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Bridging troubled waters: Forging cohesion in divided societies
In an era of social tension and conflict, building bridges to foster cohesion has become critical. As the classic song Bridge Over Troubled Water reminds us, we should not ignore the troubled waters under the bridges we are building.
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Abortion rights activists clash with a group of anti-abortion activist street preachers, in Los Angeles, on May 14, 2022.
PHOTO: AFP
Chaiwat Satha-Anand
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At the inaugural International Conference on Cohesive Societies (ICCS) in Singapore in June 2019, President Halimah Yacob called on countries and societies to build bridges, not walls, across increasingly identitarian divides. At the same event, Dr Ali Al Nuaimi from the United Arab Emirates' Hedayah International Centre of Excellence for Countering Violent Extremism reinforced this message by pointing out that we are in "an era of building bridges, not wars".
When building bridges in the context of deeply divided societies, it is important to understand the troubled water under them. Three guiding questions could help elucidate the kind of "troubled water" challenging bridge builders as they try to foster social cohesion today:
