We Are Not The Enemy: The Practice of Advocacy in Singapore
View a recording of the launch here:
Available in paperback and e-book format. Purchase the paperback and get 50% off the e-book!
Advocates and activists in Singapore contribute to policy discussions and positive change through a combination of deft manoeuvres and patient politics. Yet civil society is often unacknowledged, their skill and labour instead frequently misunderstood, even earning them the label of “troublemakers” or “enemies of the state.”
This collection of essays and interviews is a candid reflection on the intentions, beliefs and strategies behind the practice of advocacy across a spectrum of causes. The contributors come from varying backgrounds and include academics, artists, lawyers, journalists, non-profit and advocacy organisations, student and community organisers. They share practical insights into their aims and community-building work, and the tactics they employ to overcome obstacles, shedding light on how to navigate a city-state with shifting socio-political fault lines and out-of-bound markers.
With an introduction, “It is Time to Trim the Banyan Tree”, by Constance Singam, and a conclusion, “Their Struggle is Ours to Continue”, by Suraendher Kumarr.
Ethos Books has also partnered with the Community for Advocacy and Political Education (CAPE) to produce The CAPE Handbook to Advocacy in Singapore. Authored by CAPE and produced by Ethos Books, this concise guide dispels misconceptions and offers practical action steps, easing readers into strategies for effective advocacy and activism in the city-state.
Contributors: Alex Au, Alfian Sa’at, The Community for Advocacy and Political Education (CAPE), Cherian George, Corinna Lim, Disabled People’s Association, Irie Aman, Kenneth Paul Tan, Kirsten Han, Ng Kok Hoe, Pink Dot, Reetaza Chatterjee, Remy Choo, SG Climate Rally, Suraendher Kumarr, Thirunalan Sasitharan, Walid Jumblatt Bin Abdullah
View contents and introduction preview pages
Also available at the following bookstores from the week of 18 March 2024:
- City Book Room
- Epigram Bookshop
- Grassroots Book Room
- Kinokuniya
- The Book Bar
- Wormhole
We Are Not The Enemy: The Practice of Advocacy in Singapore
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Reviews
Reading these essays made me feel both proud, and ashamed, to be a Singaporean. Proud that there are so many Singaporeans willing, even eager, to devote time, effort, skills and compassion to making the country a better place for all, including the marginalised and foreigners. Ashamed that they are so often hampered in these efforts by other Singaporeans, chiefly the state and its acolytes, as well as religious ideologues, and suffer consequences for doing so. Anyone who thinks that Singapore is a “free” society where individual rights, free expression, equality and social justice prevail, will have their eyes opened. Those who believe that “For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?” may be heartened by getting to know some of those who, in the civil society engagements recounted here, seek to help us find what we have lost, or never had. — Linda Lim, Professor Emerita of Corporate Strategy and International Business, University of Michigan
Advocacy to foreground the needs, grievances and injustices of those overlooked socially and politically, whether intentionally or unwittingly, is an essential flip side of healthy governance. This book brings together the personal journeys and reflections of well-known and novice advocates across a range of issues both widely and lesser known. Beneath the seeming complacency of a largely middle-class society and the hegemonic monologue of a parliamentary state dominated by one party, there exists, gratefully, a group of citizens committed to seeking equality, social justice and greater freedom for all Singaporeans. — Professor Chua Beng Huat, Department of Sociology and Anthropology, National University of Singapore
The title We Are Not the Enemy reminds me of a story of an elderly couple who told my pastor, after his sermon, with deep sorrow, ‘We didn’t realise all these years when we were fighting each other, we were fighting the wrong Enemy all this while.’ You may disagree with these essayists. They may disrespect your favourite ideas and challenge your cherished narratives. They ask us hard questions and refuse easy answers. Yet while they’ve been given so many reasons to walk away, they choose to stay and advocate another day for another way. In a world full of divisions, our small city needs more of us to walk towards each other, seeking to understand, and not walk away. — Kuik Shiao-Yin, Former Nominated Member of Parliament
Singapore is for every Singaporean. This book tells the stories of Singaporeans amongst us who have been blessed with an instinct, a calling for advocacy, organisation, and participation in matters of civic interest. It tells the stories of Singaporeans, who in response have been moved to take action. Collectively, their work and advocacy is an important and critical component of the participatory democracy we seek, and a wholesome, fairer and more just Singapore for future generations. Views may and often do differ, but we are undoubtedly far better off as a country and as a society with these Singaporeans. — Pritam Singh Leader of the Opposition & Workers' Party Member of Parliament for Aljunied GRC, Parliament of Singapore
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Attunement
Is life hustling you out of tune? As the week roars by, we invite you to a slice of attunement penned lovingly by our authors, friends, and yours truly. Freshly delivered weekly with care. Intimacy guaranteed. Read selected letters below.
Magical, luminous things
Feb 19, 2022
I have flown across an ocean this week. This still sounds surreal to say.
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No negotiation for blood debt
Feb 14, 2022
The Burmese language resistance poetry is deeply embedded in the country’s colonial past. When mo...
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Burning holes in the darkness
Feb 7, 2022
Poets killed in broad daylight, writers tortured and maimed. I wonder if their ghosts watch on fr...
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