Recently, a mother who had just arrived on Po Island lamented in the group: Before coming to Singapore, I was very apprehensive. Living in a completely different city, there are all kinds of anxieties, worrying about whether your children will not be able to adapt to life here, worrying that they will be discriminated against because of their status as foreigners, and worrying that they will not be able to find a sense of belonging in Singapore.
But after living in Singapore for a month, I really felt the unique charm of Singapore. Singapore has no "contrast" and does not devalue one culture just because another is good. Children will not have classmates and teachers in school who will be excluded because they do not speak English fluently. This kind of mutual tolerance and mutual respect education is really a very good thing for the future growth of children.
Racial harmony education in Singapore begins at an early age. From kindergarten, teachers tell children about the specific habits of each race, such as Muslim children wearing headscarves and red dots on their foreheads. This allows children in Singapore to know how to get along with children of different skin colors from an early age. They are also very natural when dealing with children of different cultures. During the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, children also avoid eating in front of them.
Parents who attend school in Singapore must know that all schools, whether kindergartens or nurseries, including primary and secondary schools, celebrate Racial Harmony Day every year, with the aim of educating students about the culture and habits of other races in Singapore, and reminding students that regardless of race, language and religion, everyone should be united and respect each other.
Every year in July, the school organizes related activities. On this day, students will wear traditional ethnic costumes to school, reflecting Singapore's diverse ethnic society and culture. Some children will also dress up in the costumes of other ethnic groups, such as Indian sari, Malay sarong, Chinese cheongsam and so on. Therefore, on the day of the festival, everyone can see a variety of ethnic costumes in Singapore, which is simply a national party!
These external rituals and forms are repeatedly emphasized during the shaping of children's personalities, thoughts, and values, and deeply embed the idea of racial harmony in their minds. From kindergarten to high school in Singapore, all students read the Singapore National Covenant after singing the national anthem, which emphasizes racial harmony, "... Vows to unite regardless of race, speech and religion to build a just and equal democratic society..."so that all children can cultivate from an early age the idea of harmonious coexistence among different peoples and religions.
Singapore also experienced a very serious race riot in its history, and the Day of Racial Harmony is also commemorated as a reminder that Singaporeans should live in harmony regardless of race and religion. After the strong reforms of Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew, Singapore has promoted the concepts of "composite nation" and "Singaporean", each of which has its own circle, such as Chinese, Malay, and Indian, all have their own gathering places.
In order to respect the culture of each race, such as the Chinese Spring Festival, the Indian Deepavali, the Malay Eid and Haji Festival, the Christian Christmas, and the Buddhist Vesak Day, Singapore will set the holiday as a public holiday, and the gathering places of each ethnic group will also be lit up, and everyone will celebrate the whole country together!
On the day of the Spring Festival, colorful lights will be hung on the side of Chinatown and the Year of the Rabbit will be put up, and there is a red and fiery atmosphere everywhere.
On Deepavali in India, Little India in Singapore dresses up and hangs colorful lights to prepare for Deepavali.
At Haji Day, which is celebrated by the Malays, Muslims dressed in formal festive attire gather in Kampong Glam to celebrate the festival. Devout Muslims gather at the Sultan Mosque to listen to sermons and pray for blessings.
In order to maintain harmony between ethnic groups, many efforts have been made on the part of Singapore. Singapore's national anthem is available in 4 languages and there are also 4 official languages, namely English, Malay, Mandarin and Tamil.
However, racial harmony in Singapore relies not only on loving ways of getting along, but also on harsh disciplinary measures. If you casually make racial remarks online or in public, such as Ah San, and other clearly racially colored language, or insult people of other races, you will be prosecuted for incitement. Those who make racist remarks face imprisonment of up to three years, or a fine of up to S$5,000 for each offence, or both. So for racial discrimination, the Singapore government really has "zero tolerance".
Although Singapore is a very small country and is often referred to as "The Red Dot" by netizens (because it is just a "little red dot" on the map), it has done a better job of racial harmony than many European and American countries.
The equality and respect rooted in the hearts of Singaporeans also allows every foreigner who comes to Singapore to find a sense of "home" here.