Migrant Perspectives

Migrants have actively settled outside their country of origin in history, especially in the eighty years since the Second World War of the 20th century. Emigration can be categorised due to the following main causes: Economic improvement. Seeking refuge from war, discrimination and oppression. Realising oppprtunities not found in the homeland. Finding cultural, religious and heritage familiarity in other nations. Personal marriage and partnership reasons. Settling down after studying overseas. Fleeing from political differences in pursuit of personal freedom. Straddling between country of origin and investing in new markets. Posted by government of country of origin to serve overseas. Making use of greater mobility to travel, on line flexibility and welcome by foreign nations. A strong sense of adventure to try new experiences. The concept and practice of dual nationality, permanent residency and limited visa stays in a nation have allowed millions to build a life, social networks and businesses away from the country of origin. Western nations particularly have admitted a huge flow of migrants to enter their society. In so doing, this process has limited the drop in natural births, the economic impact of an aging society, a reduction of working tax payers and problems in finding enough people to do essential roles in aged care, gig jobs and medical services. How often do we hear of people migrating to Africa, with all respect to the potential and actual growth of an often under estimated continent. It is not just the difference in standards of living that is considered - but also differences in political governance, the array of personal freedoms and costs of daily needs that can factor in the choice of destination nation to move to. Vibrant city states, lower tax havens and past track records are important to individuals and families making the significant move. What happens when emigrants who came years ago suddenly find that social attitudes, political climate, previously attractive regulations and economic vibrancy have changed compared to when they first arrived? It can get even more of a shake up when the younger generations of earlier migrants find other cities and countries more relevant for them to build a career or business than the one they grew up in. No economy or nation can hold the lead forever. Real competition changes parameters in technology, education, incentives, financial structure, resilience, risk management and social vibrancy. Governments with politicians and bureaucracy stuck on mindsets and approach that do not change with realities and agility can see the rot with their embedded denials and refusal to tackle challenges. The 21st century has offered changing rules, structures and trends which some nations grab by the horns and which others have already fallen down the proverbial slippery slope. So new generations can migrate to new locations. The creation of diasporas and their history depend on changing shifts in power and passion. Colonial powers no longer keep a hold of luring migrants in the same way as in the 19th and 20th centuries. What is attractive today may be sustained or changed suddenly by the varying factors of geopolitics, trade and culture. Individuals and groups with a different ethnicity from rhe mainstream of society they settle in can find a whole varying range of receptions. They may always find themselves viewed on the fringe or as a minority. It also depends on the governance structure and humanity emphasis of the nation they move to. When socio-economic problems develop, are migrants an easy target to blame on, even if they are not related to the burgeoning issue? Are contemporary societies becoming more selfish, dropping equity and fairness standards and practice in dealing with people with a different religion, skin colour and culture? To illustrate, an issue possibly facing the disapora with Chinese or Indian backgrounds is a question of their loyalty to their home country or adopted migrant nation. There can be complexity or confusion when we try to sort out their cultural affinity or loyalty, as opposed to their political affirmation. Japanese and Germans in America were treated with utmost suspicion in the USA when the latter fought with Nazi Germany and Imperialist Japan. This complication indeed can affect all induviduals having dual citizenships. Do individuals and families eventually return to their home country they left years before? Retirees with a higher purchasing power, perhaps mainly due to a better currency exchange, can consider making second homes in lower cost locations. Perhaps such individuals can claim pensions from both their migrated and home countries. Costs of food, accommodation and leisure can be so much cheaper - but more than not is the quality of medical care and treatment. Such arrangements of relocation may also cause problems in social networking for baby boomers. Movement of peoples do not occur in silo or vacuum. Personal experiences, culinary skills, habits of society and inherent heritage patterns are transferred to and shared in the new society. How a new place interacts with, accepts or pushes back the vibes of new migrants ( especially if they arrive in vast numbers within a relatively short time) is most significant. When permanent residents of a foreign country return to the nation of their citizenship, they are likely to feel they fully belong to either location. They have left their country of origin - and they may not have fully integrated with the mainstream of their adopted nation. #yongkevthoughts

