Vivian Balakrishnan urges young S'poreans to 'do good in our own small way' for Gaza reconstruction

Singapore's Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan urged young Singaporeans to engage with a diverse set of people from the Middle East, so as to have a more nuanced and accurate assessment of the situation.

"Do not just talk to people who agree with you; have honest, polite conversations", even with those who had different views, he said during a media interview at the conclusion of his four-day working visit to the Palestinian Territories and Israel (Nov. 6).

In a trip that he described as hectic, Vivian had met with government leaders from both sides, as well as several leaders of Israeli political parties, while Members of Parliament Yip Hon Weng and Hazlina Abdul Halim had met with several local non-governmental organisations.

Vivian spoke about the reception that the Singaporean delegation had received, and how strong personal and diplomatic relationships had allowed the Singaporean delegation to speak frankly about the past two years of "a tragic war with horrendous humanitarian consequences".

Diverse groups, nuanced assessments

Responding to a question from Mothership about the concerns of young Singaporeans over the Israel-Palestine conflict in Gaza and beyond, Vivian said he hoped that young Singaporeans would engage with a diverse set of people from, and in, the Middle East.

He urged them to have “honest, polite conversations", even with those who had different views from themselves.

He said he could not “overemphasise the need to actually walk the ground, to meet people and to talk to them”.

There was a need to find out what their fears, hopes, dreams, and anxieties are, and that he hoped Singaporeans would have “real relationships with a diverse group of people”.

Only then could Singaporeans “arrive at a more nuanced, accurate assessment of the situation.”

He also urged them to “be more focused on trying to do good in our own small way”, and not devolve into shouting and getting angry, even as he acknowledged the terrible situation that the war presented to them.

Dispassionate, but talk to anybody

He referenced the numerous meetings that he had taken during the visit, pointing out that in many cases he had met with a wide variety of politicians and government officials whose views were significantly different from each other and the Singapore delegation.

One example he cited was that of the various political party leaders he had met, who were on a political spectrum that ranged from centrists to the far right.

But his approach was to remain “dispassionate, but focus on doing good”.

The Singaporean delegation had sought to “talk to anybody” and, when necessary, had “courteously disagreed”.

But due to the consistent, polite engagement that Singapore’s diplomats had engaged in, and had developed a reputation for, it meant that even when in disagreement, “they would know that it comes from a place where ‘we are your friend”.

Or even if the group did not consider Singapore a friend, they knew that it was genuinely trying to be helpful.

Face to face

Ultimately, he hoped that peace would come to the region and that Singapore would be able to lift the travel restrictions placed on it, allowing Singaporeans to visit and meet the people of the region face to face.

At the same time, Singapore was bringing more Palestinian students and scholars to Singapore, via its various capacity-building efforts.

This gave Singaporeans an opportunity to interact with them, as well as Israeli students who might visit the country.

“I hope our young people will talk to them and truly build relationships”.

Top image via Mothership