Stigma and Discrimination 1.What 2.Impact 3.Socially Engaged Buddhism: - Migrant Workers – Gotong Royong - LGBTQ – Statement, Talk at Pelangi Ctr 4.What Can We Buddhists Do? 5.My Insights - Socially Engaged Buddhism 6.“Communist” - Precious Gems’ Dharma journey Yap Ching Wi Discrimination Discrimination is when you’re treated differently and worse than someone else for certain reasons Stigma a mark of disgrace associated with a particular circumstance, quality, or person. shame, disgrace, dishonour Discrimination Discrimination is when you’re treated differently and worse than someone else for certain reasons. Because of: age disability gender reassignment marriage or civil partnership pregnancy and maternity race religion or belief sex sexual orientation Also because of: who you are (personal) who someone thinks you are (perception) someone you’re with (association) Impact of Stigma Isolation - lack of social capital Rejection – reduced life opportunities Hostility – even violence Marginalised – faced discrimination and exclusion For a person - Lack of self-worth - Tendendy to self-harm - Depression from self-loath - Cannot build healthy Relationships - Lifelong suffering Types of Discrimination 1. Direct discrimination 2. Indirect discrimination - it places you personally at a disadvantage - the person applying the policy, practice or rule can’t show there’s a good enough reason for it 3. Justifying discrimination People are allowed to discriminate against you if they have a good enough reason for doing so but it must be appropriate and necessary. Egs: health, safety and welfare of individuals, running an efficient service, requirements of a business and desire to make profit Can saving money be a legitimate aim? Economic reasons alone are not enough to justify discrimination. Someone can’t justify discrimination by saying it’s cheaper to discriminate. But costs can be taken into account as part of the justification if the person can show there are other good enough reasons for the treatment. Universal Human Rights - Basis of All Types of Discriminations Human rights are rights inherent to all human beings, whatever our nationality, place of residence, sex, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, language, or any other status. We are all equally entitled to our human rights without discrimination. These rights are all interrelated, interdependent and indivisible. Universal human rights are often expressed and guaranteed by law, in the forms of treaties, customary international law , general principles and other sources of international law. International human rights law lays down obligations of Governments to act in certain ways or to refrain from certain acts, in order to promote and protect human rights and fundamental freedoms of individuals or groups. Principles: Universal and inalienable Interdependent and indivisible Equal and non-discriminatory Both Rights and Obligations At the individual level, while we are entitled our human rights, we should also respect the human rights of others. UN Declaration of Human Rights Human Trafficing – migrant workers, domestic workers, sex workers 30 articles ISA – detention without trial LGBTQ cannot marry MIGRANT WORKERS – Many ways wrong that they are treated Repatriation companies – take advantage of employers' fears of losing their $5000 security deposit. By utilising their services, employers are taking shortcuts in handling work place conflicts and industrial disputes. By turning a blind eye to them, the authorities seem to be openly endorsing activities which flout the law. All are complicit in the systemic abuse of the rights of migrant workers. Can the police help? 'You can call the Police for all I care,' said Francis, the Director of UTR Services, According to Mr Xia, he called the Police 3 times for help during the entire period but his pleas to them went unheeded. http://www.theonlinecitizen.com/2009/01/14/toc-expose-repatriation-companies/ Ashraful helped by HOME to escape repatration. He worked 4 years in Singapore Serious Back injury - spent 2 months in NUH waiting for employer to provide a letter of gaurantee to pay for his operation. Doctor recommended :as soon as possible” MOM informed but did not intervene to expadite surgery http://www.tnp.sg/news/singapore-news/some- singapores-worst-maid-abusers What we can do for migrant workers 1. Educate ourselves on the discrimination & unlawful practices 2. Take action, help them: - create awareness on social media & among friends - volunteer and donate to HOME or TWC2 3. Take action, change policies and legislation home.org.sg twc2.org.sg Socially Engaged Buddhism Thich Nhat Hanh: Engaged Buddhism is just Buddhism. When bombs begin to fall on people, you cannot stay in the meditation hall all of the time. Meditation is about the awareness of what is