How should one react to the Rohingya refugee crisis?

I promised this ReiszRie a long reply to his comment because I felt that his comment does very much capture the tone of many Singaporeans on this issue. So whilst I am addressing him directly, I am actually looking at the wider picture as well in terms of the reactions of Singaporeans on this issue. This is what he wrote:

Can we show compassion towards the Rohingyas?

"1. a token donation really does not absolve your guilt for not doing more for the homeless, on the other hand you expect a nation to open its doors, grant citizenship to a load of uneducated and unskilled people all in the name of goodness. Honestly, is it just me that sees a double standards here? shouldn't you then, perhaps invite the homeless into your home for a hot meal and clothe them?

2. America has little issues with Mexicans who has secured jobs in America before entering the country, they have an issue with Mexicans who illegally crosses the border to seek jobs in US. So now your stand is that for US, the Mexicans suffering from the terror of the violent and exploitive cartels should educate themselves and learn a new skill before trying to move to America whereas Singapore should just open it's gates and grant citizenship to uneducated and unskilled people? whats the rationale here? 

"Salah"or not is purely subjective, in objectivity, you do not have detailed economic analysis to have a substantiated case on whether the Rohingyas will be a liability or otherwise to the nation as a whole, you're simply thinking on an emotional high and like the old adage goes, "don't let emotions cloud your judgement" 
If only running a nation is as easy and simple as you make it all sound."

Now ReiszRie, you don't actually know how much charity work I do - it has been a vital part of my life every since I was a teenager. At first it was something that started just to annoy my mother as I didn't see eye to eye with her - she was religious and believed in praying and ritual. The older she got, the more religious she became. I was far more practical and believed that if you really want to do some good in the world, praying doesn't do shit and you should be out there doing charity work, volunteering for worthwhile causes and fundraising for charity projects. I have actually talked a lot about this in my previous post here, but it suffices to say that I have spent over 20 years doing much more charity work and have also donated consistently to charity over the years.

I am after all a working professional without children. This is why I give to charity - it's a bit like the Islamic concept of Zakat (almsgiving). I'm not a Muslim, heck, I am an atheist who doesn't believe in the concept of a god/gods or any kind of religion - but I believe that because I have the ability to earn money, then I should in return help others with this money I have earned instead of spending it all on myself. The main beneficiaries of my will are designated charities whom I support. Over the last 20 years, I have helped charities in the following ways: 

1. I have volunteered with a number of charities in a few countries over the years. 
2. I have donated a lot of money to charities over the years. 
3. I have fund raised for a number of charities over the years. 
4. I have been involved in corporate sponsorships of charities as well.

I believe in the concept of Zakat. 

I am not doing this out of any religious obligation (remember, I am an atheist) - but rather, I get a lot out of giving. I am reminded of how lucky I am, the chances I have been given in life, the talents I have been born with and the opportunities that have come my way. Maybe I am not doing it for the right reasons - to annoy my mother or to distract myself from other problems in my life - but the bottom line is, I'm not just some person who thinks that my obligations are fulfilled by the simple act of donating to a charity. I do what I do for a multitude of reasons and I am happy with what I have done over the years. 

The bottom line is this: actions speak louder than words - when you've spent 20 years doing what I've done for charity, then you can come and lecture me about not doing more to help the homeless, the sick, the underprivileged and the refugee. I ask you: has RieszRie ever done anything in his life to help a charity before? Why does he have the right to lecture me on the topic? 

Why does RieszRie thinks he has the right to tell me what to do?

Oh, is it because I have failed to solve the problem of homelessness in London despite my efforts with the charities I have worked with? Is this why he thinks that I cannot be absolved of my guilt of not doing more for the homeless? Should I solve the problems of all the homeless people in London, or the UK? Heck, why don't I take on war, pollution, refugees, global warming and earthquake prevention whilst I am at it? Who do you think I am, Eva Peron? Oh this so reminds me of the song from the musical Evita, "Waltz for Eva & Che". Allow me to quote: 

Allow me to help you slink off to the sidelines
And mark your adieu with three cheers
But first tell me who'd be delighted
If I said I'd take on the world's greatest problems
From war to pollution, no hope of solution
Even if I lived for one hundred years

So go, if you're able, to somewhere unstable
And stay there
Whip up your hate in some tottering state
But not here, dear
Is that clear, dear?

