Energy and ecology: The irony of Japan

Ecological systems have been disrupted by the changing environment of human and many animal species are depleting because of that. Despite much effort from the civil societies and international cooperation to stop illegal poaching and fishing, there seems to be little effect. This is especially so in the case of Japan. Japan is infamous for the killing of whales and dolphins for food, be it legal or illegal. It is important to note that the whales are not part of the necessary staple food that they have to consume. Instead, they are slaughtered for the enjoyment of luxury delicacies. In addition, the whales are highly sought after. The high demand results the existence of the illegal fishermen.

These fishermen kill a large number of these marine life every trip that they make. The frequent trips results in the drastic drop in the number of surviving whales and dolphins. As the whales and dolphins usually give birth to one calf at a time and takes years to reproduce another, the replacement rate is very low. Moreover, they travel in herds thus easier to be captured all at one go. This explains for the decreasing number of whales and dolphins in the wild. The ruthless fishermen normally travel in a huge ship and disguised themselves as any other ordinary fishermen. Their poaching equipment is usually hidden until they reach the ocean.

Their merciless killings have brought international attention to them and civil societies are formed to act against them. International Whaling Commission (IWC) was formed and in 1986, it banned against commercial whaling. However, Japan continued to kill hundreds of whales in the name of scientific research. The scientists collect the data of the birthing rate, diet and age from the huge carcasses of the hunted whales and repackaged the meat for sale after that. To me, it seems that the Japanese are not making any effort in controlling whaling. In fact, they seem to be supporting the acts quietly. The minority who are against it are not significant enough to represent the community. It is a societal issue, at least from my point of view. The issue cannot be resolved through the external intervention of the other countries and civil societies. The consumers must change the mentality first.

A couple of larger civil organisations are the Greenpeace and the Sea Shepherd. They are both civil societies which are keen in conserving the environment and sustaining the wildlife. Sea Shepherd is more active in the marine conservation. They travel around different countries where the poaching is common. Marine life such as the seal and the whales are among the ones protected by them. They also approach the fleets which are in the midst of their hunts and harass them. They normally give out warnings in different languages to signal the hunters steer away. Indeed, these harasses are successful. However, how long can this pursue go on? This is only a short term solution and Sea Shepherd is unable to stop all the fleets. There is the need for a long term solution.

In my opinion, restricting the quota of the number of whales hunted cannot reduce the severity of the problem. There is no impact on the illegal poachers at all. It seems ironic to me in the efforts of Japan in trying to conserve the environment. Indeed they have their recycling job done excellently and have very little pollution within their country. However, they are unwilling to regulate the killing of the whales. Then, what is the meaning of all their hard work in conserving the environment? They are still destroying the ecological system of the world, just from another approach. Much pushing needs to be done.

Population and Health: Overcrowding

The population in globalized cities and developing countries grow at an accelerating rate. More investors enter the market and expand the industries. The need for more workers due to the expansion is one of the reasons for the growth. Due to the increasing density of the areas, there is less space for development and housing. Thus the developers used the vertical expansion to solve the problem. Through this method, the citizens live in close proximity and have less individual space as compared to the suburban areas. Indeed the standards of living have improved. There are better sanitary facilities and more advanced technology is integrated into their daily lives. However, these materialistic gains are not able to prevent or cure the citizens’ health problems. These health problems are mostly mental problems which require much time and a suitable environment to cure.

One of the problems caused by the increasing population density is stress. Apart from the stress developed from the work, stress can also be developed when citizens live too closely together. Animals are prone to developing the stress as well if they live under overcrowding conditions. Similarly, humans will be affected too. When humans are under stress, health problems start to surface. Eating disorders and insomnia are one of the most common effects seen. They disrupt the systems in the body and create more problems to the body. The body, eventually, will not be able to function properly. The cycle continues until the body receives some form of treatment to recover the systems in the body.

