Contributed by: Wong Ah Woon, 86
I am Wong Ah Woon. I came to Singapore when I was 21 years old. I was born in 1927, in San Shui, Foshan, Guangdong, China. I spend most of my childhood in China, and only after World War II, I left China for Hong Kong, and subsequently, I came to Singapore where I got married and settled down. I witnessed the racial riots during 1964 - I was hiding at home when the Malays and the Chinese clashed. I never really had any education, so I cannot read, write, or speak in Mandarin. I can only converse in Cantonese.
When I was 21, I got married to my husband here in Singapore. A relative introduced us to each other. We had three children, but two of them passed away, my only remaining son is currently in his sixties. I remember that in the past, my mother-in-law could not help to take care of my children for me, so I had to stop working for a while to care for them. My husband also passed away more than a decade ago, so now I live alone in my flat in Geylang Bahru, opposite my son.
In the past, we lived in the New World Area where I found work as a Samsui woman. I started working as a Samsui woman when I was 25, and I only retired when I was 69. This was my one and only occupation for my entire life. My pay, back then, was about $4.50 a day. It was quite manageable, considering the fact that a bowl of porridge was only 5 cents then! I worked from 8 am to 5 pm, but I had to leave my house an hour earlier to board a lorry that would take us (Samsui women) to the construction site. After work, I would take a public bus home. Every morning, before work, I have to put on my red Samsui headdress. I had to starch the red cloth so as to make the red cloth firm enough to stay on my head. The headdress is about 1 yard x 1 yard large and is rather thick. The headdress is to protect us Samsui women from the sun and the dirt. I can still remember how to tie the headdress and I can still do it within 5 minutes! I wore a dark blue or black traditional samfu outfit has both long sleeves and leggings, but I hardly actually felt the heat from wearing so much! We also white canvas shoes (much like those worn by school children) to go to work, and wore high socks so as to protect my legs from the sand and dirt. As a Samsui woman, I had to carry sand to make cement. Originally, I remember, we would use a shoulder pole with two baskets attached to move the sand; afterwards, we used carts, which were much more efficient.
I remember that when I was working as a Samsui woman, the foreman would always warn us against eating kangkong because it was believed to weaken our legs. Samsui women with illnesses were also banned from eating peanuts! I also remember another incident where I argued with a hawker for not adding spring onions into the bowl of porridge I ordered! When I was still working, I celebrated festivals in a very simple manner. We were not very rich, so we remained frugal, even during the festivities. I recall staying up overnight to make fried Chinese cakes out of flour and peanuts for Chinese New Year. I had to stay up overnight to make these cakes because I still have to work during the day.
I remained working until I was 69 years old. I quit my job because the boss could no longer afford to pay my salary. I got fed up with him and “fired” him! Currently, living in Geylang Bahru, I hardly actually go to the senior activity centre and only occasionally when I pass by to go grocery shopping, I would pop in to have a little chat with the other seniors.
Interview done by Loh Ying Ying and Sew Shu Wen from Nanyang Girls' High School on 3 June 2013.
(This memory is collected in collaboration with Nanyang Girls' High School and TOUCH Community Services for the "Hands: Gift of a Generation" campaign.)
