As our flight commenced boarding, I panicked. Where did our tour guide go? Are we really going to miss our flight?
Suddenly it dawn on me that our freelance tour guide might have stolen our tickets. An inquiry with the local ticketing agent who conceded that such cases were common confirmed my suspicion. My family, holidaying in Indonesia, has fallen victim to the anti-Chinese sentiments that were raging amongst discontented Indonesians.
Even though this incident happened in 1997, I can never forget how helpless I was to be discriminated upon. However, this incident also made me realised how humans tend to reject everything they do not understand. Some disillusioned Indonesians rejected the Chinese immigrants as thieves who stole their jobs but had failed to grasp that the Chinese improved their social conditions only through their hard work and diligence. This episode has made me appreciate the need for people to be able to work and improve on their lives in a safe environment where others are tolerant and accepting of cultural and social differences.
In this modern era that has offered the convenience of travel, people of different religion and culture often have to live and work together in close proximity. Consequently, we must be open and willing to accept people who are different from us in their ways of life. As an Asian student, I have a different culture and a different way of thinking. Thus,I hope to be able to add my own unique flavour and help other students assimilate into the melting pot of different cultures in the college.
Suddenly it dawn on me that our freelance tour guide might have stolen our tickets. An inquiry with the local ticketing agent who conceded that such cases were common confirmed my suspicion. My family, holidaying in Indonesia, has fallen victim to the anti-Chinese sentiments that were raging amongst discontented Indonesians.
Even though this incident happened in 1997, I can never forget how helpless I was to be discriminated upon. However, this incident also made me realised how humans tend to reject everything they do not understand. Some disillusioned Indonesians rejected the Chinese immigrants as thieves who stole their jobs but had failed to grasp that the Chinese improved their social conditions only through their hard work and diligence. This episode has made me appreciate the need for people to be able to work and improve on their lives in a safe environment where others are tolerant and accepting of cultural and social differences.
In this modern era that has offered the convenience of travel, people of different religion and culture often have to live and work together in close proximity. Consequently, we must be open and willing to accept people who are different from us in their ways of life. As an Asian student, I have a different culture and a different way of thinking. Thus,I hope to be able to add my own unique flavour and help other students assimilate into the melting pot of different cultures in the college.
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