The people that we are talking about are the workforce in the cities. They join the industries in the cities in the hope for a better lifestyle. However, they sacrifice their health in return. These workers fall sick and the man hours have reduced as these workers are unable to produce. The industries then recruit more people to compensate for the man hours lost. The population increases and deteriorates the problem of overcrowding in the cities. The situation continues and thus more diseases and illnesses form.

Another problem, which is also caused by stress, is the anxiety developed by the people. The anxiety causes the people to be constantly in frustration and creates more stress for the body. This is evident in many countries today. There are many women who are unable to give birth. This is partly due to the stress and anxiety caused. When the body is under stress, it produces different hormones which will alter the processes in the body. This includes the hormone secreted by women to prepare the body for developing the embryo. Thus, problems like this arise more frequently in the cities than outside the cities.

In my opinion, it seems very ironic that the people are receiving the material gains at the expense of their health when they should be gaining a better lifestyle. That includes having a healthy body. As these people are unable to recover, the governmental institutions have to build more infrastructures to cater to the needs of the increasing number of the sick. These institutions identify the core reason to the illnesses and develop different kinds of vaccines and medicine to counter the problem. The problem is then solved in the short period.

However, the viruses and bacteria can mutate and form more resilient viruses to fight back the vaccines used. Thus, there is a constant need for more new vaccines to keep the bodies strong against these viruses. The fight continues and the bodies of the workforce are at constant change. More new diseases are thus found and continue to attack the weaker bodies that they can find. An example would be SARS as mentioned in the lecture. Thus, will the population stay as strong in the future to combat the viruses? I have no answer to it.

Crime and Globalization: Innovation and technology and crime

The advancement in innovation and technology has provided the globe with better communication devices and more complicated systems. These new or improved creations are used in many important areas including international corporate firms and the ministries of the government; The Ministry of Defence (Mindef) in Singapore has a special department to improve the existing weaponry and the equipment used. The world is fascinated with the power that science can bring. Many of us want to use science for good purposes. However, while some are using a particular technology to make the world a better place, other people in some parts of the world use the same technology to cause more trouble to the earthlings. These people are the criminals.

Take a very simple example. Telecommunication devices like mobile phones are widely used as they provide much convenience to reach to the person. Some companies use this convenience to assist their marketing campaigns or projects. Yet, there are others who abuse this system for illegal means. Few years back, reports of fraud calls were made to many Singaporeans, telling them that they had won lucky draws from their companies’ promotions. Some gullible ones believed them and were told further to pay a fee before the companies could send them their prizes. Most of these prizes never reach the so-called winners. These cheating companies made use of the loophole that callers cannot be identified by the receivers by face thus there is a very low risk to get caught by the police. I had received several calls from companies which I had never heard of telling me that I had won in a lucky draw. These crimes can happen to any one of us. Furthermore, things become more complex when making international calls become very affordable. International cheating companies are common in our globalized world, thus the commoners like us become easy targets.

These situations are similar in other aspects. Terrorism is one issue that is feared internationally. On one hand, the defence system and equipment are improved or new ones are created to increased protection. On the other, the terrorists are constantly creating bombs made from materials easily available in the markets. Deadly weapons are invented to kill innocents and the enemies. Lives are sacrificed in many futile attempts to fight for peace. Although terrorism existed for a long time ago, it becomes more prominent and will still be a pressing problem in the future. I believe that if the problem of terrorism is alleviated, many economies will thrive better due to increased stability and security to their property and lives.

In my own opinion, globalization has created many social problems, similar to Carl Marx’s theory, maybe in a different light. The easier access between countries and the unreachable areas contributes to the acceleration of the problem of such crimes. Such convenient travel poses a huge issue as it means that it will be harder to contain the problems. Cybernet crime is a also becoming more rampant. It is more difficult to tackle the problem due to several reasons. One, the internet allows access to different countries, causing it to be tough just to locate the root of the problems. Second, anonymous people are able to talk to one another without having to register with their real names. Third, there is a surging number of viruses and Trojans are infiltrating into many systems, disrupting the working systems in the economy. This can be detrimental as the economy might breakdown if a major player in the market is being attacked. I think that globalization is a double-edged sword and we will need stronger measures to reduce crime.

