I was once a primary school teacher in a remote Indonesian island.

Ten years before I arrived, there was a riot between Muslims and Christians, with thousands of casualties.

After the riot, the government segregated the villages: these are Muslim villages, and those are Christian villages.

I happen to be deployed to a 100 per cent Muslim village.

One afternoon, when there were concerns that another riot might happen, my students came running to my house in panic and told me: “Ma’am, be careful of the Christians! They can burn down our house!”

When I told them that the riot was far away, they said: “The riot will fly here!”

These students had never even met any Christians in their lives, and they didn’t even understand the meaning of “riot”, but they had so much hatred and anger towards Christians.

And I believed this was also the situation on the other side of the fence.

So I knew something needed to be done.

After I returned to Jakarta from my one-year teaching stint in Bacan Island in North Maluku, a few friends and I created Sabang Merauke, an intra-nation student exchange programme in Indonesia.

We bring kids from all over the country to stay with host families in Jakarta who are different from them: a Hindu child from Bali living with a Muslim family; a Christian boy from Kalimantan living with a Muslim Javanese family; a Muslim child from Maluku living with a Chinese Catholic family.

And we prioritise kids from the post-conflict areas.

We believe that these real interactions will open the hearts and minds of both students and hosts, and make them see that we are more alike than different. In turn, they will become peace ambassadors in their circles.

From my travels and having experienced being a minority, I believe that diversity cannot only be taught in classrooms – it has to be felt and experienced.

A story by Our Better World– telling stories to inspire good, an initiative of the Singapore International Foundation.

BANGKOK – Thailand basks in yellow as nation celebrates longest-reigning monarch’s 70th anniversary of accession to the throne.

Thailand yesterday celebrated the 70th anniversary of His Majesty the King’s accession to the throne. Roads around the Grand Palace were closed yesterday morning for an alms-giving ceremony involving 770 Buddhist monks to celebrate the King’s reign. Hundreds of people gathered before dawn to take part in the ceremony led by Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha and members of the Cabinet. Almost all wore yellow.

In addition to the Buddhist ceremony held at the Grand Palace, religious ceremonies were also held by worshippers of Islam, Christianity, Hinduism and Sikhism at different places in the capital yesterday.

Thai expatriates living overseas also joined their compatriots in Thailand in marking the auspicious occasion during ceremonies held at Thai embassies and consulates.

Chanting by Buddhist monks was held and Thai expatriates and students wrote messages wishing for the King’s good health. Participants also sang the Royal Anthem together.

In Nepal, newly ordained monks and lay people took part in a ceremony at the Royal Thai Monastery of Lumbini in honour of the King. People wore yellow – the colour of His Majesty’s birthday Monday – and took part in various philanthropic activities throughout Thailand to mark the occasion.

Buddhists offered alms to monks to make merit in the name of the King. People planted trees in the forests in their provinces.

In Phuket, residents and tourists released 470 turtles into the sea as part of activities marking the occasion. Similar events were also held in five other Andaman Sea coastal provinces – Phang-nga, Satun, Krabi, Trang and Ranong – where a total of 500 turtles were released.

Residents of the seaside Samut Sakhon province yesterday planted 770 saplings in a local mangrove forest.

In Lop Buri, more than 200 local residents helped with the dredging of canals and removing weeds to clear the waterways. Long queues formed at commercial banks all over the country yesterday, as people flocked to buy commemorative 70 baht (S$2.70) banknotes printed by the Bank of Thailand to mark the 70th anniversary.

The banknotes were sold at 100 baht each and the sale was limited to two banknotes per person. Despite the limit, all the commemorative banknotes sold out at many bank branches just hours after the sale began.

Commemorative banknotes

A total of 20 million of the commemorative banknotes have been printed. The central bank said more could be printed if demand was high. Chuanpit Luapattanapadung, a 65-year-old resident of Surin, said she had obtained two 70 baht banknotes and that she would give one of them to her mother. “I wish His Majesty good health and speedy recovery from illness,” she said.

One of those participating in the alms-giving ceremony at the Grand Palace, 68-year-old Bangkok resident Chonmanee Smativat, said: “I want to make merit for the King for him to have good health. That’s how I can show loyalty to him.”

“I want him to know that we all love him,” she added.

“I pray for his speedy recovery so that he can continue to guide us, his children,” said Usa Paeliew, a farmer from Pathum Thani.

