Singaporeans are accused of possessing the cold shoulder especially when it comes to helping strangers on the street. They go about their everyday lives seeming to shun contact with people they don't need to be in contact with. They seem reluctant to readily offer help to people on the streets. Is it that the Good Samaritan spirit does not exist within us?
Recently quite a number of locals were conned by Chinese nationals who approached them wanting to borrow money on the context that they had accidentally lost their wallets. The locals agreed out of sympathy for a foreigner in a strange land and were promised that their money would be returned but it was never meant to be. I have even heard cases of people helping an injured person only to be fooled and robbed. Sometimes it just doesn't pay to be kind.
In an advanced society like Singapore, locals have every right to be suspicious when strangers start seeking help from them as the local police, medical care, public phones and professional help agencies are all within easy reach. Conversely it pays to be cautious as con people are always on the lookout for easy targets.
To be fair, most Singaporeans I've come across are actually warm people. Asking them for directions or helping to take photographs for you are usually a breeze. But start asking for money or borrowing their mobile phones and you can't really blame them for being careful. With all the creative ways to con people these days, it is really hard to distinguish those who are in genuine need of help.
2 comments:
Sadly charity, kindness, generosity and trust is a lost commodity in current society. It is not just in Singapore but in many countries around the world that people tend to become wary when material accruements such as money or something as personal as a mobile phone is being asked for. Sometimes, ironically, when someone is generous enough to offer you money or use of their mobile phone, etc, in return we immediately become suspicious and look for the catch.
While this does not detract from those generous human beings (which do in fact exist), often it must be acknowledged they come few and far between.
If anything, trust is usually built upon a rapport. When there is an understanding or a context upon which someone can safely offer their money, their mobile, etc to you.
Sadly however, the begets in the world always seem to make us more wary then we should. And in this day and age, sometimes that isn't such a bad thing (to be wary).
Yes it is so depressing to know that the more advanced our society becomes, the more "enclosed" and private our lives become.
People who help others may get "bitten" by those they help, discouraging the helpful spirit in all of us.
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