Population and Health: Overcrowding

The population in globalized cities and developing countries grow at an accelerating rate. More investors enter the market and expand the industries. The need for more workers due to the expansion is one of the reasons for the growth. Due to the increasing density of the areas, there is less space for development and housing. Thus the developers used the vertical expansion to solve the problem. Through this method, the citizens live in close proximity and have less individual space as compared to the suburban areas. Indeed the standards of living have improved. There are better sanitary facilities and more advanced technology is integrated into their daily lives. However, these materialistic gains are not able to prevent or cure the citizens’ health problems. These health problems are mostly mental problems which require much time and a suitable environment to cure.

One of the problems caused by the increasing population density is stress. Apart from the stress developed from the work, stress can also be developed when citizens live too closely together. Animals are prone to developing the stress as well if they live under overcrowding conditions. Similarly, humans will be affected too. When humans are under stress, health problems start to surface. Eating disorders and insomnia are one of the most common effects seen. They disrupt the systems in the body and create more problems to the body. The body, eventually, will not be able to function properly. The cycle continues until the body receives some form of treatment to recover the systems in the body.

The people that we are talking about are the workforce in the cities. They join the industries in the cities in the hope for a better lifestyle. However, they sacrifice their health in return. These workers fall sick and the man hours have reduced as these workers are unable to produce. The industries then recruit more people to compensate for the man hours lost. The population increases and deteriorates the problem of overcrowding in the cities. The situation continues and thus more diseases and illnesses form.

Another problem, which is also caused by stress, is the anxiety developed by the people. The anxiety causes the people to be constantly in frustration and creates more stress for the body. This is evident in many countries today. There are many women who are unable to give birth. This is partly due to the stress and anxiety caused. When the body is under stress, it produces different hormones which will alter the processes in the body. This includes the hormone secreted by women to prepare the body for developing the embryo. Thus, problems like this arise more frequently in the cities than outside the cities.

In my opinion, it seems very ironic that the people are receiving the material gains at the expense of their health when they should be gaining a better lifestyle. That includes having a healthy body. As these people are unable to recover, the governmental institutions have to build more infrastructures to cater to the needs of the increasing number of the sick. These institutions identify the core reason to the illnesses and develop different kinds of vaccines and medicine to counter the problem. The problem is then solved in the short period.

However, the viruses and bacteria can mutate and form more resilient viruses to fight back the vaccines used. Thus, there is a constant need for more new vaccines to keep the bodies strong against these viruses. The fight continues and the bodies of the workforce are at constant change. More new diseases are thus found and continue to attack the weaker bodies that they can find. An example would be SARS as mentioned in the lecture. Thus, will the population stay as strong in the future to combat the viruses? I have no answer to it.

 

Urbanization: Grand Prix

The first official Grand Prix was in 1906 and ended its first generation in 1949, giving way to the modern era. Today, it is not solely a sport for entertainment and pastime. It is associated with girls wearing PVC tights and technology. The evolution of this masculine sport has resulted in the emergence of car brands and the romanticism of racing cars. Brands like Renault and Bmw have successfully promoted their companies as world class due to their investment into such areas. It has become a symbol for the rich too as the prices of the cars sold by these companies can be quite surprising. In my point of view, Grand Prix has become one of the products of urbanization and the tool of globalization.

