It’s easy to take a ‘us vs them’ in the whole immigration debate. As we’ve come to experience in the past 10 years since the influx of foreigners, there are nice ones, there are nasty ones...and then there are others – who are just like us.

Mothership.sg spoke to some of them about the concept of home, living in Singapore and their memories in our little red dot.

Welyon Sutjipto, Indonesian, 28, freelance Video Editor

"My family and I have been here since 1997 and my siblings and I have gone through the local education system since primary school. Apart from having an Indonesian passport I'm pretty much Singaporean.

Singapore is pretty amazing. The standard plaudits like clean, safe, friendly, convenient aside, as far as I remember nobody really cared or treated me differently because I'm from a different country. There are a lot of opportunities open to everyone too which is not something you can say about a lot of places in the region.

It would be extremely difficult for me to have to resettle myself in Indonesia at this point, as I'd say I've inherited a Singaporean worldview and all the mannerisms of a Singaporean. To put it in a way, I don't feel anything when a plane I'm in lands in Soekarno-Hatta or Juanda (Jakarta and Surabaya, my hometown) but I feel a little bit relieved and warm and fuzzy when it lands in Changi. Every time.

One of the most interesting things to happen to me was in my first year in secondary school-bear in mind I wasn't quite 'Singaporeanised' yet at that point- and I was selected to be a part of that year's NDP mass display at the old national stadium. Back then I was quite puzzled as to why an Indonesian would be picked to be part of the parade, but it was a pretty cool experience. Sadly I had high fever on national day so I wasn't able to go in the end. But I still remember the months of burnt weekends under the hot sun. As I remember it, our school field was so barren by the end when a wind blew on it, it was like an old Western movie."

Bauto, Katrina "Kat", Filipino, 26, Advertising Associate Account Director

"Moving to Singapore is one of the biggest (if not the biggest) decision I have ever made so far. It changed my life.

For the first time, I have no parents who will wait for me to get home (yup, they still do that even after graduation), no one there to prepare my food, wash dishes or do laundry for me (we had really nice house helpers growing up), no one to clean my mess, no one to drive me to work, no one to cook chicken soup when I get sick, etc etc.... yes, I miss the comforts of my home. For the first time, I am missing out on watching my dad’s big basketball games or mom’s spaghetti Sundays. For the first time, I’m not in a “barkada” getaway/ dinner/ Christmas photo. For the first time, I don’t hear Christmas songs as early as September. But also for the first time, I learned how and what it means to stand up on my two own feet.

It’s been two years since I moved here. And those “missing out moments” were replaced by new hobbies, new skills, new interests, new sights, and new friends. Singapore is so dynamic that there’s always something to keep you busy and entertained.

Love is a strong word but I am committing to my feelings towards Singapore. I love Singapore! I love how efficient it is here (my fellow Filipinos will understand). I went to Ted Talk recently and learned about the science of planning and building HDBs. I was really blown away by how much work and calculated decisions are put into building homes. I enjoy the parks here, hawker food, and teh peng. During the last election period, I love that Singaporeans engage in healthy conversations and debates. During CNY, I love that everyone upholds the tradition of celebrating family, prosperous opportunities and food!

Going back home is a great feeling especially during the holidays. As you may know, Christmas is the biggest and brightest holiday in Manila so it’s mandatory of us to go home, much like how Singaporeans feel about CNY. But for some reason, after all the festivities, I started to miss my life and routine here in Singapore. I do consider Singapore as home now and would be open to staying here for a long time. There’s always a feeling of relief and calmness every time I scan my passport entering Changi.”

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