Human Dignity

Just got back from dinner at clementi and I'm now at DE Club room. Something struck me just now as I was dining there. I was sharing a table with a pair of couples and when they left, an old lady selling tissue paper came over, took out a plastic bag, took the plate of leftovers of the couple who left and then scoop them into the plastic bag.

Why? Who is it for? In Singapore with such high GDP and high standard of living and yet there are minorities who are living on leftovers of others? Where is the human dignity of these people?

I feel for the old lady as I look at her in the eyes. Without saying a word, when our eyes met, I knew she was embarrassed with what she did and she looked away, moving back to her bag which wrote 'Self-Living Asthmatic'.. Was she without kids or family? Is the Government doing anything to help them? Or is she a tool of some other capitalist to help them earn money by exploiting the sympathy of the public?

Often than not, when we see these people selling tissue papers, we raise our hands to signal 'NO' faster than when we were asked to raise our hands to answering questions or to give opinions. Why are people behaving in this manner? Is it because they are unsympathetic or is it because they are being wary of these elderly being tools of other capitalists? I choose to give these people the benefit of doubt and choose not to think that they are tools of other capitalist.

Looking at this from the recent CPF policy changes, the Govt mentioned that it is a safety net to ensure that these people will still have the human dignity to continue living when they are old. However, this will be applicable only for those who are working now and in future, and hence, what about those who are not having that human dignity now? Is the Govt doing anything to help these people to live the last lap of their lives with human dignity?

I don't have the answers to these questions but I urge all of you who come across these elderly to buy the tissue packs from them. It is just $1. I believe you will be able to afford it.