大象传媒

My mother and her siblings were children when the Japanese occupied Singapore in February 1942.The 3 years 8 months of Japanese rule were to have very deep
impact on these poor children throughout their lives.

My maternal grandfather was a technician working for a British studio back then.He was doing well enough to have hired a servant to help my grandmother look after their 7 children.

If World War II never happen or if Singapore was never occupied by the Japanese, I strongly believe that the
fate of my mother and those of my uncles & aunties would have been very different. Let me tell you the story.

When news of the Japanese were approaching Singapore, many British started to leave .My grandfather lost his job when his British boss decided to go away.Burden with 7 children, some very young, my grandparents did not have the means to runaway nor did they have any idea of where to run to.Like many others, they stay put.

The Japanese came, took control of everything and started its 3 years 8 months ruthless rule of Sho Nan Do - Japanese reference to Singapore of that time.

Those were hard years,there were shortages of food and severe unemployment.My grandfather could not find a job during those times and had to pass the burden of supporting the family onto the shoulders of my grandmother & an aunt,they were seamstress.

It was hard enough to make a living, as such education is not a primary consideration for the children.As a result, my mother & some of her siblings never got an education.Infact, some of them became child workers doing odd jobs to help support the family.

By the time the British returned,most of my grandparents children were overage to be enrolled for Primary education.And there was still the problem of not enough money to pay school fees for all of them.

As such sacrifices had to be made, only the younger ones were sent to school.Even then, they did not have a proper education.They were sent to a Church to be taught by nuns.There was no text books or writing materials, everything was written on the blackboard which they have to memorise.

Before long,all of them drop-out and entered society.Two of my uncles became seamen,another uncle work as a mechanic until he retired recently.

My mother was a house maid until she got married. Her sisters were seamstress before they started their own families.

Although, they all are well and good now but there is a regret which they shared everytime they get together and talked about the "Bad Old Days" and that is their lack of education.

They have struggled and stumbled in life due to their lack of schooling and as a result have missed out on opportunites along the way.They have encountered difficulties at times because they could not read and write.And they were bullied by educated people.

As a consequence, my generation did not make a flying start because my parents could not help me in my school work. But I thank them for sending me to school and provided me with a good education.

If WWII never occurs,things could have been very different for those children of the 40s and their second generation.

So Peace no more War !

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