| Singaporeans Seek Asylum Elsewhere |
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| Written by Ben Bland | |
| Thursday, 07 January 2010 | |
 A handful of the Lion City's citizens want to abandon their homeland for less strict digs
Given the Singapore government's oft-repeated mantra that it has taken the city-state "from third world to first," you would not expect to find refugees fleeing the island's shores and gleaming skyscrapers. But despite the prosperity, the decent health and education systems and the lack of crime, a steady trickle of Singaporeans have felt the urge to abandon their homeland and seek asylum in nations such as Australia, New Zealand, the United States and Canada over the last few years. (That of course doesn't count the thousands of Singaporeans who leave every year to settle elsewhere. By one estimate, the number who put the Lion City behind them is as high as 15 percent of annual births. In 2006, the Transport Minister, Raymond Lim, expressed concern that 53 percent of Singaporean teens would consider emigration. One website survey put Singapore's average outflow at 26.11 migrants per 1,000 citizens, the second highest in the world - next only to East Timor (51.07). ) Canada, the refuge of choice for noteworthy politically fed up Singaporeans such as pioneering writer Goh Poh Seng, who left the city-state in 1986, seems to have a more sympathetic ear for those fleeing the Lion City or, at least, a more deserving slate of applicants. Twelve of the 29 who fled the Island Republic for Canada between January 2005 and September 2009 were given political refugee status, a success rate of 44 percent. Four applied in Canada in the first nine months of 2009 and three of them accepted. It isn't known who they were or why they were seeking asylum. Another 26 have been granted asylum in the United States, according to the US Department of Homeland Security. At least some are believed to have sought asylum because they were being persecuted for being gay. But these are the lucky ones. With genuine refugees from strife-ridden nations such as Afghanistan, Burma and Sudan often denied asylum status by the stringent immigration authorities in the Western world, most asylum seekers from Singapore are turned back. Of the 50 or so Singaporean refugee applications identified by Asia Sentinel in Australia, New Zealand and Canada over the last decade, the vast majority were rejected. Ten have applied for refugee status in New Zealand since 1997, according to spokesman for the country's Department of Labour, and all were rejected. Another 15 applied for refugee status in Australia between 2004 and 2009. All were denied. The fact that there are so few successful asylum applicants from Singaporeans is testament to how perceptions of Singapore's approach to human rights have improved over the last 20 years. In that period, the government has made some small but significant steps toward meeting globally-accepted democratic norms, abandoning the detention without trial of political opponents and trying to combat institutional and societal discrimination against women, ethnic minorities and gays. Singapore's 21st- Century refuges are driven by a variety of motives including political oppression, racism, persecution and the desire to avoid military service. Some, no doubt, are economic migrants who hope for a better standard of living in New Zealand or Canada, far away from the rat race of the Lion City. A few are clearly mentally unstable, with others fleeing debt or using political repression as an excuse. Looking into their cases provides a rare insight into the tiny minority of Singaporeans who have rejected the ruling People's Action Party's de facto social contract that promises economic development in exchange for the surrender of political freedoms. Take the Singaporean of Tamil heritage who fled to New Zealand in August 2008 because, even after selling his apartment and all his possessions, he was unable to pay off debts to loan sharks and feared that the Singapore police would not protect him from violent reprisals. His sorry tale of loan-shark debt spiraling out of control is a common one in the humble public housing estates of Singapore, where many people are unable to get access to mainstream bank credit. Not many in his position would resort to fleeing the country and with good reason. To fall within the remit of the UN's Refugee Convention, applicants must have a well-founded fear of persecution on grounds of "a person's race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group, or political opinion." Fear of persecution from criminal gangs on the basis of your inability to repay illicit loans is not a valid justification for asylum under international law. Unsurprisingly, in August last year, New Zealand's Refugee Status Appeals Authority rejected his final plea for asylum. The New Zealand refugee appeals tribunal also rejected appeals from two Singaporean men in 2003 and 2001 who claimed that they were discriminated against during their military service. One repeated the often-aired