His Majesty is recovering from heart surgery performed on Wednesday. His Majesty, the world’s longest-reigning monarch, ascended to the throne on June 9, 1946, after the passing of his elder brother King Ananda Mahidol.

In the following decades, the King earned the adoration of millions through his work in public health and rural development. “The King travelled up and down the country and met the people. He heard and fixed our problems and that is why we love him,” said Yaovapha Thaitae, a noodle vendor working near Siriraj Hospital, where the King is being treated.

“The relationship between Thais and the King is deep, more than one can actually begin to explain,” said Colonel Winthai Suvaree, a spokesman for the National Council for Peace and Order. “He is father to the land.”

“If I lived a hundred lifetimes, I would consider myself lucky to be born in His Majesty’s reign,” said Somporn Maejai, a sanitary worker in Bangkok.

TOKYO – A Chinese Navy vessel has sailed into the contiguous zone outside Japanese territorial waters around the Senkaku Islands in Okinawa Prefecture for the first time, the government announced early Thursday.

Update: There was a typo in the heading in earlier version of the same.

The government summoned Chinese Ambassador to Japan Cheng Yonghua to the Foreign Ministry, where Vice Foreign Minister Akitaka Saiki lodged a strong protest against China.

The Chinese warship did not enter Japanese territorial waters. It left the contiguous zone at about 3:10 a.m. after staying there for about two hours and 20 minutes.

According to the government, three Russian Navy vessels also sailed into the contiguous zone before the Chinese warship entered the area.

Some government officials believe the Chinese warship entered the contiguous zone to counter the entry by a Maritime Self-Defence Force (MSDF) vessel, which was chasing the Russian Navy vessels.

The government will remain on alert and continue to monitor the two countries’ naval vessels. The government is also analysing the intention of the two countries’ navies to see if there is any connection between their movements.

According to the Defence Ministry, MSDF destroyer Setogiri saw that a Jiangkai-I Class frigate of the Chinese Navy had entered the contiguous zone at a point northeast of Kubajima island, part of the Senkaku Islands, at about 12:50 a.m. on Thursday.

This was the first confirmation that a Chinese Navy vessel has entered the contiguous zone around the Senkaku Islands.

In response to the move by the 3,963-ton Chinese warship, the government set up a liaison office at the crisis management centre in the Prime Minister’s Office.

After being briefed on the incident, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe instructed relevant ministries and agencies to closely co-operate in preparation for any unexpected developments. Abe also told them to coordinate closely with the United States and other countries concerned, and thoroughly conduct observation and surveillance activities.

Following an incident in November last year in which a Chinese Navy vessel approached the contiguous zone around the Senkaku Islands, the government decided that if a Chinese Navy vessel were to enter Japanese territorial waters, it would order maritime security operations in which it would dispatch MSDF vessels and demand that the Chinese Navy vessel leave the area immediately. In the latest incident, however, maritime security operations were not ordered because the Chinese Navy vessel did not enter territorial waters.

Saiki summoned Cheng to the Foreign Ministry at about 2 a.m. and lodged a protest, saying the Chinese Navy vessel’s entry into the contiguous zone was an “action that unilaterally heightens tensions.” He demanded that the vessel leave the area.

Cheng countered that the Senkaku Islands are China’s territory and said “Japan’s assertion is unacceptable.” The ambassador also said he would relay Japan’s assertion to Beijing because “China does not want the situation to escalate.”

The MSDF destroyer Hatakaze confirmed that three Russian Navy vessels – the Udaloy Class destroyer, a supply vessel and a seagoing tugboat – entered the contiguous zone from the south at about 9:50 p.m. Wednesday.

The three vessels sailed between Kubajima and Taishoto islands, staying in the contiguous zone for about five hours and 15 minutes before leaving at about 3:05 a.m. Thursday.

According to the Defence Ministry, a Russian Navy vessel has entered the contiguous zone around the Senkaku Islands before.

Foreign naval vessels sailing into a contiguous zone is not a violation of international law. Since Russia does not claim sovereignty over the Senkaku Islands, the government, according to Saiki, “will deal with the actions by China and Russia separately.”

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga stressed that the government will deal with the incident in a resolute manner.

“[The Chinese Navy vessel’s entry into the contiguous zone] is an action that unilaterally heightens tensions and we are deeply concerned about it,” Suga said. “The Senkaku Islands are Japan’s inherent territory both historically and under international law. We will reso-lutely and calmly deal with the situation based on a policy of firmly protecting our territory, waters and airspace.”

Suga also said the government sent a warning to Moscow.