 

Recently, Singapore has also held her first Formula One race. It was the first city race at night for Grand Prix 2008. To Singapore, it was the best opportunity to showcase what she has to offer to the world. As the cameras zoomed out their focus on the racing automobiles, the night view of Singapore comes into the picture. City lights brightened up the landscape; high rise buildings from the Central Business District framed the urban image of Singapore. What attracted my attention most was the Singapore Flyer. It was always seen in every scene when the cameras zoomed out. It was estimated that about 400 million people around the world viewed the race. This means that Singapore has just showcased herself to that many viewers without having to pay for any overseas advertisement. The views captured by the cameras were meant to be screened around the world.  

 

Singapore made use of Grand Prix to march towards greater economical gains such as tourism. Besides that, the government has also secured the race for 5 years, which gives Singapore more chances to promote the other areas other than Marina Bay. I would say that the Grand Prix is a huge wave to ride along, especially for Singapore who is gearing the industry towards tourism. Grand Prix has already attracted the F1 racing fans from all over the world to gather in Singapore. Singapore can expect a surge in the tourism area as the post effect of the race.

 

The races have been held in developed areas such as Fuji International Speedway In Japan and Albert Park Grand Prix circuit in Great Britain. Many of these countries are able to organize the races as their financial status enables them to do so. Countries such as Africa are unable to provide the same infrastructure as they are less advanced. Urbanized cities have both the information infrastructure and the workforce to help support the event. This can be inferred that the literacy rate of these countries is higher and the technology used is much more advanced than other less developed countries. Moreover, the tickets to the race cost a bomb. Spectators who are able to watch must be able to afford the sky- high prices then. This indirectly implies that the incomes of the spectators are of a certain range. These factors can prove that Grand Prix can only be organized by the urbanized cities and thus a product of urbanization.

 

Both processes have created and destroyed many aspects to sustain capitalism. I do not deny the fact that urbanization and globalization have to be discussed hand in hand as they are inseparable. Urbanization exists to shape the processes of globalization and vice versa. This has been mentioned in the lecture. I believe that there are more significant side products from these 2 processes. These products, be it a positive or a negative one, have to be dealt with to sustain the lifestyle that we are enjoying right now.

 

http://www.f1-grandprix.com/history1.html

Politics of Identity and Globalization: Policies used to shape the identity for Singaporeans

Singapore is governed by a single party since the time of independence. This gives the government more control and power to construct the country and its people. For example, Singapore was a rural area where the citizens were peasants. They reared animals and planted crops so as to earn a living. This was different from the purpose of agriculture now. In the past, they produce to feed their own family. Now, the agriculture present in the nation state produces massively to cater to the public. They are doing business here. This was the result of the government’s policies. The government had an ideological future for the country and thus introduced policies to gear to country to the goal. For Singapore, it was to become an economically strong trading hub internationally.

 

One of the significant policies which had changed people’s identity was the public housing scheme. Singapore had a mixture of ethnic groups and religions living separately. During the colonial rule, the governor separated the different ethnic groups into different areas so as to make them easier to control.
The Chinese had their Chinatown; the Indians had their Little India; the Malays had their Kampong Glam. However, the government (which was elected after the Independence) did not see this as a long term solution to the stability and cohesion of the country. Thus, they decided to disperse the groups so and mix them together during the housing allocation. This meant that in each block of flats, there is a restriction to the number of the families in each ethnic group who can take move in to that particular block. Others who were rejected had no choice but to search again. The policy did not stop here after allocating the citizens into the flats. It was followed by a series of campaigns promoting social cohesion and multi- racialism. Today, Singaporeans do not view one another by their ethnic groups and instead, as the local or as the foreigner first. For example, the Chinese in the past would say that they were the Chinese. Now, the new generation would have said that they are Singaporeans. Students are not allowed to wear their ethnic costumes with their uniforms except Multi-racial Day.  The emphasis on the ethnic roots was not as prominent as of the past.

