Stay united despite differences

I was disturbed to read the article, "Apple store slammed over racist incident" (Nov 13), which reported that some students of African descent were told to leave an Apple store in Melbourne for fear that they might "steal something".

I was also flabbergasted to read about other instances of racial attacks taking place in a developed country like Australia.

This is a matter of concern to Singapore. Our multiracial and multi-religious background makes us even more vulnerable to such attacks.

In fact, the escalating number of foreigners here has led many Singaporeans to become xenophobic. They fear that the immigrants bring their own set of cultural ideas which may not blend with our local culture, leading to a dissolution of Singapore's identity.

The contributions of foreigners are important to Singapore for many economic and social reasons.

I hope foreigners and locals can embrace their differences and stay united by their similarities.

Shangkari Rasandran (Miss), 20, First-year university student

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