Let me explain what is going on in RieszRie's head. If you look at his logic, he berates people like me who try to do charity work but fail to solve the world's problems through charity. Oh dear. What would he think of Mother Theresa? He probably would berate her for having the audacity to die whilst there was still so much poor people in Calcutta and India - damnit, she didn't solve poverty in India, so she cannot "absolve" herself from the guilt of not doing more to help the poor in India. Why is he doing this?

People like him never lift a finger to help others, ever. Now I have no idea who this RieszRie character is, so I am playing shrink here and talking in more general terms about people who talk like him rather than who he is per se. His justification is this: if none of your charitable deeds can solve the mountain of problems facing society, facing the world, then the alternative is far simpler. Turn your back to the problems, look the other way and say, "well it's not my fault that there are homeless people and beggars in my city; it's not my fault there are refugees in this world"

I never claimed I could solve any of the problems of my community, my city, my country or the world - but it doesn't stop me from trying. What is the alternative then? If everyone just turns their back to others and becomes selfish, then there is no humanity left. No compassion left. Just people have somehow decided that they are not obliged to act with humanity. Oh, we call that place Singapore. 

Any humanity left here? 

I take serious issue with RieszRie's arrogance when he calls the Rohingyas "a load of uneducated and unskilled people". Who the fuck does this piece of shit think he is? He thinks he's better than these Rohingyas? What a stuck up piece of shit. Hey RieszRie, you're not smart, you're not clever, you're merely lucky - the same way I was lucky to be born in Singapore, into a family which took my education very seriously. 

I have achieved a lot academically and in my career, but would any of this have been possible if not for the fact that I was born not just in Singapore - but into the right kind of family in Singapore who were able to nurture and support my talent? No, I owe it to my family, my schools, the Singapore Sports Council, the Ministry of Education in Singapore and my universities for a lot of what I have managed to achieve today. 

In my travels around the world, I have met some very impressive young people who are obviously talented and bright but have never ever had the opportunity to have an education and go to university. I remember this young girl who looked about 15 years old in the handicrafts market in Sapa, Vietnam. She spoke fluent Vietnamese, Hmong, English, French and Mandarin. I asked her if she was still going to school and she said, "No, I am needed here in the market to help my mother. Everything I need to learn about business, I learn here in the market. Profit margins, negotiations, marketing, even languages. I am doing real business here whilst my former classmates are still getting yelled at by the teacher for untidy handwriting." 

This brilliant young lady worked in this market in Sapa. 

Her English, French and Mandarin were self-taught and were all stunningly good. And there she was, at a market stall, selling souvenirs to tourists. Someone as brilliant as her could've gone to university and became a lawyer or a doctor - but her circumstances did not allow her to have those dreams. Is she any less intelligent than someone like RieszRie who is Singapore and has all these amazing opportunities handed to him on a silver platter in Singapore? 

Heck, my sister has the best maid one could possibly hope for. She came from a very poor village in Java and hasn't any formal education. Her English is mostly self-taught. I have seen her reading newspapers with a Bahasa Indonesia-English dictionary and get this: she speaks Mandarin. Both my parents and my brother-in-law's parents are Chinese speaking - so the maid simply picked up Mandarin from the family and is now stunningly fluent in Mandarin. My nephew is autistic and she is not only fantastic in caring for a very difficult child, she checks his homework and even helps him with his school work sometimes. She even teaches me Malay when I visit and she is a brilliant teacher. 

She is obviously a very intelligent woman. Like the girl from the market stall in Sapa, had my sister's maid gone to university, she could've become a lawyer, doctor, engineer or accountant - or anything she wished given her obvious talents. Yet such was her fate in life - to be born into a very poor family in Java who couldn't afford to send her to school, so she became a domestic maid. I only hope that with her English and Mandarin skills, she could go back to Indonesia one day and do something with those language skills for she is clearly way too intelligent and talented to be a domestic maid. 

My sister's maid is stunningly intelligent. 