 

The other policy which is very successful in shaping the citizens till today is meritocracy. It emphasizes on personal development and achievements so as to create a competent workforce for the economy. Education was compulsory and students are allocated through their grades. This is effective in creating an educated population which can deal better with the changing economy and are valued for their knowledge and skills. However, there are other side effects which are undesirable. Individualism was a result of it. It is instilled into the citizens, becoming a prominent identity of Singaporeans. One policy which was affected was the family planning policy of having only 2 children. By having fewer children, Singaporeans could spend more time working and less money on the expenses of raising the family. The policy was so successful that the Singapore today faces a declining birth rate of 1.2. Singaporeans become unwilling to give birth to more children due many other reasons. They have to cope with the rising inflation and the increasing costs of living; they foresee that they will have less time for themselves; they might also view children as a liability instead of a joyous fulfillment.

 

As a Singaporean, I feel that some of the identities are positive and are promoted to the foreigners to imprint a good image of Singapore. Some, on the other hand, are the side effects of the policies and should be eradicated. Given more time, I believe that more new identities are going to be created, creating a new image of Singapore.

Democracy and Human Rights: Singapore and USA

Singapore is said to practice democracy and encourage people to speak up their minds. Public speaking corners have set up and some organizations have gathered courage to express their opinions and dissatisfaction towards any concerning issues. Forums in newspapers and the media websites are also available for readers to publish their views on the reported news and policies implemented. The forums also serve as a platform for the organizations involved or commented to communicate with the public through their replies in the forum, clearing doubts and misunderstandings. Emails and letters have also made the communication easier. However, these avenues are scrutinized by these providers before they are approved to be published. Any comments that may disrupt the peace and stability of the community are not encouraged. If the freedom of speech is not applicable in an environment of democracy, then where else can it be allowed?

In Singapore where the government holds much power to the control of the state, many things have their restrictions. I do understand that people who want to have their voice heard should be responsible of their comments and be sensitive towards several issues. However, the strong intervention of the government in this area of control might kill the passion of these people in raising critical issues which are worth thinking about it. Many problems such as ethnic issues should not be swept under the carpet but rather, be more open minded and tackle the problem through education and appreciation of the different cultures. It is going to be a long and difficult battle but the fruit of the labour will be sweet. I believe that it will be much better than purposefully staging dances of the different ethnic groups during festive seasons like National Day. The action is seen as having a hidden agenda rather than appreciating the culture itself.

The democracy practiced in Singapore is different from the one practiced in America. In the United States America (USA), their presidents are elected by the Republic. In Singapore, our president is elected by our government. The public in USA holds substantial power in the policies implemented and the future directions that the country heads towards. The ongoing presidency election has clearly showed the enthusiasm the people have for their country. In comparison, Singaporeans show minimal interest in the political area. Presidential candidates can spend millions of dollars on their campaigns and make inspiring speeches to win the hearts of the public. Moreover, the competition is strong between the different parties. On the other hand, Singapore’s opposition parties are much weaker than the governing party. Mentor Minister Lee Kuan Yew once said that there is a need for the opposition party to exist so as to keep the government in mind that there is always competition. However, our opposition parties are very weak in power and are suppressed by the government.  This is self- contradictory for a democratic state.

In USA, peaceful protests and strikes are possible and made legal. People who feel exploited or dissatisfied with any issues come in groups and demonstrate peaceful strikes to express their frustration and anger. These protests, in my opinion, are very useful in that the government is able to hear the views of the public and understand the scope and the magnitude of the problem easily. Unfortunately, protests without permission in Singapore are illegal. Similar to the public speaking corner, participants have to register to the related government agencies on the topics or issues that they want to talk or protest about. They have to wait for the approval before acting on it. This has evidently shown the great infiltration of the authority control.  Thus, the Singapore government should learn to handle the fears and lead the country in the interest of the people, not the economy alone.

War and terrorism: Child soldiers

In the lecture, Professor mentioned that child soldiers are used in wars. The rebels make use of them to their advantage. As children are generally smaller in size, they are harder to be identified by the enemies and are able to deceive others as the innocent. This triggers me to think: What are the effects on the developments of the children, be it socially and psychologically?

