"Now that I'm older, I realised that it's more about how I would define my own identity and not being boxed up by how people perceive me." Phanipha Lee moved from Thailand to Singapore at age three. Growing up in a multicultural family, she faced challenges with identity and cultural differences. Now, she values Singapore's diversity and education and is eager to give back to the community while building a future for her family.
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LifestyleTranscript
00:00Given the opportunity to speak to my younger self,
00:02I would definitely comfort her and encourage her.
00:06She might look a bit different,
00:07but don't be too affected by these things.
00:10All these stereotypes are what people perceive of you,
00:14but it shouldn't be how you perceive yourself.
00:23Hello, my name is Vanifah Lee.
00:25I'm 14 years old and I'm from Thailand.
00:29Hi, my name is Vanifah Lee and I'm 24 years old this year.
00:32I come from Thailand and here's my mum.
00:35My family consists of me, my mum and my dad.
00:37My dad is a Singaporean Chinese
00:39and my mum came from Sakonakhon.
00:41I was actually born there and then she brought me
00:44to Singapore when I was three years old.
00:46So, Sakonakhon is the northern part of Thailand.
00:49It is very rural and quiet,
00:51unlike cities like Bangkok or Phuket
00:53that we most likely know about Thailand.
00:56Most of my relatives are either street vendors or farmers.
01:01I came here when I was three years old,
01:02so my memories of Thailand itself
01:05when I was younger was quite limited.
01:08But I do remember going back for holiday a few times
01:10with my mum and my dad.
01:12And I have photos from last time
01:14and then my mum would actually tell me
01:16memories of me hanging out with my grandparents
01:20and my relatives.
01:26My dad, my uncle and my aunt are my mum's parents.
01:33My mum used to sell fish to make a living
01:37and she also sold fish and meat
01:41when she didn't have a daughter yet.
01:43She wasn't married yet.
01:46This is my dad.
01:47This is my dad, my dad, my dad.
01:50This is when I was still in Sakonakhon.
01:53When she was around 20 plus years old,
01:55she went out fishing with her grandparents
01:58and then she also sold street food
02:02like drinks or meats
02:05before she came to Singapore.
02:26She sat in the car and came to this school.
02:30It was hard to get married
02:32but she held on because of love.
02:33And at that time, she was already pregnant,
02:36she was one month pregnant.
02:39My mum actually brought me back to Thailand
02:41to give birth to me over there.
02:43And then a few years later,
02:44she brought me back to Singapore
02:47and together with my dad,
02:48we started making a living by selling street food
02:52to the Thai workers that were working around our journey.
02:56I was born in Thailand.
02:57When I was born,
03:00you were in Thailand?
03:01Yes, and my dad picked me up in Bangkok.
03:05I was in Thailand.
03:06Now I'm in Singapore.
03:09Here, here.
03:11I also had Manny at that time.
03:14This is our family dog when I was younger.
03:16Manny.
03:17Manny, his name is Manny.
03:19You said it correctly, Manny.
03:20You pronounced it wrong, Manny.
03:22Manny grew up like this.
03:24He grew up like this.
03:30It's been a while since I went back to Thailand
03:32but I did have memories here and there
03:35when I was younger.
03:36I think when I started getting busy with my studies
03:40like around secondary school,
03:42I didn't go back as often.
03:44Growing up in Singapore was definitely fun
03:47but I did have some challenges and struggles
03:50when I was a lot younger.
03:52Because I was outdoors a lot, I got tanned very easily
03:55and given my background, I looked fairly ambiguous.
04:01So I've been called really unpleasant names.
04:04That further threw me into questioning my identity
04:08because I have a Singaporean Chinese dad
04:11and I have a Thai mum
04:13and trying to navigate that was definitely challenging.
04:17I believe these people might not have
04:20as much of an in-depth understanding of what Thai culture is like
04:24and if we were to dive in deeper into Thai culture
04:28there's actually more there is to that.
04:31Now that I'm older, I realise that it's more about
04:34how I would define my own identity
04:36and not being boxed up by how people perceive me
04:39because of my ethnicity.
04:41Over the years, I grew up with people
04:43from all different sorts of backgrounds and ethnicities
04:47and I think that's what makes growing up in Singapore
04:49very exciting and fun.
04:51And my best friend, who's half Chinese and half Indonesian
04:56we actually met each other in kindergarten
04:58and we went to the same primary school and secondary school.
05:01And because we had such similar backgrounds
05:04that's where we drew parallels to the struggles we have
05:08and grew closer from there.
05:10I think the most favourite thing I would like to do
05:12was actually cycling along the Kallang Park Connector
05:16through Kallang, Tanjung Ruh and then to Marina Bay
05:19to relax and also sort of like, reflection.
05:22I think one of the most significant memories we had
05:26was actually looking at the MBS view
05:30and then she was sharing me about a story
05:32this story she had with her cousin
05:34and then she was sharing how
05:36life would look a lot different if we had grown up
05:40on the other side of our family.
05:44Because of that, the both of us reflected
05:47and then we realised how lucky we were
05:50to have the opportunity to grow up here in Singapore
05:53to have a great education and choice of career.
05:56And I think because that route and also the view of MBS itself
06:03was a great capture of what Singapore is like
06:07so that moment was very significant to me.
06:15As for my mum, when she came here
06:16she definitely had struggles because
06:19English and Chinese was not her first language.
06:22So trying to navigate through that and living in Singapore was
06:28a bit tough for her
06:29but I think she managed to find her own community of friends
06:32that also speak Chinese and Thai or Thai and English
06:36which they also like, help her along the way
06:40when she hangs out with them.
06:45Looking back, I'm very thankful for all the opportunities I have
06:48in terms of education and also career options
06:52because I'm here in Singapore.
06:54So I managed to go on overseas exchange and overseas internship
06:58that really broadened my world view and my perspective
07:01interacting with the locals over there.
07:03So taking back all these experiences
07:05I'm really, really thankful and I want to give back
07:08to the community and the society that believed in me
07:12and also definitely built my family here
07:15and take care of my parents.
07:17Given the opportunity to speak to my younger self
07:19I would definitely comfort her and encourage her.
07:23She might look a bit different when she was younger
07:27but don't be too affected by these things.
07:30All these stereotypes are what people perceive of you
07:33but it shouldn't be how you perceive yourself.
07:35Always be thankful and grateful for all the things
07:40and opportunities that will come your way
07:44and focus on the things that matter
07:46like your friends, your family and the community
07:49that you have built in Singapore and one you can call home.
08:09Thank you, my mother, for building a home
08:12that is warm and far away from my mother's home.
08:16Even if you don't speak English or Chinese
08:19thank you for trying to learn and understand
08:23to communicate with my family, my father and my friends.
08:27You are my superwoman.
08:30Thank you for working so hard and so hard
08:33for all these years
08:35to take care of me and my father.
08:38Don't worry about me anymore
08:41because I'm here to take care of you for the rest of your life.
08:45Thank you, I love you the most.
08:48From my beloved daughter.
08:50Love you.