grievance that the Singapore army is biased toward those of ethnic Chinese origin, insisting that he had been passed over for promotions because he was of Indian extraction. He also claimed that there was mounting discrimination against Indians in Singapore, which had led to the suicide of his brother. The other appellant said he was a conscientious objector and that he feared being jailed if he refused to complete his obligatory military service. Both appeals were rejected on the grounds that the unpleasant circumstances faced by both men did not amount to persecution. Meanwhile, the Singapore government continues to stick to its long-standing policy of refusing to accept refugees. It is one of the few countries that have chosen not to sign up to the UN Refugee Convention and has a long history of turning away even those in desperate need, whether they be Vietnamese boat people or stateless Rohingya fleeing Burma. As Balaji Sadasivan, minister of state for foreign affairs, put it earlier this year: "Given our limited land and natural resources, Singapore is not in a position to accept persons seeking political asylum or refugee status." Recently-declassified British government papers reveal that founding Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew was so unforgiving that he vetoed a 1979 proposal by Margaret Thatcher to buy a vacant Indonesian or Philippine island to house Vietnamese boat people. His concern was that this would create a "rival entrepreneurial city". Fortunately for some Singaporeans in dire straits, other countries take a more compassionate view. As recently as 1996, Australia, which is evidently no soft touch on immigration, granted asylum to a Singaporean woman of Indian background who married against her family's wishes and ended up getting divorced. The immigration tribunal upheld her claim that she faced possible sexual harassment and physical abuse by men within her community and that the Singaporean authorities "may be unwilling to offer her protection" because of "the view that they take of her moral background". Such dark days appear to be behind Singapore now. But the realities of political repression and the climate of fear stoked up by the government continue to drive some Singaporeans to flight. Ben Bland is a freelance journalist in Jakarta. He was formerly based in Singapore. He blogs at http://www.asiancorrespondent.com/the-asia-file. Comments
(14)
 written by Taneug , March 05, 2010
I am very happy to be staying in Singapore, thank you. As a professional I have also entertained thoughts of living in another country, especially having gotten my professional qualification and also having worked worked in the UK. Life was good in the UK, a country I have a tremendous admiration and affection for, and as a young man I wanted to contiue it in another liberal and 'easier' country, and was tempted enough to put in an application fro Australia., I am glad I did not take it up. Why?
Votes: -2
Why, apart from emotional ties? This is the most rational government in the world according to Edison Liu a top US scientist who has taken up permananwt residence here. I am in full agreement. The government has described itself as a paranoid government. This is true but only in the sense of the word that Andy Grove of Intel defined it when he said that only the paraniod survive (in the compuret industry). Crtiics are two a penny. The questions are always: how else could you do it. Poiltics is the art of the possible. Every action is never isolated but has consequences, very often unintended. What is the best possible result of each action? What trade-offs can we accept. Are the policies even implementable? What are the thresholds for error, if any?These are not questions faced by journalists. Every high school boy can list down a list of what to dos. I urge young people who are keen to slap the government just to consider what they would have done when ever they criticize government policies. On examination, they may still disagee. But at least they woiuld have understood that this government does not do things for popularity, power hunger or corruption or any of those reaosn I see mentioned. By the way, Goh Poh Seng did not emigrate to Canada due to political reasons. It was the lack of government support for the Arts. report abuse
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written by Ex-Singaporean , February 13, 2010
It is extremely horrible to be born a Singaporean. People are treated worse than animals.
Votes: -1
All Singapreans ever think about is getting out of the country as soon as possible. report abuse
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written by enlightenment , February 07, 2010
THE TRUE HAPPENINGS OF SINGAPORE, READ THE FOLLOWING LINKS TO HAVE A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF THIS RED-DOT. MR. BEN BLAND, A TRUE BLOODED JOURNALIST HAS GOT A TRUE AND DEEP UNDERSTANDING OF SINGAPORE. THUS HE IS HIGHLY PROFICIENT AND ESTEEMLY RESPECTED INTHIS FIELD TO WRITE ABOUT THE GENUINE HAPPENINGS OF SINGAPORE.GREAT WORK MR BLAND!
