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Rachel Cartland

Even the most resilient person would admit the last year in Hong Kong has been challenging. At the height of the protest unrest, travel and transport were so disrupted that the city’s everyday life was more or less impossible.
Those days are behind us, we hope. Even if the buildings and other facilities have been repaired, though, there is much more to be done in making society whole again.
How are such divisions healed? A moment’s thought shows that dividing Hong Kong into Blueland and Yellowland would not work.
True reconciliation is an urgent task, especially because many of the alienated are our own younger generation. We cannot declare perpetual war on our own children.
It is important that we make up for lost time and get to understand our young people. Hong Kong is lacking in serious sociological studies on the subject, but what has been done in recent years has indicated overwhelming feelings of hopelessness among our youth.


This is quite a contrast with their parents and their grandparents, who may have been poorer but also shared in the optimism and progress of the “Lion Rock” period. These fortunate elders might be accused of lacking sensitivity since they have concentrated on lecturing the younger generation on how lucky they are rather than trying to get to the root of their problems.
When we confront profound difficulties, we need to think radically and innovatively. The target must be to help Hongkongers bury their differences and move forward together towards a better future. The values of communication, compromise and consensus have to be rediscovered, and those will require mutual trust and respect.
Human beings easily split into tribes, sometimes based on ethnicity but sometimes on religion or political views. If there is no mingling, after a while these people do not view each other as humans but members of an alien species.
The first thing Hongkongers need to do is to recognise each other as human beings with at least some fears and hopes in common. The most basic way in which humans get together is over the sharing of food. A simple suggestion would be for every person in Hong Kong to consider their friends, family and acquaintances, decide who among them is the most “blue” and who the most “yellow” and invite them to a meal together.


This should not be specially organised or have any particular agenda or rules of engagement. As much as there is any purpose it is simply that, if possible, by the end those who attended should simply feel that they know each other a little better.
What of Hong Kong’s young people? The answer might come from Zimbabwe, where psychiatrist Dixon Chibanda developed the “Friendship Bench”. Grandmothers are recruited from the community, given basic training in cognitive behavioural therapy and then stationed on a Friendship Bench. They are available to anyone who wants a sympathetic and constructive ear to help with their problems, backed up by professionals when necessary.
Schools are embracing the idea of a “Buddy Bench” where students can unburden themselves to trained peer counsellors. Hong Kong is blessed with a lively NGO sector, dedicated to the community’s well-being. There are doubtless many among them who could implement these ideas and even better ones of their own that will rebuild the soul of our city.

It is essential that Hongkongers can speak freely to each other without fear of being persecuted or targeted for their views. That is a mark of a civilised society.
We may seem to have forgotten, but there is more that binds us than separates us. Problems can be solved when we are willing to put aside differences and embrace the values of pragmatism and common sense. These are the foundations of Hong Kong’s prosperity and can take us forward to a better future now.
Rachel Cartland is director of Cartland Consulting and a former assistant director of social welfare in the Hong Kong government



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The wall of a "yellow" noodle shop in Hong Kong. Photo: AP

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Illustration: Lau Ka-kuen

Former Chief Executive of Hong Kong Tung Chee-hwa speaks at the Our Hong Kong Foundation held at JW Marriott Hotel in Admiralty. 31JUL19 SCMP / Xiaomei Chen

(FILES) In this file photo taken on April 28, 2019, an activist holds a placard during a protest in Hong Kong against a controversial move by the government to allow extraditions to the Chinese mainland. - The US-China Economic and Security Review Commission warned of "serious" security risks from Hong Kong's plan to allow extraditions to mainland China, which has sparked protests in the financial hub. The Commission, which was set up by Congress to advise on the security implications of US trade with China, said the extradition bill could affect the estimated 85,000 US citizens and 1,300 US firms in Hong Kong. (Photo by Anthony WALLACE / AFP)

Protest is not just about extradition when Hong Kong youth feel they have no future and no voice

Illustration: Craig Stephens

People protest outside the Central Government Offices in Tamar against the extradition bill and calling on city leader to resign. 17JUN19 SCMP / K. Y. Cheng

Opinion

News

Hong Kong


True reconciliation is an urgent task, especially because many of the alienated in Hong Kong society are our own younger generation
Problems can be solved when we are willing to put aside our differences and embrace the values of pragmatism and common sense



True reconciliation is an urgent task, especially because many of the alienated in Hong Kong society are our own younger generation. Problems can be solved when we are willing to put aside our differences and embrace the values of pragmatism and common sense.


Wellness

Mental health

Hong Kong youth

5050

Hong Kong politics

Expresses the views, ideas and conclusions of the author. (Eg. Enough of Crazy Rich Asians, think of crazy poor Hongkongers.)


Column