Wake Up Mother

Wake up wake up my child. Its your birthday today. Make a wish any wish for they say wishes will come true on your birthday.

I wish, I wish that all my friends are not going to leave this country because they feel disenchanted.

"Some of my friends who have decided that their futures don't rest in Singapore have told me plainly they feel no reason to stay and fight for people who don't see the value of democracy or increased accountability." -- Gayle

Hush now my child, they leave because they are just spoilt brats who are stupid and immature. Who do not know what they want. Its a phase, they will learn. Grow up and out of this rebelliousness.

Wake up wake up my love. Its your birthday today. Make a wish any wish for they say wishes come true on your birthday.

I wish, I wish we can stop hiding my sexuality. That a prize-winning poem on lesbianism is recognised as such in the country I live in. That I can write, live here without the stigma of the unnatural, the criminal on me.

"I live in a country where the national paper will announce that a poem has won a foreign prize, but they will not willingly add (until much later) that it is written from a lesbian perspective. What the paper’s employees think of homosexuality and its criminalisation has nothing to do with this" -- Sayoni

Hush now my love, the country is not ready for this. People still fear you and what you represent. What is a little hiding so that people are soothed? People are just not ready.

Wake up, wake up my dear. Its your birthday today. Make a wish any wish for they say wishes can come true on your birthday.

I wish, I wish, I can just stop for a while and rest. If I do not keep up, I will be retrenched. If I do not upgrade myself, I will lose relevance and be lost. I have to be successful, there is no other way in Singapore, but I am tired when will this struggle end?

"I’m always
almost very nearly
there,
but never quite
there yet.
It seems that the
same goes for
nearly everyone else
in this peculiar,
perpetually
hungry
little nation
of ours." -- Social Ambitions, Gilbert Koh

Hush now my dear, you know Singapore is small, our economy is dependent on the world. the only way for the country and for you to have a future is to keep working hard. trust the Government. Listen to them. Don't stop for a moment or the chance will pass you by. And you cannot afford that. The country cannot afford that.

Wake up, wake up my friend. Its your birthday today. Make a wish any wish for they say wishes may come true on your birthday.

I wish, I wish, that I do not feel so alone in Singapore. Is it wrong for me to want more expression? To want to write a play without censorship? To make a film without censorship? To write without the fear of an invisible OB marker or an invitation to an interview by the authorities?

"This is my future; where is my life?" -- Molly Meek

Hush now my friend, you are no alone. No one stops you from expressing your views in Singapore. The regulations on the Arts, on performance are there because Singapore is a multi-racial country. We need some responsibility to ensure Singapore's stability. For with stability, than the economy is safeguarded. All these Western ideas of street protests are just a waste of your money, taxpayer's money. You can afford to worry like this only because of the economic stability we have.

Wake up, wake up my readers. Its our birthday today. Guess we are grown up. Guess we will stop the wishes. The first steps are always th hardest. But at least we're less alone than before.

Happy Birthday.

Quote of the Day --

"Mother, should I build the wall?
Mother, should I run for president?
Mother, should I trust the government?
Mother, will they put me in the firing line?
Or is it just a waste of time?

Hush now baby, baby, don't you cry.

Mamma's gonna make all of your nightmares come true,
Mamma's gonna put all of her fears into you,
Mamma's gonna keep you right here, under her wing.
She won't let you fly, but she might let you sing,
Mamma's gonna keep baby cosy and warm.
Of course Mamma's gonna help build the wall" -- Pink Floyd