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Opinions/perspective

Vendredi 25 août 2006
Kavvie alerted me to a couple of articles in the Malaysian newspaper The Star: " Multiculturalism – how can it be wrong?" by NG KAM WENG Research Director (Kairos Research Centre) 25th August and "Debunking multiculturalism" by MD ASLAM AHMAD,Fellow (Centre for Syariah, Law and Political Science, Insitute of Islamic Understanding Malaysia) 22nd Aug.

compare this to BBC's So what exactly is multiculturalism?

I am trying to unravel this in my own head - from looking at it in the Malaysian perspective where Muslims are in the majority and in the UK where Muslims are in the minotiry. Is there/ should there be a difference..is it only between the Muslims and the non Muslims? I suppose in todays troubled climate...its that which comes into people's mind.

In Malaysia, I cannot help but remember the race riots May13 1969  I was 11 at the time and have a few memories of that period - being told not to put my head out of the window or risk being shot and the curfews. However, that is when multiculturalism fail, isn't it? When we cease to respects each others differences.

In the UK, there are now talks of integration and resistance towards that...as a Chinese, I refute being totally integrated into any other culture but would fight to maintain the integrity of my own roots - whatever they might be. I would respect that for anybody's needs...their sense of identity, and yet against the ghetto mentality - in what ever form that might be. I would not want to be segregated and live in a dormitory or an area specially designated for people with disabilities - would I mind being in an all Chinese neighbourhood? or an all white area? I suspect I would, I really prefer to have diversity.

I am not sure where I stand on this issue philiosophically or even politically.
Par eleanor
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Samedi 21 octobre 2006
Quite a few people knew I went to London for an interview to be part of an advisory board and they asked me how I did. I said I was terrible I didnt answer the questions at all well. I did not really prepare for it, maybe I should have done a bit more research. But how much experience do they want from people on such a panel? I thought they had said they were not expecting people who had national organisations experience.

I felt I really did not show that I had much to do with the disability community right now. So I am going to make an effort. I am not sure where I get to meet other disabled people. I tried to join something at the university but there do not seem to be much going on. When I was at the university at UT-Austin, the disability office had meetings to get to know other students with disabilities but where I am now, I get the impression that they are inundated by helping students about advice about grants, getting support etc. I am not really a student neither so they are not that inclined to answer my queries. Its experiences like these which makes me want to go into that field myself but I am not in that field - it seems like people who does this kind of jobs started off in social work - this is the type of experience that they want.

It seems like I should rethink what I want to do more of in the future and work towards it. However I think the people who are activist becomes political about it and professional. Very often I find I have so many windmills of my own to fight that I dont  want to know more...and then at times I get really passionate about it. However that is not true because it would be good to find someone to share it or a group. And I do not want to be pigeon holed so that all I do is involved in disability. It really is not an easy balance.

Maybe I should start my own.
Par eleanor
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Books I am reading

Xiaolu Guo
A Concise Chinese-English Dictionary for Lovers
A love story - cultural differences, misunderstandings and yes, I see what she is saying.
concise.jpg
Su Tong
Binu and the Great Wall


Binu and the Great Wall

Binu And The Great Wall is a wonderful myth retold in the words of Su Tong, the author of ‘Rice’.  The myth of Binu and how her tears washed away the Great Wall have been passed down through the ages. It is a tale of hardship, brutality and undying love. Su Tong’s version of the myth, brings to the reader the harshness and brutality that led to the constuction of the wall and the terrible effects it had on the common people.

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