As I understand it, there are no homeless people in Singapore. That's what makes Singapore such a wonderful country - everyone is taken care of. The West can make a din about human rights but if they can't even give a home to their homeless, it's all empty talk; true human rights must include a home for every human being.
There is no problem of homelessness in Singapore. Vagrancy is an offence and in any event, homeless people are sure to be housed in some home by the Social Services Department.
Why then are there people who seem homeless? Granted it's not a common sight unlike in other cities where you know for a fact homelessness is a real problem and homeless people are not such a rarity that anyone would bother to take a pic of but if there are even a few homeless people, this problem should be addressed. Singapore should maintain its squeaky clean slate of being possibly the only country in the world that has no homeless people.
I have personally seen a homeless person in Singapore just recently. He was sleeping underneath one of the HBD flats in Hougang. He was so shabby and rather unkempt, as if he had not been in any decent place of residence for quite some considerable length of time. The police were trying to wake him up when I saw him. Have you even known whatever happens to these people ? I would have liked to ask the police officers there and then, but they look as if they would rather not have me seen that homeless person.
ReplyDeleteWhat you understand and perceive of reality is always a little different from actuality. Homelessness is going strong in Singapore as it is in any other country on earth. Even if vagrancy and panhandling is illegal, there will always be homeless people. They just become "Hidden", joining the rest of the "Hidden Communities" in Singapore.
ReplyDeleteWell...I'm writing this in 2017, and you wrote this post in 2012, so i guess your thoughts on this matter may have changed? Hahahaha.
I want to thank my readers for their comments above. I know too little about the situation in Singapore to offer any meaningful response to their queries. My knowledge of this subject is confined only to my personal observation and of course that is most unreliable.
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