My passport doesn't tell the whole story

Extract from Author

When it was time to renew my passport, I placed old passports side by side.

Annotated with colourful visa stamps from thirty-odd countries, the panels formed a travel-themed triptych, a working map of the places I have been in the 30 years since my first flight away from India, my first home.

The names of my deceased parents appear in each version. Stamps of some countries appear on multiple pages; others, just once. Who are the people and what are the places that left more than just an impression on me? What is my legacy from these travels?

Author’s Reflection

What is your personal takeaway from your SOAP story?
I have lived in three different countries, worked and added value in each place. My takeaway is that the world is a family and each place becomes a home by what we bring to it

Now that your story has been published for some time, do you have any reflections to share post-publishing?
I firmly believe that identity is not one-dimensional and integration and belonging are two sides of a coin. I speak as a scientist who has contributed to the research efforts on Covid-19 (among other projects) and as an observer of life who has lived in 3 countries and visited 30.

What did you hope to convey to readers through this story?
I hope people will look at each other with compassion and reach out beyond their comfort zones to be inclusive, particularly in the testing times in which we now live. You never know how someone might enrich your life with a simple gesture.

How do you feel for being recognised for your work?
It feels great to be recognised, specially as a foreigner, for my writing to be included in the collective history of Singapore during the Covid-19 pandemic

Written by
Ranjani Rao,
The Straits Times

Sunday,
11 October 2020

Merit Award, Commentary