Singapore’s first major riot in four decades is forcing the wealthy island to confront a stubborn but vexing question: how to treat low-paid foreign workers whose muscle underpins much of the economy but whose presence increasingly riles its citizens.
Images of rioters overturning police cars, throwing garbage bins and burning an ambulance in Singapore’s Little India on Sunday night shocked the orderly Southeast Asian nation and stirred debate over whether foreign workers should be better integrated or see their numbers reduced.
“This is just a tip of the iceberg,” said Gayathiri, 30, an engineer who lives near the scene of the riots and goes by one name.
“I hope the government will take it as a wake-up call. We need foreigners to boost our economy, but not at the expense of our security,” she added, echoing a widely held sentiment.
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See the analogies? What happens when the “entitlements” are decreased or shut off in the United States?
David DeGerolamo
