My grandmother came from China when she was sixteen years old. We had a close relationship especially when she was bedridden during the last few years of her life. She recited interesting though sad stories about her life.
She came to settle down in Singapore. At that time, it was a traditional custom to marry at a young age through match-making. She had four children, two daughters and two sons. She was widowed at the young age of thirty and had to raise them single-handedly. During the Japanese occupation, she worked at a rubber plantation in Jurong from dawn to dusk. The children were looked after by the neighbours in the kampong. At that time, the closely knit community of villagers looked after one another. Till now, I still address them as “uncles’ and ‘aunts” though we are not related by blood.
During the Japanese occupation, life was hard. Grandmother and family survived on a sweet potato diet. After the war, she was resourceful and had a vegetable stall in Geylang market though the family lived in Jurong. She cycled daily from Jurong to Geylang as the bicycle was the cheapest form of transport then. As a thrifty person, she gradually saved enough to buy a terraced shop-house in the vicinity.
Besides the hard life, she was saddened by the leaving of her youngest daughter who left for China with her school mates and her husband-to-be to defend China against the Japanese. My aunt eventually settled down in China. Subsequently, she would visit us once a year.
My grandmother’s persevering spirit and her positive disposition despite the adversity she faced is one admirable quality that I will always remember. Even when she was bedridden, she seldom complained and never failed to thank her care-givers for whatever help they had rendered to meet her needs.
To a large extent, the way my paternal grandmother lived her life is an embodiment of the NE value, “We have confidence in our future.”
Editor's note: This story was part of Ahmad Ibrahim Primary School's "Stories We Tell @ AIPS" National Education Programme. We would like to thank Mrs Sim Siew Tin (Principal, AIPS) and her staff for their warm support.
