Before I know it, it's already the end of February 2026. Where did all this time go. The Lunar Year of the Fire Horse hasn't gotten off to a smooth start by any means. It's meant to be bring chaos, volatility and recklessness. It sure has been.
I've never been fond of working even vacationing in the Middle East. Once I've gone there once, I never wanted to go again. It simply doesn't hold any attraction. I also didn't want to be stuck in a city that could be caught in the middle of a war any time. But many people are, unfortunately stuck there now, be it as tourists or people on work trips or as expatriates.
Stocks have taken a giant tumble, and are still rolling. Gold prices remain exorbitant. Nobody wanted to spend extravagantly for the festive season, and we rather be conservative because the economic outlook is damn bleak. This is the bleakest since '97, tbh.
The incumbent American President has a way of fucking up everybody's new year and everything good. His definition of 'good' and 'wonderful' isn't by any means many people's idea of 'ideal'. America is run by a child-dictator, and he happily instigated a war between US-Israel and Iran. If the seven states of the UAE didn't see it fit to bomb Iran, why should Israel do it? Is there a point in killing the current Ayatollah? What could you hope to achieve when there would be more Ayatollahs stepping in? What are you advocating? Sanctioned killing? wtf.
The Twelve-Day War between Israel and Iran in June 2025 resolved nothing, except whet the leaders appetite for farther warfare. In all these power play, who suffers? The civilians. The people. And all the expatriates stuck in the UAE and Saudi Arabia. Would there ever be peace. Is peace such an alien concept that people can't sit still within a hundred years of the last world war? Has history taught us nothing?
I can't pretend that the global events don't affect me and hide in my little shell. We can't just wallow in transport woes and the demise of Deliveroo, and think about the perilous state of the national TFR. There isn't TFR to be concerned about if we get wars coming to this region, or inflation hitting bad. This little haven in our corner of the way is at the mercy of global economic trends and movements.
When it comes down to it, we have no way of retaliation. Beyond a carefully worded courtesy statement 'protesting war, showing grave concern and protecting civilians' sent out by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Singapore has been silent about specific stances about it. We call for a return to political dialogue, which has been what has always been done, to no avail, but we stopped short of pointing fingers. With Malaysia and Indonesia being pretty vocal, I think we should just shut up for now.
