Thread by @visakanv, So tomorrow is the 53rd anniversary of Singapore's independence from Malaysia, and [...]

So tomorrow is the 53rd anniversary of Singapore's independence from Malaysia, and since most of my followers are American, it feels like an appropriate time to maybe do an oral history thread about my city? Let me (badly) sing you the story of my people

Singapore is older than people think. It's an island-city along a major global shipping/trading route! (LOCATION!) It was part of the Srivijaya & Majapahit empires, claimed by the Siamese, Javanese, then Malacca and Johor. You can see "Cingapura" in this Portuguese map from 1619

Relative to most countries in the world, Singapore is very small. You can walk from one end of the island to the other within a day. We make up 0.07% of the global population. Here's SG placed next to Japan, in Lake Michigan, in the UK, in Dallas, TX... WE ARE SMOL. 5.6m people

Singapore is usually known globally for a few things:

- Instagrammable infinity pool at MBS
- death penalty for drug trafficking
- corporal punishment
- chewing gum ban
- fines for littering
- Trump-Kim Summit

*none* of these are things that I think/care about on a daily basis

Whenever I come home to Singapore after travelling, I think...

- my airport is gorgeous
- everything is so clean and safe and just works
- I miss all the food; I need to eat *everything*
- singlish is my language; abrasive and succinct
- the infrastructure is almost 'overdone'

While I don't usually actively think "I like how multicultural my home is" – it's something I enjoy and appreciate. Singapore isn't perfect; we still have racial tensions and friction and so on. But overall, in a global context, I think we do alright https://twitter.com/visakanv/status/1022076187168759808

https://twitter.com/visakanv/status/1022076187168759808

When you Google "Singapore", you're going to mostly get pictures of all the money shots of the city skyline. And I do love the city; it hums with possibility and ambition. But when I think "home", I think of hanging out in the heartlands. (more in thread) https://twitter.com/visakanv/status/1017366252107382785

https://twitter.com/visakanv/status/1017366252107382785

I often see this narrative that SG was a swampy backwater before Lee Kuan Yew showed up & turned it into a bustling metropolis. I think this narrative is inaccurate and harmful. Again, SG has always been along a critical global shipping route! Here are pics from the 1920s

SG was occupied by the Japanese during WW2 (1942-1945)

- ~100,000 allied troops killed or imprisoned
- Between 50,000 to 100,000 Chinese young men were rounded up and killed
- people were decapitated; heads were put on pikes in the city, food was scarce, terrible conditions

My friend @mengwong has a compelling argument that modern Singapore is still very much shaped and influenced by the aftermath and aftershock of war. In a way, Singaporeans grew up as immigrants/refugees in their own country (which was freshly invented!). https://docs.google.com/document/d/1LEtNhjf9dmvBV328MDR5EMdDlg9Eo6FDyN_XNan_P0w/edit?usp=sharing

Wake Up Our Ideas

Wake Up Our Ideas conciliation through detachment a manifesto for the new Singaporean generation CC-BY-SA started 20160307 This book is for the Suffocating Young Singaporean: the upper-middle-class...

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1LEtNhjf9dmvBV328MDR5EMdDlg9Eo6FDyN_XNan_P0w/edit?usp=sharing

Common criticisms of Singapore include:

- sterile (true-ish)
- boring / "soulless" (ugh)
- politically apathetic
- nanny state, repressive
- $$-obsessed

There is truth in all of this... but it's not like we *want* to be this way. We're a work in progress. We want to be better

I'll end with one of my fav pics: a young couple by the waterfront, laughing, having the time of their lives. I have many criticisms & nitpicks, but I love this country and can't do it justice in 1 thread. If you visit, hit me up & I'll show you around https://twitter.com/visakanv/status/1022086906287288321