This incident happened when I was in Primary 4. One day, my friends and I were at the canteen during recess time. We all decided to queue for the Chinese noodles and as usual, my Malay friend, S, would proceed to queue at the Malay food stall. I was curious as to why she’s always eating from the same stall even though the other stalls had food that didn’t serve pork.
After settling down with our food, I decided to be “nice” and scooped some of my fishballs from my fishball noodles into her bowl of ‘mee goreng’. She immediately flared up and demanded that I get her another bowl. I was stunned when she became angry and did not know what to say or do. I didn't realise I was in the wrong since I was sure fishball do not contain pork. I later learnt that it is not just a matter of whether there is pork or not in the dish served, but also whether it is Halal or not. Muslims take Halal dishes.
This incident took place because of my lack of awareness for the different cultures amongst the different races. I clearly knew that S was Muslim, and the only thing I knew about her was that she could not eat pork. My understanding of her religion was just as much and I took no effort in finding out more.
This happened also because I was disrespectful towards others. In the first place, basic courtesy would have held me back from just dumping my food into another person’s bowl. I should have asked before putting my food on others' plate. There might be cases where a person prefers to eat certain food due to cultural habits and beliefs and it is important to respect that.
Living in a multi-racial country like Singapore, we should all play our part in compromising to the different religious and cultural habits of the different races. By understanding these beliefs, we would be able to avoid unnecessary conflicts and racial riots.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Hi Hazel,
ReplyDeleteWhen I was young, I was also not aware that Muslims have to take Halal food. I would say it wasn't totally your fault as were being nice by sharing your food. You right that you should have asked her before dumping the fishball into her bowl. I guess you were too young to realise that mistake. :)
Living in a multi-racial country, we should be conscious of our actions/words when we are around people with various cultural backgrounds to ensure harmony. From the scenario illustrated, dispute/ arguements due to cultual differences can occur at a very young age. Pehaps, the school and parents should start educating the younger generation regarding this issue. Knowledge in such intercultural elements and religious teachings would definitely have prevented such incidents from happening. :)
Love,
Shiny
Hi Hazel,
ReplyDeleteSince young, Singaporeans have learnt how to compromise and accept people with different cultures and beliefs. By learning how to give and take, we can minimize conflicts between the races. Interracial harmony is definitely not taken for granted, even in schools. This can be seen in events such as Racial Harmony Day, whereby students dress themselves up in ethic costumes, watch ethic dances and play traditional games from other races.
However, if schools can provide more opportunities for students to interact with students of other races, your fish ball incident might not have happened.
Through every intercultural conflict, we will learn more about the other cultures and religion. Compared to our days in primary school, I think we have learnt a lot more about the Malays and Indians. Thanks for sharing! :)
Jiamin
Hello Hazel,
ReplyDeleteI can definitely relate to your experience! When I was in primary school, I too used to wonder why my malay friends always ate from the same stall and I kept trying to offer them a taste of my pork. Fortunately, I managed to restrain myself from putting the food on their plate if not a similar fracas would have ensued. Thank you for sharing your experience!
I don’t think that you are lacking in basic courtesy. This reason why this incident happened is due more to your naivety as a young child. A child is innocent and simply does what he/she thinks is right without further thought for the consequences. However, now that you have grown up, I’m sure that you are starting to be more mindful of these intercultural sensitivities right?
Cheers
Russell
Hi Hazel!
ReplyDeleteWhen I was young, my Muslim friend told me he could not take pork. I thought he did not like the taste of it. It was later did I know that it was because of his culture.
In your last paragraph, you mentioned that we ought to be more aware of the different religions and cultures as we are living in a multiracial country. There is a difference between a multiracial and multicutural country. Multiracial is a subset of multicultural. There can be a few cultures in a singale race. :) Perhaps a better use of word would be 'multicultural' instead of 'multiracial'.
In all, this is an interesting post. Thanks for sharing this!
Regards,
Hazel
Haha Kesleen, I think you are supposed to put your own name for the closing!
ReplyDeleteYes Kesleen, it's funny to see my name in the closing for your post! =).
ReplyDeleteHazel
Hi Shinye, Russell and Kesleen,
ReplyDeleteWhen we were young, we simply assumed that people of other cultures share the same eating habits as us. However, being ignorant of such religious differences may lead to conflicts and misunderstandings. I'm glad we are now aware of the importance of understanding the cultural habits of the four different main races in Singapore. With that, we are more considerate with our actions so that the different races are able to live together in harmony. For example, if we buy food from both Muslim and non-Muslim stall, we try to avoid using the same utensils for both dishes since the Muslim stall vendors may be displeased. We always make sure to use utensils from a Muslim stall to eat a Halal dish when we are eating out.
Thank you for your comments!
Cheers,
Hazel
Hi Jiamin!
ReplyDeleteYes I do remember borrowing a sari from my Indian friend in Primary school on Racial Harmony day. I always looked forward to this day where schools would encourage us to come dressed in any of the different traditional costumes of the four major races in Singapore. With that, there would always be talks to remind us about the importance of racial harmony. There would also be enriching performances to teach us about the different cultural habits of the races in Singapore which I think is important to know so as to avoid conflicts.
Thank you for your comments. =).
Cheers,
Hazel
This is a very interesting post, Hazel. You describe the incident very well (even with a few verb tense problems). It shows well how naive a young person is in regard to the *basis* for cultural differences. You were aware that Malays could not eat pork, but you had never been taught the extent to which the food prohibition mattered. In your young mind, you were being a good friend. The Malay girl couldn't empathize with your intentions; she only saw the *prohibition* warning sign flashing in her head.
ReplyDeleteYou write that "This incident took place because of my lack of awareness for the different cultures amongst the different races."
Well, surely you knew of the difference between one group and another. Perhaps what was lacking was your understanding of the extent of the difference in cultural norms.
I would like to know the degree to which intercultural communication is taught in Singapore schools. Are there any discussions about values, beliefs, and norms? Racial Harmony Day is symbolically a good idea, but what happens at a deeper intellectual level?
Thank you, Hazel, for sharing this incident.