Xenophobia Case Study

The words “migrant workers” probably conjures up images of labourers leaving their homeland to seek for hopes and promises of a better future, toiling in an environment that reeks of unfamiliarity. After a day of slogging, they return to shelters they can hardly call home. It’s late. They think of their family back home, the wife who’s exhausted from doing housework all day, and the children who studies so hard in school with the overwhelming thought of quitting school in order to get a job to support the family. The migrant workers are hit with a pang of nostalgia, guilt, and melancholy- all at once. Nevertheless, they have to soldier on, to earn enough keep to support their family back home. It is, to say the least, unjust that they have

Xenophobia runs deep in many cultures, especially that of Singapore, with many incidents of foreigners running into conflicts with locals, evident in all the online vitriol expressed by locals on social media. Granting migrant workers with full political power could be a mistake if they take it too far and abuse it, threatening the social fabric of the host country. Furthermore, in Singapore, the locals themselves do not have full blown power like freedom of speech. If foreigners were to hold such power, the locals would respond with resistance. In turn, the foreigners can then use their political power to fight this xenophobic behaviour. However, the above scenario is not highly possible, as in the recent years, the locals have become increasingly appreciative of migrant workers, such as trying to integrate them into our society via activities, efforts from HOME raise awareness among the Singaporean public about the rights of migrant workers, and even lauding them for rescuing a toddler with the Public Spiritedness award in a recent incident. Furthermore, according to a recent survey, most of the migrant workers said they were pleased with working in Singapore. Hence, the extent of political power that should be granted needs to be capped to a point where the priorities of the host nation should still be met, and regularly revised to adjust to the structural changes of