Issue 13 : Community Work for Tamils by Tamils
PAGE 79
Common issues between immigrants and locals :
• Depressed wages for locals
• Rising housing prices
• Higher costs of living
• Discrimination by employers in favour of ‘ foreign talents ’
• Over-stretched public services
• Unfair competition at schools
• Anti-social behaviour in public spaces
Issue 13 : Community Work for Tamils by Tamils
Overturning stereotypes , promoting positive relationships between ‘ locals ’ and ‘ new ’ migrants and the importance of Tamil youths ’ role .
• Up till now , the encounter with co-ethnics seems to be largely confrontational .
• Apart from the issues mentioned above , the root of the problem appears to be the sometimes unconscious ‘ forgetting ’ of the shared experience of migration from the same country .
• Though there are many things that both groups can learn from each other , both groups generally distance themselves from one another .
• The Tamil youths play a pivotal role in improving this situation because the children of many of these newer migrants have either been born in Singapore or have spent large parts of their lives here . They have had similar experiences as local Tamil youths .
• This 1st / 2nd generation youth see themselves as Singaporeans who happen to have closer connections with their ancestral homeland than the local Tamils as a result of the time of migration .
Topic of Interest : What are the means by which the community can do community work for itself and what are the benefits from it ?
CASE STUDY : Canadian Tamil Youth Development Centre ( CanTYD )
• The Canadian Tamil community has much in common with the Singaporean Tamil community in terms of the different waves of migration of Tamils from Sri Lanka and Tamil Nadu respectively .
• Due to the civil war between the Sinhalese and Tamils , a large number of Tamils fled to many different countries . In the late 1970s and early 1980s , the Canadian government welcomed these Tamils with a more open immigration and refugee policy .
• Till today , Tamils continue to seek asylum in various parts of Canada , mainly Toronto , Montreal and Vancouver . As these major cities are very multicultural in nature , they do share some similarities with Singapore in terms of issues of immigration and assimilation .
This case study will shed light on the role that Tamil youth could potentially play in engaging with community-specific issues , especially in terms of strengthening ties between members of the same ethnic group like in the Singaporean case .
CanTYD is a youth-led organization that aims to empower Tamil youth and to strengthen community ties . Their initiatives have played an important role in breaking stereotypes that arise commonly in a context of immigration to a multicultural society .
Some examples oftheir initiatives include :
Project T . H . A . M . I . L Works with Tamil youth at a grassroots level to promote and cultivate leadership skills in students .
MedaiKonal Drama team that promotes youth expression , creativity and originality through the theatrical arts .
Selvy ' s Circle An initiative dedicated to the empowerment of young Canadian Tamil women .
AkkaThamizha ? A publication of literary and artistic submissions by Tamil students from Grade 7 to 12 .
Project T . H . A . M . I . L ( Tamils Helping and Motivating to Inspire Leadership )
Description
• Works with Tamil youth at a grassroots level to promote and cultivate leadership skills in students .
• Runs interactive workshops such as assertiveness , conflict resolution and leadership training .
• Parents are also involved as well allowing them to improve relationships with children .
Learning Points
• Tamil youth helping Tamil youth
• Involvement parents in the process
• Workshop style
Relevance to the Singapore ’ s context
• This framework may be considered by local Tamil community organisations , such as IAECs specifically to address the issue of improving relationships between locals and newer migrants .
• Potentially , youth from both groups could take on community work such as conducting workshops / mentorship initiatives helping Tamil domestic helpers and construction workers to adapt to Singapore lifestyle .
• Another possible initiative could be one that is centred on discussions on Tamil media and entertainment . For example , a free movie screening can be organized followed by a critical discussion on the themes , characterization etc . With participants from both groups , it might be possible to uncover deeper societal issues back in India and how these potentially have influenced the Singapore Tamil community .