I could go on and tell you about intelligent, impressive young people in places like Morocco, China, Sri Lanka, Russia, Thailand and other poor countries whom I have come across. RieszRie and all of you Singaporeans have so much to learn from these people - they don't need to be bludgeoned through the Singaporean education system to prove that they are educated and skilled. Hell no, with so little in life - they often teach themselves everything they need to now in order make money to feed their families. It's ridiculous, even offensive, to assume that these people are useless and will become a burden on the state just because they've not had the kind of education you Singaporeans have had. 

The Rohingyas are very poor - Myanmar is a poor country and their education system is very underfunded and military Junta in Myanmar has denied them basic rights such as education. But does that make them stupid? No, it doesn't. Singaporeans are not any cleverer or more intelligent than the Rohingyas - you're merely luckier because you have had a better education. You Singaporeans have absolutely no right to look down on the Rohingyas - stop calling them uneducated and unskilled. They are unlucky people who have been denied the chance to shine through no fault of their own. This kind of racist attitude, of undeserved superiority on the part of Singaporeans make me sick - you're so bloody racist. 

Your whole argument on refusing entry to the Rohingyas is on the basis that they are "uneducated and unskilled" - you didn't even once think about their safety if they returned to their home country, from where they have fled because of genocide. I'm not asking you to grant Rohingyas citizenship on the basis of merits or what they have on their CV - I'm merely saying that refugees fleeing genocide should be treated with mercy and compassion and given help. Again, like so many stupid Singaporeans (this reflects so badly on the MOE, so many fucking stupid Singaporeans), you can't tell the difference between a refugee fleeing genocide and an economic migrant. Groan. This is exasperating! 

I believe in giving the Rohingyas a chance to prove themselves. 

Refugees fleeing genocide should be given refuge regardless of their education level or skill. If there are Mexicans (or anyone from any country) who have good reason to flee their country, then they should be treated with mercy and compassion as well. If America doesn't have compassion, then that's wrong on them - but don't use the two wrongs make a right argument with me. That's the same route that so many Singaporeans have gone down with the Tampa affair in Australia in 2001 - two wrongs don't make a right. Just because Australia fucked up doesn't give you the right to fuck up like them. 

There is the United Nations Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees - this clearly tells us how refugees should be treated. Oh but Singapore doesn't care about those rules. When I spot a homeless person sleeping rough near and around my block of flat, I will always get on the phone to a local homeless charity - they will then send a worker around to help with the homeless person and then them into a homeless shelter. I have given food and money to homeless people and support charities for the homeless - but I know RieszRie is going to accuse me of hypocrisy simply because I have not yet sold all my worldly possessions and given them all to the poor. Again, what the fuck has this RieszRie ever done for the poor in the name of charity, to give him the right to accuse me of such things? Why is the burden on me to solve the problems of the world and not him? Who does he think I am, Eva Peron?  

So there you go - RieszRie is the kind of Singaporean who uses such flawed arguments to defend his very selfish attitude, fuelled by racism and how he looks down on the Rohingyas. He is blind to the fact that he has shown no mercy or compassion whatsoever to the fact that they are in fact fleeing genocide and have suffered so much - but instead, all he can talk about is a detailed economic analysis of what their liability is. Oh puulllease, we're talking about 40 refugees approaching one of the world's richest country for help and you want to talk about detailed economic analysis? The fuckers in white, the PAP pay themselves so much more than politicians in places like America, Japan, Germany and Britain - and you're telling me the government has no money to help 40 refugees?

I'll take that detailed economic analysis and shove it up your ass RiezRie you fucking asshole. Fuck you and fuck the lot of you Singaporeans who are inhumane - you have no humanity, you have no mercy and you have no compassion. You can weave whatever kind of arguments you want to defend your selfish position but the bottom line is this: you don't know how to share. You have no concept of sharing, of helping others, of charity. 

RieszRie, even if you do turn out to be a gorgeous super model on the outside, your character stinks of shit.  And unfortunately, there are too many Singaporeans just like you. So whilst I may be scolding you - I am addressing the Singaporean population in general because RieszRie's attitude is unfortunately all too typical of Singaporeans. Well done PAP, I say, bravo to you. You've bred a generation of fucking selfish assholes who support your stance on the Rohingyas. Even Hitler and Stalin would've been impressed.