EURASIANS - Who Are We? (please share so more will understand) 1) There has been a lot of attention on the Singapore Eurasian Community of late. Some people think we are “Ang-Moh”, some people call us foreigners or even imported talent. Technically, they may be right, but only if you are referring to our forefathers who arrived here about 200 years ago, and since then the foreign Europeans who wed Asians. Then again, if you really think about it, unless you are of the Malay heritage that originated in Singapore before the 15th Century, all the rest are foreigners, including the Chinese. 2) But be informed that the Eurasians have been part of Singapore’s culture and beginnings, long before the 1900s. In mid-1940s, Eurasians started holding positions as administrators in government departments, managers in banks. In 1950s they were leaders in our judiciary, political parties and yes, one even rose to be the President of Singapore. Our video clip (credit to The People’s Association and Eurasian Association) shows you The Champions of our Community. 3) The following information on the Eurasian Community is credited to: The Eurasian Association Singapore – eurasians.org.sg/eurasians-in-singapore/ *As the name suggests, Eurasians are descendants of a marital union between a European and an Asian. We are considered living testimony and descendants of the Europeans who came to this part of the world between the 16th and 18th Century. These were during the colonial eras of the Portuguese, Dutch and the British. Yet we do have an Asian element to our heritage. For some it would be on the maternal side generations ago, for others it would be the fact that we were born on Asian soil. Nonetheless, we are recognized as one of the domiciled communities of Singapore. Eurasians are one of Singapore’s earliest residents. Our origins are linked to various ports in the region, where Europeans had settled in, including Malacca, Goa, Ceylon, Bencoolen, Macao and Penang. Some of the earliest recorded Eurasians in Singapore, some as early as 1820s, came with Raffles from Beencolen, or from Penang or Malacca. These early Eurasian family names include Ferrao (1820), Dias (1821), D’Almeida (1825), Leicester (1826-27), Woodford (1836), McIntyre (1939), Sequeira (1837), Oliveiro (1844), Gomes (1949), De Rozario (1849) and Clarke (1850s) to name a few. The term “Eurasian” was perhaps first used officially in the Straits Settlements records in 1849, in the population census encompassed several smaller ethnic groups. Prior to this, the population census included groups that came from various regions – Native Christians (which included the Luso-Malays, Serani or Kristiang communities from Peninsula Malaya), Indo-Britons (which included the Anglo-Indians, Luso-Indians, Ceylon Burghers, Dutch Burghers and Portuguese Mechanics), Armenians and Jews. Eurasians are rich heirs to a hybrid of traditions and customs from both the East and West. Most are of the Christian faith, with religious celebrations being an integral part of our lifestyle. Having passed several generations, with interesting family trees, we are mostly Asians yet with shades of European ancestry, heritage and upbringing, hence the term, “Eurasian”. Some may recognizably look more Asian, but our foremost link to our European ancestry is our family surnames. 4) In her book The Eurasian Face, Kirsteen Zimmern described the Eurasian: No one represents diversity better than Eurasians: those people with a mix of Caucasian and Asian heritage. The Eurasian face has become the face that sells. It is the face with which everyone can identify. In an ever-shrinking world, the search is on for a one-size-fits-all global image, and Eurasians have become the world’s poster boys and girls. Taking advantage of increasingly tolerant times and the growing commercial and cultural exchanges between Asia and the rest of the world, Eurasians have found success as actors, entrepreneurs, professionals and athletes. 5) Yup! Whatever the case, I can confidently say that Eurasians are different and a majority are damn good looking! e.g Joseph Schooling, Eunice Olsen (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eunice_Olsen), Cheryl Marie Cordeiro (cmariec/) Denise Keller (puncaktanggalagu.blogspot.sg/2011/07/denise-lorraine-keller-singaporean.html) just to name afew. Here is a link to more Eurasian talent around the world (thatsilvergirl.blogspot.sg/2011/07/im-eurasian.html) 6) Whatever the case, we Singapore Eurasians prefer to be seen first as Singaporeans and second as Eurasians. Through the years we have sacrificed and toiled together with other Singaporeans to build this nation. We are confident of our identity and ability to see ourselves as citizens of Singapore, and in the big picture, Citizens of the World.
Posted on: Mon, 06 Oct 2014 12:10:24 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015