Penang Free School

It has been 210 years since a Reverend Robert Sparke Hutchings from colonial England had the foresight, took the courage and established a fledging high school on a settlement in the tropics so far away from his home county in Dorset. This school was founded on a then bold idea of admission of students from any religious or cultural background. It was on an island off the coast of the Straits of Malacca, in an age of maritime adventure in a part of the world where European powers had been competing for the riches of the Spice Islands. This island is Penang, which now lures tourists, overseas retirees, investment options and social influencers. At that time, in 1816, when the Penang Free Scbool was founded, her relatively liberal and progressive principles of operation and existence went against the grain of educational institutions founded on Christian religious orders. The word “Free” emphasised the freedom in several aspects - the freedom to develop one’ s mindset, the freedom of “why not” and the freedom to mix and exchange ideas in a diverse society of George Town. I have been fortunate that my parents encouraged me and I spent seven years in this institution, the oldest school in South east Asia established by the British. The school buildings still exist in good form in the 21st century, with columns of white, inspiring passage ways and spacious areas of green turf. Alumni of PFS (fondly calling themselves Old Frees) are spread all over several nations. English was the lingua franca inculcated in the hearts and modus operandi of the students who passed through her hallowed hallways. The colonial language bound the network of youngsters each with their different mother tongues on the island of Penang. This extensive dominance of English has been whittled away in PFS as the governing political authorities escalated the prioritisation of the Malay language. Today, Putonghua ( simplified northern Mandarin) has gripped the loyalty of the overseas Chinese diaspora, descendants of people who left the shores of dynastic and 20th century China. Singapore elevated the use and knowledge of spoken and written Pu Tong Hua ( the “people’s common tongue”, as opposed to the variety of other languages within China itself) - and the rest is history. Visit PFS today and one can sense past sensations of competitive sports, of sweaty adolescence, unity in group singing and rituals of fraternity and the tension of sit down examination halls. I can easily recall the crowdedness of where we parked our bicycles, seemingly quiet afternoons of sitting below hundred year old trees and the calmness of going early at sunrise to classrooms. We as students were divided into different sports teams, named mostly after past head masters with surnames like Cheeseman, but there was also one sports house called Wu Lien Teh. This was in honour of a significant epidomologist in northern China at the beginning of the 20th century. Lien Teh grew up in colonial Penang, was a PFS alumni and is also credited with effectively showing the benefits of masking up as working protection against respiratory infectious diseases in public. Yes, that very same facial mask the contemporary world got used to in the face of the Covid 19 pandemic in the years 2020 to 2021. To be a Free alumni holds a special inner joy, but also made us want to contribute to the world in whatever small or larger way as an adult, far from the heady teenage years of the past. The daily encouragement of teachers, that special feel of assembling in the school hall and the sense of belonging to a unique entity inevitably gets into our blood veins and inner purpose. Every 21st of October, the grave of the dear Reverend Hutchings is visited by old and current students, to show respect for a special human being whose efforts go beyond the limits of time and geography in inspiring each one of the students to do better for the world. The grave is kept safe at the Northarm Road Cemetery in George Town, now a UNESCO world heritage site. Every 21st of October, alumni still meet up for a meal, whether in Penang, elsewhere in Malaysia or in a foreign city, like a gathering tribe, to reconnect with past classmates and other people who have gone through the PFS experience when our minds were still absorbing and developing. Predominantly a school for boys, girls were eventually admitted into the final two years for the HSC examinations. The females joining us as classmates came from totally all girls schools - and one can imagine the electric like social implications of adjustment, wonder and growth for everyone involved. When reunions occur, most of us forget our various positions and roles in adult life. We choose to, however temporarily, revert to memories of innocent times growing up, comfortably under the banner of that educational entity that gave us a mix of discipline, personal learning, hazy days of friendship, laughter and tears, crossing beyond our fears and finding channels for our ambitions. I can still visualise the aged dark brown desks. I recall where my fav mates sit. We wore uniforms of white to reduce the effects of the cruel heat of the midday sun. We loved time out on the courts or field, but especially more on excursions further afield, whether as scouts on the water along Penang Island’s northern beaches or in private socials up Penang Hill. There were the performing arts on stage, creative paintings and more. I especially value the magic of Friday afternoons, just after school, when my mates and I could do something special together before heading home. 27.10.26 #yongkevthoughts