Good friends, good diplomatic relations

Student exchange programmes have been around for a long time. As an 18-year old going to America for university, I did not know about exchange programmes or even care to find out about such things. I went with one goal: complete my Bachelor's degree in as short a time as possible because my father was paying a lot of money for me to study there.

Today, I have become friend and host family to many 19- and 20-year olds from different countries in South-East Asia. They come to Singapore on a scholarship for 3-4 years, depending on their course of study. While many of them have never been out of their home country before, some others really don't need us host families to settle into a foreign land. Regardless, I still do my best to stay in touch with them and fulfill my obligations as a host family.

The best part about getting to know all these students is the cultural exchange. As the newspaper article implies, student exchange between Singapore and Indonesia has greatly helped in diplomatic ties between the two nations. These young people from so many different countries interacting with each other in Singapore helps build ties between their nations.

Unfortunately, disputes between their nations also affects them. During the height of the tensions between Thailand and Cambodia over the ownership of an ancient temple, overnight Thai students snubbed their Cambodian friends, when they were buddies just the day before. Students from China protested over the tensions arising from the ownership of the Spratly Islands, by throwing their belongings around. It seems to be that patriotism overrules friendships and personal relationships that transcend ethnic ties and nationality.

Yet, it is actually the friendships built up as students that will pave the way for good diplomatic relations in later years. Singapore's first Prime Minister, Mr Lee Kuan Yew, was a student in the UK when many British colonies were talking about independence. His classmates often had discussions over what was happening in their own countries. When Mr Lee became Prime Minister, many of the heads of states of other Commonwealth countries were already his friends from school days. Diplomatic ties were simply a matter of course, since the basic friendships had already been built so long ago.

To build friendships across cultures, one must maintain the attitude of a student. Read, learn, interact. Those are the keys to a more harmonious world today.

Here's to multi-cultural friendships!

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