By Isabella Lee Wei, Pri 2, CHIJ (Katong) Primary
My great-grandmother, Lim Meng Kui, was born in China in the year of 1922. She is currently ninety-five years old. She first came to Singapore to study in a Chinese school in the year of 1938. In 1940, she married my great-grandfather and moved to Kuching, Sarawak. Their marriage was due to the Japanese Occupation, as during that time, those who were not married would be forced to join the Japanese army. So, my great-grandfather got married to my great-grandmother when she was eighteen years old.
During the Japanese Occupation, my two elder great-granduncles, who were doing business in Singapore, were also suspected of joining forces with those who were anti-Japanese. They got live-burial sentences in Singapore. Even after the war, their dead bodies were not found. During that time, they were aged twenty-six and twenty-eight.
My grandfather, Chong Kok Yah, aged seventy-three years old currently, was born during the Japanese Occupation in 1944, in Kuching. Life in Kuching was not easy. The Japanese soldiers were cruel to the people in Kuching. They forced people to pay taxes and their houses were taken away for building army camps. To prevent the local people from knowing too much news from outside, the Japanese controlled the mass media. The local Chinese and English newspapers published only news that favoured the Japanese. Only Japanese movies and propaganda films were screened in cinemas. In schools, students were taught the Japanese language. Students had to sing the Japanese anthem every morning, too.
My grandfather told us that my great-grandmother carried him in her big belly, shifting from one house to another house. They did not have enough rice to eat. They planted sweet potatoes and ate them. Fresh water was not easy to get. They drank rain water. They used wood from trees for cooking. They also cooked and ate the leaves of some plants like tapioca and yam. Luckily, the Japanese Occupation ended in 1945. My grandfather then lived a comfortable life. He studied in a Chinese primary school, unlike his elder cousins who studied for a few years in a Japanese school.
The persons I have interviewed still have vivid memories of the Japanese Occupation up to today.
By Tan Yi Xin, Pri 2, CHIJ (Katong) Primary
I interviewed my grand-uncle. He is my grandfather’s eldest brother. His name is Tan Yat Ming. He was born in Singapore in 1933. He is 84 years old this year. My grand-uncle and his family stayed in Mandai Tekong Village before and during the war. Before the war, he went to the school to study during the day and helped in their vegetable farm after school.
During the war, my grand-uncle had to stop school and work in the farm. He was just nine years old when Japan invaded Singapore in 1942. Life under the Japanese rule was difficult. They often had porridge and sweet potatoes for meals. He remembered the “Banana” money and food ration during that period.
His work during the war was to supply vegetables to the Japanese Army. He attended night classes. Most classes ended before 7 or 8 pm for the teachers’ safety and other reasons. In the end, my grand-uncle did not complete his education and chose to work so that he could provide food for the family.
My grand-uncle shared two stories. One was that the Japanese built a farm near their camp for captured Indonesians to work in. My grand-uncle was a little boy and was ordered to teach those adults how to grow vegetables in the farm. One day, when he was making his usual delivery of vegetables to the camp, he was brought by force to the rubber plantation by the Japanese soldiers. He was scared as he knew then that people seldom returned from such trips to the plantation or beaches, as they would be shot dead by the Japanese soldiers. Luckily for him, they did not kill him. He escaped with minor injuries from the abuse. My grand-uncle said that even though he had escaped death, he continued to make deliveries to the camp for a livelihood.
There are three things that I learnt from this conversation. First is the virtue of perseverance, when my grand-uncle continued to report to the camp for a living despite the dangers faced. Second is the appreciation of the peace that we have today. I learnt to cherish the elders in my family and their wisdom. During the interview, I noted that some details were forgotten. Hence, it is important to spend some time to learn about the war before memories are lost.
By Bryan Tan, Pri 6, Ngee Ann Pri School
Both my grandparents are survivors of World War Two, so I decided to interview them.
My grandfather told me that he will never forget December 8, 1942, because that was the day Japan bombed Singapore. When you saw a Japanese soldier, you had to bow deeply as he represented the Japanese emperor. If you did not, you would be punished. If you wore spectacles or had smooth hands, you were considered rich and educated, and therefore dangerous. These people were usually taken to the labour camps. One of the camps was at the corner of Joo Chiat Place and Telok Kurau Road, very near my house today. I think it is kind of cool that I live near the old labour camps.
At the camp, my grandmother’s cousin and my great-grandfather both pretended to faint before they were killed, so the guard threw them outside the camp, as they were considered useless. They sneaked off to their Malay friends’ house, and borrowed their Malay clothing and escaped, as the Japanese did not bother the Malays whom they considered “friends”. I feel it was hard for people to live normally and be free. I do not think that I would be happy in such times. It is also very heart-warming to think that everyone was willing to help each other through those tough times.
My grandmother and her friends would hide in a sandbag shelter to play, cook, and drink tea during the war. Although it was war time, they still took some time off for some fun. Kids being kids, my grandmother, like me, always found time to have fun.
The Japanese would go from house to house, to take away the male family members and put them in a truck to be brought to the quarantine. The quarantine was a “big well” where the prisoners stood around the edge. The Japanese would shoot them with a machine gun, and into the well they went, alive or not. There were even some people who were buried alive. This was a slow and painful death. If I was alive then, I would take down the soldiers on duty at night, steal their guns, and pass them to my fellow Singaporeans so that we can defend ourselves.
By Neveah Hor Yan Ting, Pri 4, Methodist Girls’ School
I had thought that the Japanese Occupation was just about a war. However, I had a conversation with my grandfather as I was bored after my examinations. Touched by his story about him surviving World War Two, I decided to share his story.
Well, it all started when my grandfather was waking up in the morning, as he was going to school that day. He lived in Chinatown. My grandfather told me that Chinatown was a happy city and he was very glad to live there. However, on that unlucky day, many people heard a siren. Realisation hit them like a twenty-pound sledge hammer – it was the Japanese, who were at war with Singapore as they wanted our land.
His family members were at a loss. I was touched that he risked his life and managed to save them during the war. His younger sister almost passed away during the war as she almost got shot by a soldier, but my grandfather was brave and he blocked his sister. The soldier felt that my grandfather was brave, hence, he did not murder my grandfather and his sister.
I was glad that my grandfather managed to survive the Japanese Occupation. Up till now, my grandfather’s family is still alive; no one passed away during the war.
Without my grandfather going through this hardship, I would not be here today! After I heard about my grandfather’s story, I feel that we should cherish our life and be thankful to our pioneers who went through those years of hardship. I felt that it was worth it to spend my time having such a precious conversation with my grandfather about the Japanese Occupation.