As mentioned in the lecture, some of these child soldiers join the civilian armies because of the social instability in their hometowns. They see that the armies can provide them with food and shelter thus more willing to join in the combat. The others are abducted from their homes. A senior officer who was deployed to the frontier of the eastern Chad said that armies use child soldiers as they are easy to command and manage. They do not expect to be paid and will do as they are told without any complaint.  These excuses made these defenseless children their target recruits, putting them in constant danger of getting killed. Moreover, most of them live in poverty and see the army as a means to escape from it. Things, however, are not as optimistic as it seems.

 These child soldiers are forced to kill those who attempted to escape or they will be beaten to death if they fail to raise the alarm. Moreover, they are also given insufficient food, live in poor sanitary conditions and have to accept harsh punishment and trainings. Girls are not spared either. Many who are captured risk being raped or sexual harassment. These underage recruits are constantly exposed to brutality, sexual harassment and abuse. Take the child soldiers in the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) as an example. The children were treated badly and were physically abused. In addition, they were forced to kill or torture other people. They are not given food and are forced to carry heavy loads. These are detrimental to their social behaviour and mental health. Most of them are returned to their families when found, if they have any in the first place. However, they face more problems in their communities even if they have survived through the war. They are feared and rejected by their neighbours and even their own family members because they are seen as murderers rather than victims of the war.

The pain inflicted by the LRA continues with these children for life. Girls are constantly worrying if they are infected with sexually transmitted diseases or if they are pregnant. The nightmare of being raped will also haunt them. Most of these children have either witnessed massacre or involved in it. The experience is traumatizing and many of them are unable to recover from it. They are psychologically disturbed and develop disorders. Most of them have to endure the alienation of their community members and these will indirectly affect their families’ relationships and communications. Some are unable to endure the situations that they thought of rejoining back the army. An ex-child soldier explained,” you cannot be completely happy with all these wounds- both in your body and in your mind.” In my opinion, these children did not join the army to kill. In actual fact, they are the ones suffering the most. During the captivation, they have to endure with the emotional and physical torture; at home, they have to deal with fear and prejudice shown on the faces of the people around them, including their family members. Some are even insulted by their own family members as they have scars and markings on the exposed skin. They all forget that they are only children who are trying to stay alive.

Though many institutions have tried to help them, most find that they feel calmer when the pastors pray for them in the churches. Time is not a healing potion in this situation. These damages are mostly, in my point of view, permanent.

 

http://hrw.org/reports/2007/chad0707/5.htm#_Toc172078520

Women and Family: Balancing work and family is almost impossible

Comparing the roles of women from the past and the present, the responsibilities have changed and increased tremendously. As mentioned in the lecture, the Victorian ideal of womanhood was motherhood in the United Kingdom’s society during that era. Similarly, women in Asia were expected to be passive and home-oriented. Women were the ones forging close bonds with the children while the fathers were the breadwinners in the family.  Their duties were simple and clear thus there was little conflict about the responsibilities of each member of the family. However, as globalization becomes a popular phenomenon, the roles of both sexes have changed and this brings in many problems within the societies in transition.

While women start to work, there is still the fixated mentality in some societies that women should look after the children and be responsible of the housekeeping. This in turns increased the amount of responsibilities. As for men, they are not expected to wash the clothes and prepare dinner for the family. When they do help out with these chores, it is seen as a bonus. There is little increase to their responsibility. These overburdened women are then forced to choose one as their focus. For women who chose their careers, they often spend much of their waking time doing work instead of spending time with the family or doing chores.  Although we have very good examples of women who succeeded in keeping both their work and family in balance, they are too small a number to represent the whole. In my opinion, some of these women are wealthy thus they are able to employ housekeepers to take charge of the housework instead. For many families, they are unable to afford the additional bills. These women should be the ones getting the attention and help. These situations were shown in the video played during the lecture. All the families interviewed are not wealthy and are just like many other families, trying to make ends meet. Hence, in order to reduce the burdens of these determined women, the mentality of the society should change first.

