I have received so much help, concern and encouragement from friends and strangers from my homeland, faraway places as well as here with me in Perth over the past months. I was advised to pay it forward as my profuse thanking was starting to make some uncomfortable. In order to do that, I have to reluctantly re-engaged myself in facebook - for the greater good.
Singaperth was a facebook group created for all Singaporeans residing or moving to Perth. It would be nice if we could re-created the kampong spirit that once defined Singapore. It was part of our history, a cultural foundation set by our forefathers and we hope to hold the torch to keep the spirit burning in Perth.
We were all once new migrants in this strange land. Each and every one of us had our own unique stories, went through our own initial struggles with loneliness and helplessness and the pains of being apart from family and friends. Singaporeans may be a minority in Perth but there are a significant number of us around here to come together and form a close knitted group and keep a look out for one another living or working here, as well as for the newly arrived Singaporean student or migrant. One person can only do so much. If I could assemble a group of like minded people to share the vision, we will do much better. Don't feel shy to step forward if you are able to contribute your skills or time.
Singaperth belongs to everyone in the group, not me. I am only an administrator who initiated it. We have no plan to formalised it into a club or official organisation. We are hoping to build a community with a spirit. You don't need names or fame or mission statements for this kind of things. Just sincerity and honest care for the people we connected and a constant keeping out for those we missed out.
My first challenge came even before I completed a version of the description of the group to my satisfaction. We witnessed a slightly heated argument about the name of the group. The positive thing from this was that people began to interact and getting to know one another better, just that it wasn't the best way you would preferred. We have since changed the group name to a temporary name, "Singaporeans in Perth", the actual intended meaning of Singaperth from the start. We will sort this one out in the future. There are more important things to do at the moment. I've written half of this post prior to the little skirmish on facebook so pardon me if the term Singaperth is still being used, for anyone whom may be offended by the term.
It is important to note that this attempt can easily mistaken as our refusal to assimilate into our host country. I disagree with this suggestion and must refute this at an early stage. Only settled migrants can contribute to their host countries optimally. This group aims to help one another settle faster by providing friendship and information so that we could reduce our learning curve in this new environment and start contributing to the country and its people meaningfully. We will include community work activities with local organisations in future when we are ready to, for example.
My first challenge came even before I completed a version of the description of the group to my satisfaction. We witnessed a slightly heated argument about the name of the group. The positive thing from this was that people began to interact and getting to know one another better, just that it wasn't the best way you would preferred. We have since changed the group name to a temporary name, "Singaporeans in Perth", the actual intended meaning of Singaperth from the start. We will sort this one out in the future. There are more important things to do at the moment. I've written half of this post prior to the little skirmish on facebook so pardon me if the term Singaperth is still being used, for anyone whom may be offended by the term.
It is important to note that this attempt can easily mistaken as our refusal to assimilate into our host country. I disagree with this suggestion and must refute this at an early stage. Only settled migrants can contribute to their host countries optimally. This group aims to help one another settle faster by providing friendship and information so that we could reduce our learning curve in this new environment and start contributing to the country and its people meaningfully. We will include community work activities with local organisations in future when we are ready to, for example.
If you are a Singaporean living in Perth interested be part of the group, you can join the Singaperth group on facebook to connect with the rest [link]. I am also re-including my facebook link in this blog if you wish to contact me.
For Singaporeans in Perth [link]
For Singaporeans in other Australian states except Perth [link]
For Singaporeans in Perth [link]
For Singaporeans in other Australian states except Perth [link]
or perhaps a "Sydapore" group also?
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