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One of my educators while I was in Singapore was a Jamaican who had lived there for only two years, working in IT in one of the many banks. Since leaving for university several years ago, he may have visited Jamaica only once, having spent time in Georgia (USA), Virginia, NY and London. The crime in Jamaica scares him. I can imagine what he thought of my encouragement to visit during Jamaica 50 if he read that story about the Gregory Park girl. He had said he would not be concerned if his wife and their 2 year old son were walking the streets at 4 in the morning any where in Singapore.
Even so, Singapore is not a perfect society. Where is?!? The country has had to deal with real diversity, not like our 95% African people that have to deal with a ridiculous national motto.
Singapore is comprised of Chinese, Malay and Indians (mostly Tamils), each of which brings its own customs, language and religion. The Indians are Hindus, the Malay are Muslims and the Chinese are Capitalists!
They each occupy a certain strata in the society with the Chinese controlling the money and the posh jobs, the Malay are in the middle somewhere, while the Indians are the construction sector and manual labour. I get the feeling they have accepted their roles and there is no attempt to disturb the peaceful society by trying to break thru their respective glass ceilings.
And of course, there is the role of the expatriates. They were once the sought-after as the govt. tried to rapidly bring the country to first world status. But they eventually became the source of much jealousy and whatever, to the point where the govt. had to put an end to the run-away salaries and privileges they enjoyed. It is now much harder for expatriates to work in Singapore, even while still probably being much easier than many countries. About 25% of Singapore's residents are foreigners.
Foreigners do not share residential communities nor schools with local Singaporeans. But not to worry, housing and schools for the vast majority of people are quite satisfactory to excellent! Most Singaporeans live in govt housing, something like the projects in the USA but much, much nicer. If you have the money to purchase better then you pay thru your teeth!
Which brings me to the car situation. Like I said earlier, BMW and Mercedes-Benz dominate the roads but only about 10% of the population owns a car. That is because the cost to operate one is astronomical! A regular $40,000 car could run you around $120,000, and that is before you receive your permit to drive on the roads. That permit is a mere $80,000. So your $40,000 car has now cost you $200,000!! And that permit is not a one time deal. You have to renew it every ten years. Not to mention all the roads are toll roads, with tolls being collected automatically as you drive.
Mind you, the public transportation system is excellent with a clean and efficient subway system that covers almost the entire island. My Jamaican guide did not own a car and was in no rush to get one.
All this has kept pollution and congestion to a minimum. I did come across a few traffic jams, but I can imagine how much worse it could be in a country that is 1/15th the size of Jamaica with twice the population!
So, whereas in Jamaica it's more cyar, more gyal and more phone, it's slightly different in Singapore.
We did experience some racism when a cab moved off the taxi stand when they saw us approach. It was not the first time I felt like a victim of racial prejudice there, but this was quite blatant. I asked the next driver if some other drivers were scared of black people and he laughed and said yes. This driver also got the huge tip that the racist one would have received.
Even so, Singapore is not a perfect society. Where is?!? The country has had to deal with real diversity, not like our 95% African people that have to deal with a ridiculous national motto.
Singapore is comprised of Chinese, Malay and Indians (mostly Tamils), each of which brings its own customs, language and religion. The Indians are Hindus, the Malay are Muslims and the Chinese are Capitalists!
They each occupy a certain strata in the society with the Chinese controlling the money and the posh jobs, the Malay are in the middle somewhere, while the Indians are the construction sector and manual labour. I get the feeling they have accepted their roles and there is no attempt to disturb the peaceful society by trying to break thru their respective glass ceilings.
And of course, there is the role of the expatriates. They were once the sought-after as the govt. tried to rapidly bring the country to first world status. But they eventually became the source of much jealousy and whatever, to the point where the govt. had to put an end to the run-away salaries and privileges they enjoyed. It is now much harder for expatriates to work in Singapore, even while still probably being much easier than many countries. About 25% of Singapore's residents are foreigners.
Foreigners do not share residential communities nor schools with local Singaporeans. But not to worry, housing and schools for the vast majority of people are quite satisfactory to excellent! Most Singaporeans live in govt housing, something like the projects in the USA but much, much nicer. If you have the money to purchase better then you pay thru your teeth!
Which brings me to the car situation. Like I said earlier, BMW and Mercedes-Benz dominate the roads but only about 10% of the population owns a car. That is because the cost to operate one is astronomical! A regular $40,000 car could run you around $120,000, and that is before you receive your permit to drive on the roads. That permit is a mere $80,000. So your $40,000 car has now cost you $200,000!! And that permit is not a one time deal. You have to renew it every ten years. Not to mention all the roads are toll roads, with tolls being collected automatically as you drive.
Mind you, the public transportation system is excellent with a clean and efficient subway system that covers almost the entire island. My Jamaican guide did not own a car and was in no rush to get one.
All this has kept pollution and congestion to a minimum. I did come across a few traffic jams, but I can imagine how much worse it could be in a country that is 1/15th the size of Jamaica with twice the population!
So, whereas in Jamaica it's more cyar, more gyal and more phone, it's slightly different in Singapore.
We did experience some racism when a cab moved off the taxi stand when they saw us approach. It was not the first time I felt like a victim of racial prejudice there, but this was quite blatant. I asked the next driver if some other drivers were scared of black people and he laughed and said yes. This driver also got the huge tip that the racist one would have received.
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