This happened when I was in Primary school.
Atiqah was the only Muslim in her group of good friends, who were all Chinese, and she would always have lunch with them during breaks. Even during Ramadan, Atiqah’s friends would still ask her to join them while they eat despite knowing that she needs to fast. Atiqah always feel uneasy to look at them eat while she has to fast during the day. However, she did not dare to tell the rest how she felt because she was afraid of being labeled as anti-social. Hence, the rest of her friends also became ignorant about her feelings. There was no direct argument or conflict between Atiqah and her good friends but she felt unhappy that her friends were unaware of her feelings.
Fasting is a way to teach the Muslims patience, sacrifice and humility. Thus, during Ramadan when the Muslims have to fast for the day, we should be sensitive and not eat or drink in front of them, as it is a temptation for them. We might not know the significance behind fasting but we should be receptive and aware of how the Muslims will feel towards our actions such as in this incident. In this case, I think Atiqah’s friends should ask her if she would feel uneasy to join them for lunch before actually asking her to join them. If she expressed that she feels uneasy, they should be accommodating and not force her.
This situation can commonly be seen in a multi-racial country like Singapore. We should always compromise and accommodate practices of another culture. Just knowing about the practices of other cultures might not be sufficient, as we might know their beliefs but not do anything to prevent misunderstandings. Being culturally sensitive will be more effective in minimizing intercultural misunderstandings and conflicts.
Research topic on Organic Food
Saturday, September 6, 2008
12:51 AM
Food is important in our lives and one big problem that the world is facing, is the decreasing amount of food resources. In Singapore, the price of food has always been increasing and in recent years, it has increased more rapidly.
One way to solve this problem of decreasing amount of food resources in Singapore is the production of organic food, which is also the main focus of this research.
The main causes that had led to the decreasing amount of food resources are the increase in world population, usage of food resources to produce biofuels and the increase in the number of foodborne illnesses around the world. And all these factors that happened in the world will affect the amount of food resources in Singapore.
However, do many Singaporeans know about this problem of decreasing food resources? And are they aware that organic food can serve as an alternative food and its potential benefits?
This problem actually applies to every part of the world hence everyone should play a part. Moreover, this problem is extremely crucial to Singapore because we depend almost totally on the import of food. The production of organic food can be costly, but there are many benefits. It is also a way for Singapore to be self-sufficient.
The general research question will be “Do Singaporean housewives know much about organic food and are they willing to purchase organic food?” I chose this target group because they are the ones who cook for the family and are more concern about the well-being of the family.
Research must be done to find out more about organic food and also investigate whether organic food really has higher nutritional values. An attitudinal survey can also be gathered to know whether Singaporean housewives support the production of organic food in Singapore and more importantly, whether they know much about the alternate means of food, which in this case is the production of organic food.
Thus, the general research question will be whether Singaporean housewives are supportive of the production of organic food. If they are not in favor of the production of organic food, we can also find out why they are against this idea and this will allow us to look deeper into the disadvantages of organic food.
-edited on 7 September
Solution to conflict
Friday, September 5, 2008
10:00 PM
Thanks everyone for your comments!
This problem was actually a real argument but it has already been solved quite a while ago.
Both of us realized that we had different opinions and there is no point forcing each other to accept the other person’s point of view. We also apologized to each other for being too emotional. And we also think that having different point of views can instead help us get a more in depth view for all these issues. We were also glad that we were willing to talk about all these so that we will not have any misunderstandings in the future!
“Separate work from play”
I agree with that too. But, to both of us, our friendship and choir are interlinked. This is because we really love singing and this choir is made up of all our friends. However, I am sure that when a real problem arises, we will stand together and solve it together! :)
