The
Singapore Symphony Orchestra can
stand on its own merits, and so can the experimental theatre
productions by any number of talented
groups here. The museums mount exhibits of interest to Asians
and Westerners, as do Singapore's
diverse galleries. The Arts House is a jewel in the cultural
life of this country.
Poetry is a special interest of mine, and Singapore's best young
poets - Toh Hsien Min, Cyril Wong,
Yong Shu Hoong, Alvin Pang and Felix Cheong, among others - have
all created a lively forum for
verse that challenges old assumptions about Singapore's
allegedly scant impact on readers here and
abroad. Speaking of poets, what small press in South-east Asia
has done more to advance theirworks than Singapore's own Ethos
Books, headed by Fong Hoe Fang and Chan Wai Han?
Yes, there is no perfect place, as the English statesman Thomas
More wrote in his book Utopia,
whose title may be translated as 'nowhere'. Singapore has its
own deficiencies too, and its citizens
are only too quick to point them out.
But in leaving this small island republic, I urge Singaporeans
to see, as so many expatriates see, the
superiority of Singapore over so many other countries - and not
only countries in South-east Asia,
but around the globe. I do love America, and it will be fun
going home, but I will miss Singapore, its
special pleasures and my many friends here forever.
The writer was executive director and visiting scholar of the
Wheelock College (Boston, United
States) Centre for International Education, Leadership and
Innovation (Singapore) since June 2007.
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picture credit: http://smallwheelsbigsmile.blogspot.sg
