SINGAPORE — A Singaporean man took to social media to talk about how he felt like he did not belong here because of a multitude of reasons, and had to move overseas.
In an anonymous post to popular confessions page SGWhispers, the man wrote that he was thankful for the opportunities given here, “I am fully aware how privileged we are to be given good education in a politically stable environment. But my mind can’t help but to remember all the negatives”.
He wrote that he was not academically inclined and was passed over in what he considered to be an “academic-focused country”. He added that he was bullied and often did not get to see his parents as they worked hard to battle the high cost of living.
“All the times I got bullied at work as a local by foreigners and expats as an adult. It’s not that I hate Singapore or anything. I just feel like I don’t belong, even if I try my hardest”, he wrote.
“I can’t come home. I can’t BTO with my non-SGrean partner. I can’t afford housing in SG. I can’t start building a life or family here and stick to my roots. And I feel like a complete failure as a Singaporean not being able to integrate myself into my own country. It’s really weird to be a foreigner overseas and feel more accepted and normal than I was back home”, the man added in his post.
“The longing for belonging, the sadness of leaving everything you know behind, and the feeling of being left behind as the country progresses in a direction where they’re making it very clear you won’t have a place in Singapore. I am trying to find happiness overseas, and one thing that does make me a bit happier is that I can be happy overseas, but not in SG. And I’m slowly learning to accept that”, he said. Netizens who commented on his post sympathised with him.
Here’s what they said:
