This morning, on my way to work (simultaneously having my daily dose of commuting claustrophobia and trying to make time productive by engaging my mind via a book), the train stopped at a certain station along the way. As per usual social practice, I stepped out of the cabin of a fully packed train and then in again, only to be facilitated in the latter process by a man in his mid-40s who obviously wasn’t as well dressed up as many other Singaporeans. A foolproof deduction would give it away that he’s a foreign worker – and yes, he’s from the world’s most populous nation.
Aha, the sensitive part of this musing has just kicked in. Do note that there is no xenophobia intended. This is just an interesting and non-routine analysis of the geopolitical situation in Asia captured from an everyday occurrence.
At the same station, another foreign worker of presumably Indian nationality (let’s assume he is Indian) boarded the train, went past my side, and somehow managed to find himself some space right behind me. The doors closed momentarily and the former used his back to squeeze into the cabin as far as possible, with little, instead no, regard for any persons or objects behind him. The latter was standing on a really constrained spot and had no choice but to exert a slight force on me as well. Being in the middle, I was literally sandwiched and had to halt my reading for a moment, before finding oblique space to continue. It instantaneously occurred to me that this scenario bears some resemblance on an extrapolated scale.
Imagine the three individuals in this episode as the countries they hail from, and the rest of the train cabin as the global fishtank. China, India, and Singapore are in physical proximity, and like other independent states, are engaged in a rat race fighting for what’s closest to heart – in this case, physical space on board a crowded rush-hour commute. While doing so, China, building on the authority and significance it has gained over its socioeconomic rise, exerts its power on other smaller nations such as Singapore (represented by the Chinese man pushing his way inwards without even looking back), oblivious to their feelings and reactions (well, they are probably aware but can’t be bothered to care). India, on the other hand, showed signs of resilience and the desire to establish itself as equally a power. Despite the societal restraints it faces in nationwide modernisation (the Indian national stayed put and did not inch back in spite of restricted space), it remains unswayed by China’s iron fist in getting what it wants, sometimes even putting pressure on more vulnerable countries, whereas other nations have no choice but to give in to some extent.
Singapore – characterised by me, was awkwardly and uncannily squeezed in between the two most populous nations and two of the world’s largest economies. Singapore’s geographical location in relation to China and India has slapped us a fate in which we have to go with the winds the two Asian lions are commanding (if we were the tigers, they would be the lions – rulers of the animal kingdom). We sometimes get ‘bullied’ or forced out of certain standings. We tend to get squeezed when the two are at loggerheads – we can’t afford to take sides. Yet, we never fail to, somehow, devise a method to get what we need at the moment (I turned slightly and found some space for my book). I didn’t apply any returning force to any piece of my human-sandwich bread, for fear of causing tension in the cabin (exactly why our Defence Ministry engages in diplomacy).
Instead, being flexible, resilient, and finding our own way out is exactly the mindset we need to employ in such times. While we’re clearly unable to tell others outright that they’re stepping on our grass, we cannot just sit there and let it happen. We must continue to think out of the box and think critically, for our survival in this dangerous global era.
The Thought Depository 