I experienced my first protest when I was an undergrad in Australia, more than a decade ago. A group of my university's students took to the streets to protest the rise in school fees. I meekly followed behind, enthralled by the spectacle, but shackled by my upbringing, unable to partake fully in the roar of voices.
"Only crazy people with a personal grudge against the government protest. And then they go to jail."
Growing up, it is what many would tell me at the mention of the word. We were fed with imagery of violent protests in our history books and perhaps more damningly, by our own kin and kith. It is the type of fear that is so ingrained, it becomes part of a distorted common sense, till we are no longer aware that it is fear that has led our gaze away from those who have demonstrated for our rights.
And as I tagged along the picketing group that day, I felt jolted out of reality, my own reality anyway, and into something more authentic. My youthful and inexperienced heart may not have been as involved in the causes or aware of the realities of civil society, but my programmed bias against protest and dissent were dashed that day. I saw then that protests can be orderly, they can be empowering and they inform the public, who look upon protesters with a variety of expressions other than wide-eyed terror. I remember distinctly as I walked back to my rental flat that day, that I WANT this, I want to see this in Singapore, MY country. Not protests per se, but this empowerment to speak out.
" No to 6.9 million", the nation's biggest non-partisan protest held at Hong Lim Park today, was not like that protest I witnessed so many years ago.
It was BETTER.
7000 strong turned up, umbrellas in tow, some brandishing creatively tongue in cheek banners.
Speakers from all walks of life led the crowd into fervent cheers as they expressed their displeasure at the suggested population size of 6.9 million in 2030 by the White Paper. If the turnout for the political rallies during the elections were signs of an awakening, the response for this protest, indicates that the country is now more than just awakened, it is ready to stand up and work for our collective future.
And nothing embodied that more than the response toward organizer Gilbert Goh's offensive article the night before, where he made a list of "traits", based on nationality, of the 1.8 million foreigners currently in Singapore. This is not about Gilbert's perceived xenophobia, but how the online backlash, within hours, resulted in the article being taken down and Gilbert Goh graciously apologizing on the event's page for his insensitivity.
Something amazing happened there. Many who thought of attending the event, staked a claim in how they wish to be represented, and through the mad rush of concerned, angry feedback, the anti-xenophobic stance became an emblem that branded itself throughout many of the speeches and into our consciousness. We may not be able to flush the White Paper's plans down the drain, but we managed something much more precious today, we defined a distinctly Singaporean value through our actions, something policy can never deign to cultivate.
While there will be those among us who revel in xenophobic rhetoric, it is heartening to know that there are enough of us who refuse to let that ugly side of human nature be part of a larger national voice, though the temptation is always there. It is also inspiring to see the acts of apology and forgiveness pushed forth by an understanding that the event and what it represents is bigger than any single person.
The Singaporean core that had been eroded by bloodless policies and political paralysis was replenished today. Thanks to willing hearts like Gilbert, who works against all odds to deserve the phenomenal success of the event, regardless of his mistakes, and those who attended for setting a precedence that no one can ignore even if they try their best to. On a personal front, thank you my countrymen and women, for fulfilling a wish I hardly thought would come true, let alone be surpassed by the magnitude of heart and spirit present.
I am so proud today to be Singaporean, more so than I ever have been.