Anonymous and Jerusha Soh
Anonymous:
I was born in 1959. The year Singapore was granted full internal self government. I grew up in a 2-room rental flat in town. My elder siblings did not finish their primary education in their Chinese schools. My parents enrolled me into an English stream primary school. I was on my own with no one to help me in my homework or in my choices. I just followed my classmates and their choice; and went to the Polytechnic after my GCE ‘O’ Level.
In Polytechnic, my life changed. I became a student activist, joined sit-in outside the Principal’s office until the riot Police was called in to disperse us; bus fare hike protest and was brought to the police station; skilled class and almost failed my final year examination.
After graduation, I was introduced to join a catholic center. The center as used as a crisis center and halfway house for ex-convicts. We befriended a group of Malaysian workers; educated them on their legal rights working in Singapore; taught them conversational English and organized outings and activities for them. At the center, I met my wife and we eventually got married after several appeals to the Ministry of Labor (now Ministry of Manpower).
I moved to my own HDB flat after marriage. I joined the Grassroots Organization after receiving a flyer inviting residents to form the Residents’ Committee (RC). I believe in getting involved to make improvements to our living environment and amenities. I enjoy working with our volunteers; helping residents and organizing activities/programmes for the community. I learned to respect others; listen attentively, be observant; to live harmoniously.
I worked in a Japanese Engineering Company as an Engineering Assistant after graduation. Although I was there for a short stint of 1.5 years, I have learnt quite a lot working with the Japanese. We were taught not just to focus on our own work/projects but also be observant towards how other contractors are performing their work as we might need the knowledge at a later part of our career. We were also encouraged to keep a diary to record our observations, what we have learnt and any problems encountered etc. daily. My Japanese bosses were very accepting of people’s mistakes. I joined the water industry thereafter and continued to work past my retirement age.
Jerusha Soh:
I was born in 1997. My childhood comprised of carefree days running around the playground with my neighbors, where we would pretend to be all sorts of things. - blind mice; water and ice; the monkey bars. And every so often, my family would stuff our car full of luggage and head off to Johor Bahru for the weekend where we navigated the foreign land using a physical paper map. Apart from the occasional bruises and tears of growing up, my younger days are etched in my memory as bright and cherry.
As a student, I struggled to make sense of numbers and symbols and diagrams, and so I often performed badly in math and science. After school, you’d find me sitting listlessly in remedials and tuition classes. I did well in my languages, however. In fact, I was such a chatterbox that my grandmother would always say in mandarin,”Look at her chirping away again!” When my O-level examination results were released, I didn't score well enough to enter my desired JC. I cried, upset that I’d be separated from my good friends. Young and silly me didn't realise that such is life; it takes you to scary places, and you learn to be brave. I eventually made great friends in the JC I ended up in, and we continue to remain close five years on. One of my favorite memories was heading to a pasar malam outside our school together one day, where we munched on Ramly burgers and sucked on ice pops.
Disappointed by my poor O-level examination results, I was determined to work hard and make it to university. Last year, I graduated with a Bachelors degree. My time in university expanded my horizon, especially when I went to U.S for student exchange programme. It was my first time living abroad for several months, away from my loved ones. While I was overseas, I went on a mission trip with some Christian youths. We stayed at an orphanage that housed Native American children. Their stories left me heartbroken and yet so heartened by their strength and perseverance. Upon returning to Singapore, I was determined to put down my roots deeper than ever and make a change wherever I am placed in society.
This year, my family moved houses. It was a big change for me, even though we didn't move too far away. I had grown very fond of where I used to live. It was where I learned to walk, swim, and ride a bicycle; where I had a secret hiding place whenever I was feeling down, where I had close neighbors, one of whom would shout, “Hello!” to my window every so often. Yet, I have been able to see new sights, from families flying kites on an open land, to ruins of a decrepit, deserted park, to a father and daughter giggling to each other as their old school ice cream sandwiches melted and dropped off their fingers. In a way, it feels as if I never moved.
It has been a year since I graduated, and I am now working at an organization which advocates migrant worker rights. For the first time in my life, I feel responsible for speaking up to injustices. The rest of my story remains unwritten, but as I briefly penned down my experiences up until now, I realized that there are many more moments I wish to share in hopes to encourage and inspire those who are younger. Perhaps, I'll be able to one day, in a car with my children traveling to Malaysia (using a GPS, of course). But until then, there is a season for everything and a time for every matter under heaven.
