Page 90 - Stories from our Grandparents

Mdm XXXX Born 1932 My friend’s great grandmother and
By Ayu Adillah Sari bte Sanizam
Millennia Institute
orn in 1932, my friend’s great grandmother, who
wishes to remain anonymous, lived in Singapore
for 86 years is currently living with her daughter’s
Bfamily at Telok Blangah. Her parents were originally
from Indonesia and they moved to Singapore in search of
a better life for themselves as well as their children.
However, in Singapore, life was not any easier. At a young age,
she had to take up the same job as her mother, which was to
offer laundry services for the kampong that they lived in to
help her parents financially. Life was tough on her, where she
had to juggle her job, school as well as her role as the eldest of
two younger siblings.
Unfortunately, this was not the only hardship she faced.
In her lifetime, she had first-hand experience of the
Japanese invasion of Singapore, the harassment she
faced from the Japanese soldiers, the Sook Ching
Operation and others. For her, the one incident that
is still fresh and lingers in her mind was the Japanese
bombing. It was the most traumatizing and vivid memory
she has ever had.
32 Grandma Stories
her siblings were awakened by the
blasting noises and ear-piercing
screams of bombs being dropped,
which became a norm for them after
a while.
“The sick aroma of ashes and blood filled
their nostrils every morning. People were
screaming at the top of their voices,
screaming in agony and were unable to
comprehend this disastrous event that
took away thousands of lives in a blink
of an eye.”
As the bombing continued, her family members had to hide under deep
drains while others dug up holes of empty graves to protect themselves
from the bombings. When the bombings had finally stopped, many were left
homeless and lost their loved ones. Years passed by and she had settled
down, opening up a food stall and then retiring at the age of 54. She feels
that the current generation will be more prepared if a similar event ever
happens. However, Singaporeans nowadays are more prone to be less
conservative, very opinionated as well as more daring. This makes her feel
and claim that it is in fact easier to take care of her nine children than her
great grandchildren.
Grandma Stories 33