going on-not only in your body and in your feelings, but all around you. Buddhism has to do with your daily life, with your suffering and with the suffering of the people around you. You have to learn how to help a wounded child while still practicing mindful breathing. You should not allow yourself to get lost in action. Action should be meditation at the same time. http://www.lionsroar.com/in-engaged-buddhism-peace-begins-with-you/ Socially Engaged Buddhism People often feel that they need to choose between being engaged in social change or working on personal and spiritual growth. What would you say to those people? Thich Nhat Hanh: I think that view is rather dualistic. The practice should address suffering: the suffering within yourself and the suffering around you. They are linked to each other. When you go to the mountain and practice alone, you don’t have the chance to recognize the anger, jealousy and despair that’s in you. That’s why it’s good that you encounter people—so you know these emotions. So that you can recognize them and try to look into their nature. If you don’t know the roots of these afflictions, you cannot see the path leading to their cessation. That’s why suffering is very important for our practice. http://www.lionsroar.com/in-engaged-buddhism-peace-begins-with-you/ Socially Engaged Buddhism Thich Nhat Hanh: In Buddhist psychology, we speak of consciousness in terms of seeds. We have a seed of anger in us. We have a seed of compassion in us. The practice is to help the seed of compassion to grow and the seed of anger to shrink. When you express your anger you think that you are getting anger out of your system, but that’s not true. When you express your anger, either verbally or with physical violence, you are feeding the seed of anger, and it becomes stronger in you. It’s a dangerous practice. That’s why recognizing the seed of anger and trying to neutralize it with understanding and compassion is the only way to reduce the anger in us. If you don’t understand the cause of your anger, you can never transform it. http://www.lionsroar.com/in-engaged-buddhism-peace-begins-with-you/ A Socially Engaged Buddhist Initiative in Singapore – giving 天堂与人间 (1) Heaven and Earth voice to bus drivers However, six months into mysystem job here, here I wasfound rather myself rigid coming and guided back to by reality elitism ( ). I realised that the on strike, what do 人间 ). At the workplace, people only looked at paper qualifications. ( 精英主义 they have to say There was hardly As any workers, chance we to were speak told with not the to questionmanagement decisions if you made could bynot speak English. about Singapore? the top. We offered suggestions to no avail so we tried our best to obey and endured. We noticed that some Singaporean workers experienced pressure too. Over time, we all ended up unconsciously accepting the system and it became a way of life. It must be unhealthy to keep enduring without being able to speak up. At work, I saw my fellow Singaporean workers facing stress and I wished that the system could be more flexible. Come to think of it, a system is meant to serve the people,So right? people It was should designed be placed by people above and the developed system rather by people, than to serve people. the system placed above people.) so I wished that quality that therecan be can raised be more for both humanity workers ) and flexibility ( 变通 ( 人情味 and management. I reflected while adjusting to this system and realised that my expectations were too high. Eventually I had to go back and look for jobs in my country. Perhaps I could find a workplace that would be flexible and listened more to In a job, salary is not the only consideration, a sense of the workers. happiness and dignity is very importantHe too. Jun Ling, one of the bus drivers on strike A Socially Engaged Buddhist Initiative in Singapore – giving voice to bus drivers Opening the Door to Others - We All Have Parents on strike, what do - 2) 多沟通 ), clearing 将心比心 they have to say 衡平 rather than sideways ( about Singapore? It seemed that when interacting 往里开）with others, the common way was) and to open the door inwards towards oneself ( 交流 more space for passing through. It would be much easier to walk through). a door that opened sideways. )There between would people be more on both interaction sides of ( the人情味 door. If we communication ( 沟通 communicated more, there would be more compassion ( In my life here, I made many friends, especially those from the older generation. Many of them were from China so they felt closer to us and treated us well. When I drove the bus, the seniors would smile and talk to me as, they boarded. I !"#$%&' could not understand their dialects but I could feel their谁没父母 care. I always made sure that they sat down firmly before stepping on my accelerator.