Others Is Not A Race

Book excerpt: What is a Eurasian? Are Eurasians truly Singaporean? What does it mean to be a Eurasian living in Singapore? Despite existing in Singapore for as long as any other community, Eurasians continue to be somewhat enigmatic to their fellow citizens. Unlike the Chinese, Malays and Indians, who have their own category under Singapore’s multicultural race policy, Eurasians are classified as ‘Others’. ‘OTHERS’ IS NOT A RACE is a vibrant tapestry that weaves together narrative fiction, creative nonfiction, literary food writing and intimate family memoir. This eclectic mix provides a unique perspective into an underrepresented community, all viewed through the candid lens of the author’s personal experiences of growing up and living as a Eurasian in Singapore, as well as visiting family in Melaka’s Portuguese Settlement in Malaysia, where the Eurasian community has thrived for over 500 years. Memory, language, identity and cultural reclamation punctuate this journey of self-discovery, exploring what it means to exist at the confluence of being Singaporean and being Eurasian, and to interrogate the liminal space between two cultures, Asian and European, occupied by this community.