Walking down the back lanes of Arab Street, you may find Turkish or Middle Eastern restaurants. Shops selling clothes for ladies can be found in that area too. So can shops where shisha smoking is available. That too is where my problem with Arab Street begins.
Arab Street got its name from its past. Some believe that the name Arab Street came from the fact that its previous owner, Syed Ali Bin Mohamed Al Junied was and Arab merchant. Others believe it was due to the outlining of areas Sir Stamford Raffles did while outlining the areas allocated to the government. (Wikipedia.org)
No matter if the name was to be different, but what happens in Arab Street now does not reflect its past or its name. Arab Street used to be an area where the Javanese were the main inhibitors of the area. Spices and textiles were the few of the many things sold in Arab Street. The Javanese women sold homegrown flowers and lime too.
Spices, textiles and flowers are still being sold in Arab Street today. So how does this link back to my problem with shisha smoking, you ask? Besides the fact that shisha smoking is multiple times worse than cigarette smoking for your health, where exactly does shisha smoking lie in the whole culture that is present in Arab Street?
For me, I would say nowhere. Mainly because shisha smoking originated from the North Western provinces of India and were adopted by the Arabs. Okay fine, you may say that it isn’t a reason that justifies my stand towards shisha smoking in the back lanes of Arab Street. What if I said that Arab Street used to be a residential area, home to many people? And that the land was forcefully snatched away from them because they apparently did not have any papers to certify them as the legal owners of the land? How again does shisha smoking portray the residential lives of the people who lived there back in our past, our history? Arab Street used to be a place where people worked hard for a living. The image that is being portrayed now is a complete opposite of that. Now, with shisha smoking being a widespread phenomenon in the back lanes of Arab Street, it portrays a very relaxed image. Now, it looks like Arab Street is a place where people go to relieve them of the stress of the world. Contradictory to popular believes, shisha, as I mentioned above, is bad for your health. Even worse than cigarette smoking. So how does that even rid you of your worldly stress?
Reverting back to my reason which states that Arab Street used to be a residential area, the presence of shisha smoking shops changes the common space of the area. If you are unfamiliar with the concept of common space, it refers to an area that is commonly shared by everyone. When it was a residential area a long time ago, the common space was within the residents. Now, it is a common space for tourists and locals who come to smoke shisha. People who used to live there have lost their sense of belonging to the area because what Arab Street is now, isn’t what Arab Street was then. Urban redevelopment plans initiated by the government has caused a loss the culture and identity of Arab Street. Tourists who come to visit Arab Street aren’t getting the correct picture of Arab Street. Is it really worth it? I know urban redevelopment plans are done to modernize the city that we call home. But is modernization really worth all the heritage and culture that is lost in the process? Why is it that we can’t preserve that heritage that was the building blocks of our society while modernizing our world? Why is it that we can’t have a compromise, a place somewhere in between where progress is still possible and heritage is still kept?
I propose for us to have a heritage center in the midst of Arab Street that portrays the history and cultures of the area. A place dedicated to our past, reminding us of where we came from. If statues along the Singapore River, reminding us of our past, are possible, I do not see why a heritage center is not. It could be set in one of the many shop houses in the area, making the feel of the center a lot more… realistic. It could be set such that the heritage center shows the lives of the people who lived in Arab Street a long time ago. The guides of the center could be past residents, sharing their experiences living in a place like Arab Street. Looking into the future, the heritage center would ensure that the history… those stories of our past would never be lost. The heritage center could be the sanctuary where the history of Arab Street lives on, while the city around it progresses and modernizes as the years pass by.
Looking at the solution from a different perspective, from the perspective of the shop owners at least, the presence of the heritage center would not disrupt their business. Like I said, the center could be a sanctuary where history lives on while the world around it progresses. The heritage center would serve as a reminder of our roots, keeping us rooted to where we truly belong and what truly brought us to where we are now as a city, as a nation. The presence of the heritage center would not hinder national progress nor would it hinder the economic growth of the nation. I therefore do not see why the government would think otherwise. Museums have been built to preserve culture, tradition and history so it is only fair that the history of Arab Street gets the same preservation.
Therefore I am calling out to all of you whether or not you stay in the Arab Street area to push for a heritage center with me because I believe that it deserves a place in our Singapore history, our Singaporean story.
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