A Tale of Two Pizzas
Looking at the potentially deadly impact intercultural conflicts have had through history, such as the 18 deaths related to the Maria Hertough riots in the 1950, or more recently, the July 2009 massacre of more than 150 Han Chinese by the ethnic Uighurs in Urumqi, the capital of XinJiang province, the importance of having good intercultural communication cannot be stressed enough even on the personal level.
Although I was fortunate to not have witnessed any serious intercultural conflicts, an incident I encountered, which will be described in greater detail in the following paragraphs, while I was at Universal Studios Singapore left me wondering whether it could have been better handled by the people involved.
I was at Universal studios yesterday, and to escape the crowds and satisfy an empty stomach, I wandered into Loui’s NY Pizza Parlour, which claims to sell authentic American Pizzas. While I was queuing up to order, I noticed a group of four women in front of me placing their orders for pizzas. Judging from their appearances, I guessed they were Indonesian Muslim women.
One woman pointed at 2 of the 5 pizzas on display and the store assistant quickly took 2 slices of pizza and placed them on plates. The women then took the plates off the counter, but just as they were about to leave for the cashier, another store assistant who happened to pass by took one look at the pizzas and warned them that all the pizzas they had ordered had ham in them. Shocked, the women almost dropped the plates, and upon learning that almost all the items sold contained pork, left the restaurant visibly upset.
My first reaction was one of incredulity, since he should have known that the pizzas contained pork, and could have at the very least informed them. But on hindsight, he was after all a Filipino, from a predominantly Christian community, and might not be aware of such religious practices. Furthermore, the women were not wearing the traditional tudungs, making it even more difficult for him to have identified them. As for the women, they could have on their part, assumed that the counter staff would inform them of the pizzas’ ingredients.
Personally, I think this issue highlights the importance of not pre-judging a person based on one’s own cultural norms. For both the Filipino and Indonesians, they could have clarified with one another on the issue. Even if it turned out that they were non-Muslims, taking the initiative to ask would be a most sensitive and appropriate move. Navigating through cultural differences can often be a tricky but inexorable task, but if one could adopt an open mind and avoid pre-judgments, cultural conflicts could be minimised while maximising trusting relationships.
