an essay on the assimilation of countries in south east asia
Interviewee:
To me, life was [pause] nice la, I like-I like to be alive I tell you at that time ah. I was becoming a young lady, and I was pretty, and I had boys looking at me-I like that also-so you know we all like that don’t we huh? Ah, and er, so to me, and then I went to school, I went back to school after the liberation I went to, er, St Hilda’s school, t-they took- I passed er English test, and that-those days there was no maths; they call it sums, I couldn’t do the sums. So they couldn’t put me in primary four… and I was rejected. So-so I didn’t go-go back to school.
Interviewer:
So, after all of this, like 70 years later on, do you feel anything? What are you after thoughts? How do you feel?
Interviewee:
A-afterthoughts about the Japanese?
Interviewer:
M-hmm.
Interviewee:
About the internment ca-[Interviewer interjects]
Interviewer:
About anything, anything.
Interviewee:
Like what? Like what? Example. About my life of the 70 years?
Interviewer:
Do you feel that the Japanese occupation in anyway has changed your life or shaped how you live nowadays?
Interviewee:
Of course they changed my life because I didn’t have an education-which iw as very intelligent, you know, I wanted to study, and I couldn’t because- that one, yes, I was bitter. Other than that I-I didn’t care so much la you know. I was happy Japanese gone and we have good food everyday, my parents love me, I was the youngest…OK la, that’s it.
Interviewee:
Religion is something that I was brought up to believe in this religion ah, Judais-Judaism ah. And I believe in that, and whatever my family did I followed. You know like they have Friday prayers, I followed, like Saturdays we go to the Synagogue, I followed. But what transpired-I must be honest with you-at that age ah, talking about when I was growing up or after the war which one? After the-before the war right? I didn’t understand much of it. I-I know that it’s a, my parents were praying, what they were
To me, life was [pause] nice la, I like-I like to be alive I tell you at that time ah. I was becoming a young lady, and I was pretty, and I had boys looking at me-I like that also-so you know we all like that don’t we huh? Ah, and er, so to me, and then I went to school, I went back to school after the liberation I went to, er, St Hilda’s school, t-they took- I passed er English test, and that-those days there was no maths; they call it sums, I couldn’t do the sums. So they couldn’t put me in primary four… and I was rejected. So-so I didn’t go-go back to school.
Interviewer:
So, after all of this, like 70 years later on, do you feel anything? What are you after thoughts? How do you feel?
Interviewee:
A-afterthoughts about the Japanese?
Interviewer:
M-hmm.
Interviewee:
About the internment ca-[Interviewer interjects]
Interviewer:
About anything, anything.
Interviewee:
Like what? Like what? Example. About my life of the 70 years?
Interviewer:
Do you feel that the Japanese occupation in anyway has changed your life or shaped how you live nowadays?
Interviewee:
Of course they changed my life because I didn’t have an education-which iw as very intelligent, you know, I wanted to study, and I couldn’t because- that one, yes, I was bitter. Other than that I-I didn’t care so much la you know. I was happy Japanese gone and we have good food everyday, my parents love me, I was the youngest…OK la, that’s it.
Interviewee:
Religion is something that I was brought up to believe in this religion ah, Judais-Judaism ah. And I believe in that, and whatever my family did I followed. You know like they have Friday prayers, I followed, like Saturdays we go to the Synagogue, I followed. But what transpired-I must be honest with you-at that age ah, talking about when I was growing up or after the war which one? After the-before the war right? I didn’t understand much of it. I-I know that it’s a, my parents were praying, what they were