Isolation is part and parcel of our city life.
People living in packed cities are so sick of crowds that when they reach home all they want is to shut the door and be alone. I am no different from those living in densely populated cities such as Tokyo and New York. We are not the only city experiencing the trend of neighbor becoming increasingly isolated from one another. In a populated city, you get people on your face each day that you learn to treasure your privacy of your home. I do not poke into my neighbors’ lives as I respect their boundaries, and not because I am selfish. I do not want my neighbor walking into my house whenever they see me coming home and I won’t do it too. Besides keeping to themselves, nowadays neighbors are getting into more conflicts. The designs of our apartments which have fewer common corridors also reduce the opportunities that neighbors have to interact.
My three neighbor are situated in three different corners, so when we shut our door, nobody know what happen inside our home, the privacy is absolute. In fact, the shopkeeper or the food seller in the vicinity is usually the first person to notice when something is wrong for example when an elderly person is missing. Elderly person tend to keep routine and when the coffee shop owner does not see them for days, they will notice. In the future when we tend to live longer and on our own, the isolation would be very high. I have very good neighbor or in fact I am a good neighbor. My neighbor will know when I am on vacation as I will let them know in advance or reminded them the next few days before I take off. My neighbor will pass her keys to me so that I can take care of her plants while she is away. In emergency cases, they will always knock on my door for help. A good neighbor is better than a thousand relatives.
A poll of 200 households reveals that up to 20 percent have never spoken to their neighbors. They have been neighbors for 20 years yet they are living on different planets. They know nothing about the people’s living just a few meters away –not their names what they do for a living or even how many actually live in the terrace house. We are all the same, we keep to ourselves and do not interact with our neighbors. Most sadly 53 percent say they would do nothing even if they felt something amiss such as not seeing their neighbor for a long period of time. A tragic death last week when the badly decomposed body of 82 year old Mr Wong and his daughter were found in their home.
His 80 year old wife was in the flat as well but she was alive. Neighbor had not seen the family for up to seven weeks but the police were called only when the smell from the homes became unbearable. Neighbors had assumed the family had been traveling.
Another case of a 76 year old cleaner who lived alone was discovered only two days after she died in her bed. She was discovered only when her nephew turned up at her flat to check on her after she did not turn up for work for two days. Her neighbor did not think of knocking at her door even if she had not seen her neighbors for a long time.
Most people feared being label a “busybody” if they probed into a neighbor’s affairs.
About 20 percent of those polled had never even spoken to their neighbor while most would only chat when they bumped into each other at the lift lobby in the corridor.
81 percent did not have their neighbor’s telephone numbers and 60 percent did not even know their neighbor’s name. Neighbor should interact more because they would be each other source of help in time of emergency.
In one heart’s warming case where a neighbor noticed how pale Mrs Kok appeared one day and insisted that she take her to the doctor. The doctor referred her to the hospital where she was diagnosed with a mild stroke. Now her neighbor cook meals for Mrs Kok while her two sons and husband is away at school and work.
People living in packed cities are so sick of crowds that when they reach home all they want is to shut the door and be alone. I am no different from those living in densely populated cities such as Tokyo and New York. We are not the only city experiencing the trend of neighbor becoming increasingly isolated from one another. In a populated city, you get people on your face each day that you learn to treasure your privacy of your home. I do not poke into my neighbors’ lives as I respect their boundaries, and not because I am selfish. I do not want my neighbor walking into my house whenever they see me coming home and I won’t do it too. Besides keeping to themselves, nowadays neighbors are getting into more conflicts. The designs of our apartments which have fewer common corridors also reduce the opportunities that neighbors have to interact.
My three neighbor are situated in three different corners, so when we shut our door, nobody know what happen inside our home, the privacy is absolute. In fact, the shopkeeper or the food seller in the vicinity is usually the first person to notice when something is wrong for example when an elderly person is missing. Elderly person tend to keep routine and when the coffee shop owner does not see them for days, they will notice. In the future when we tend to live longer and on our own, the isolation would be very high. I have very good neighbor or in fact I am a good neighbor. My neighbor will know when I am on vacation as I will let them know in advance or reminded them the next few days before I take off. My neighbor will pass her keys to me so that I can take care of her plants while she is away. In emergency cases, they will always knock on my door for help. A good neighbor is better than a thousand relatives.
A poll of 200 households reveals that up to 20 percent have never spoken to their neighbors. They have been neighbors for 20 years yet they are living on different planets. They know nothing about the people’s living just a few meters away –not their names what they do for a living or even how many actually live in the terrace house. We are all the same, we keep to ourselves and do not interact with our neighbors. Most sadly 53 percent say they would do nothing even if they felt something amiss such as not seeing their neighbor for a long period of time. A tragic death last week when the badly decomposed body of 82 year old Mr Wong and his daughter were found in their home.
His 80 year old wife was in the flat as well but she was alive. Neighbor had not seen the family for up to seven weeks but the police were called only when the smell from the homes became unbearable. Neighbors had assumed the family had been traveling.
Another case of a 76 year old cleaner who lived alone was discovered only two days after she died in her bed. She was discovered only when her nephew turned up at her flat to check on her after she did not turn up for work for two days. Her neighbor did not think of knocking at her door even if she had not seen her neighbors for a long time.
Most people feared being label a “busybody” if they probed into a neighbor’s affairs.
About 20 percent of those polled had never even spoken to their neighbor while most would only chat when they bumped into each other at the lift lobby in the corridor.
81 percent did not have their neighbor’s telephone numbers and 60 percent did not even know their neighbor’s name. Neighbor should interact more because they would be each other source of help in time of emergency.
In one heart’s warming case where a neighbor noticed how pale Mrs Kok appeared one day and insisted that she take her to the doctor. The doctor referred her to the hospital where she was diagnosed with a mild stroke. Now her neighbor cook meals for Mrs Kok while her two sons and husband is away at school and work.
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