I am not implying that the men in today’s society are egoistic or chauvinistic. The video showed to us interviewed a family whose responsibilities were split between the husband and wife in order to give the children enough attention and care. However, the growing figures in the number of overburdened women in the society seem to tell us that more work has to be done before the statistics can be lowered. Single parents are facing similar serious problems when both work and family come into the picture. They have to play both the paternal and maternal roles and learn to juggle them with work. These difficult stunts are almost impossible and severe consequences come with it.

The basic unit of social interactions (family) will break down and children will have minimal opportunity to be taught well. I believe that this is possible as the parental guidance is minimal and we cannot expect the children to differentiate right from wrong from the start. Children who do not receive proper attention by their parents would not be able to survive well in the society as they are not taught the ways to interact well with people and will be involved in acts to gain their parents’ attention, regardless the acts are illegal or dangerous. These can result in serious social issues such as juvenile delinquency and truancy. Thus, I feel that although encouraging women to work can bring about economic benefits, it can easily cause more social and family issues as the foundation of the children’s upbringing are not in proper care.

Work and Trade: Maids

In my opinion, maids are also one form of exploitations towards the third world countries. They are employed in developed countries such as Hong Kong and Singapore. According to some reports, there are more than a million women employed as domestic helpers in Asia and Middle East. They leave their hometowns and work in an unfamiliar environment with little communication skills. At the end of their contract after a year or two, they can either go back to their own countries or continue to work in that country. Often, their wages are much lower than what they should get.

 

Reports have shown that the wages of the domestic helpers in Singapore are one of the lowest among other countries which made maid- hiring legal. The wages in Hong Kong was twice as much as of Singapore. Countries such as Canada had also given permanent residence to maid caregivers after two years of employment. Although I feel that giving permanent residence to these domestic helpers is a little too extreme, it was still an effort as compared to exploiting them. Things are ugly in Singapore, as compared to these countries.

 

Few years back, there were news of maid abuse and conflicts between the domestic helpers and the employers sprouting. Some helpers were burnt by cigarettes and irons; others were forced to climb out of the windows to clean the glasses of the HDB flats. Isn’t maid abuse another form of exploitations as well? Their freedom of movement is already restricted, yet they still have to suffer the scoldings and do all the never- ending chores in silence. Moreover, they were not entitled to day leave at all. They are paid minimal and have to do the maximum. I do not think this is right and believe these should not have happen in the modern society which emphasizes human rights and freedom of speech.

 

In the past, the age of maids employed was ambiguous but many employees did not mind too much. Little did they know that they could have broken the law by employing underaged domestic helpers. Giving these employers the benefit of doubt that they were not sure of the laws and regulations involved for hiring maids, this ignorance can pose a huge problem if anything happens. When problems which might break the law occur, many a time, they are settled between the agencies and the customers. The agencies would sweep everything under the carpet and try to appease the customer with another maid. I was glad that the government had imposed restrictions on the age of the domestic helpers as these strict guidelines are clearer and agencies will have difficulty to breach them.

 

Personally, I am very uncomfortable to live with a stranger under one roof for a year or two. I understand that the parents of today’s families are often busy with their work and are trying to balance between family and work. However, I do not think that hiring a domestic helper will solve the problem. In fact, it might worsen the problem. When there is little or no trust between the employer and the helper, the employer cannot help but worry if the helper is doing anything hideous. News of helpers getting pregnant have further increased the worries of the employers. More complicated procedures are involved and the employers have to spend more time dealing with them. Then these employers will be busier than before. This becomes a vicious cycle. Although the government measures have reduced the possibility of exploitation of these helpers, there are still many problems to be discovered. This is not a domestic issue but involves the international bilateral ties as well.