Votes: +4
http://www.singazine.com/ http://singaporenewsalternative.blogspot.com/ http://singaporedaily.net/ http://sgbreakingnews.com/ report abuse
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"One website survey put Singapore's average outflow at 26.11 migrants per 1,000 citizens, the second highest in the world - next only to East Timor (51.07). "
Votes: +2
Can you provide a source for this please. i.e. which website. Thanks report abuse
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Singaporeans,
Votes: -5
Please come seek asylum in Malaysia, where you can burn down churches without ever have to face prosecution. report abuse
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Singaporeans are biased, Lowly rated comment [Show]
written by Saiful , January 08, 2010
I am writing here to draw the attention of you all who are actually well wisher of Human being, The Rohingya are the most suffers and the victims of silient genocide for more than 45 years inside Burma......They don't have any gud advocate who can send out their voice to the international community.....In Malaysia Rohingya are marginalised and treating them like Burmese Military does inside Burma...Rohingya were forced to leave their country and had to be in Malaysia as the word "Rohingya" is not recognized as an ethnic group of Burma. similarly, in Malaysia if any child is born by the Rohingya they are discriminated like the military did in Burma.........in their birth certificate in place of status the Malaysian immigration writes "Tidak maklumat" means No Information' for which Rohingya are really feeling sad and unable to express their feelings. So, Please help them by any mean and save them from being exploited in near future inside Malaysia
Votes: -5
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written by Utama , January 08, 2010
This has always been a land of immigrants.
Votes: +2
It's normal, people come and people go. Still a lot of foreign "talents" want to come to work and live in Singapore, much to the unease of the locals. report abuse
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written by Psi , January 08, 2010
Lets not be so quick to name those who wished to leave as born-losers. You and your friends who are against the current government choose to stay because you folks can afford to stay on. As professionals in SinCity, you are considered an above or highly above average Sinkie.
Votes: +15
There are alot alot more others out there that are average or below average. They simply cannot afford to stay on and fight the system. They can't afford to. They couldn't even afford a decent meal in a family restaurant. We just have to think and open our eyes more to observe. Current there are 4 FT in every 10 person in SinCity. Out of the 6 true-blues, how many are professionals? how many can go into tertiary education? How many stopped studying halfway? etc. While I truly admire your will to fight (if it is really put into action), we MUST NOT forget that there are always less fortunate folks out there compared to us. MUCH MORE folks who are MUCH LESS FORTUNATE! And what we are fighting for is not so much a better place for ourselves, but ALSO a better place for them (them being the average and below average sinkies). Regards. report abuse
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written by reader , January 07, 2010
To know more about singapore...............................
Votes: +0
http://www.singazine.com/ report abuse
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written by Joeseph , January 07, 2010
I feel upset on the situation of neglected Rohingya refugees in Malaysia. They are similarly treated as inhuman in Malaysia. If they choose to stay in Malaysia, definitely, they cannot avoid from ethnic cleansing. Malaysia's policy is that it does not want to see any other races except Melayu or existing groups.
Votes: +1
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Singapore being too dependent on finance and banking, is too vulnerable because the funds can depreciate in the blink of an eye as had happened in other financial hubs. (The current low value of the Singapore dollar reflects the scenario and make sleepless nights for many people.)
In its desperation, the government rushed in to start the casino business to boost its revenue which also involves many risks directly or indirectly.
The Singapore government is very secretive in its studies of social and mental problems of its population. It will never publish the scary findings. Singapore is a pressure cooker with limited safety valves.
Singapore is in every sense limited. There is a limit to everything except infinity. Even the self-proclaimed mighty USA has its limits.
Singapore is getting claustrophobic in every sense.