Zhu Zhu’s Challenging Childhood

Last night, we held another "Resilience Dinner" gathering event, but we encountered heavy rain. I was busy outside and couldn't return by 6 pm, so I asked another volunteer, Xiao Ling, to host the dinner on my behalf.

 When I finally returned to the Medical & Health Station, it was already 6:30 pm, and to my surprise, everyone had already finished their dinner. In just half an hour, Zhu Zhu had prepared a simple dish of fried egg with preserved radish for everyone to enjoy, and Xiao Ling saved dinner for those of us who arrived late.

 While having dinner, I had a conversation with Zhu Zhu. She shared her memories of Resilience Dinner," but she emphasized that preparing the preserved radish and egg dish wasn't her true "resilience meal" from her childhood. Her actual childhood challenging meal was cassava, sometimes without even rice.

 "We used to eat cassava for every meal, to the point where my siblings and I were scared of it. We once collaborated to secretly feed the cassava to the dogs and then lied to our grandmother, saying that we were already full. Grandma thought we had eaten it!"

 Zhu Zhu lost her mother at the age of two and grew up in a large family with three older brothers, three older sisters, and one younger sister. She was the seventh in the birth order. Due to their difficult financial situation, Zhu Zhu and her sisters never had the opportunity to go to school because the elders favoured educating the boys, leaving the girls to help at home. Her sisters faced the same lack of educational opportunities because the elders in the family tended to prioritize boys over girls.

 "We were all raised by my grandmother. After my mother passed away, my father had to support nine people all by himself, which was extremely challenging. Therefore, he decided to send me and my younger sister to be adopted by someone else. My father worked as a secretary in a jewellery shop, and at that time, many Malay ladies came to buy gold jewellery. So, my father told them that he had two daughters, and everyone wanted to adopt us!"

 According to her sister's recollection, Zhu Zhu and her younger sister were really on the verge of leaving home at that time.

 "My sisters said they cleaned and dressed me and my younger sister neatly, and then our father took us to the jewellery shop to wait for the Malay ladies to adopt us. But little did they know, once Grandma found out, she quickly sent my sisters to the jewellery shop to bring us back! Grandma said, 'My grandchildren will never be given away, even if we don't have enough food to eat!'"

 Nevertheless, life was very difficult. Grandma cooked cassava for them for every meal, and they grew tired of it. They took turns secretly throwing cassava to the dogs. Grandma disciplined them strictly, and Zhu Zhu still vividly remembers an incident when she was five years old.

 One day, Zhu Zhu and her friend were playing, and her friend tore her sleeve. Zhu Zhu felt upset, so she retaliated by tearing her friend's sleeve. Her friend got angry and complained to her mother about Zhu Zhu bullying her.

 "Her mother found my grandmother and accused me of having no discipline. In her anger, Grandma used a rough rattan whip to almost beat me half to death... I was very sad after being beaten and decided to run away from home. I took a small path to go to the market to find my father. Grandma couldn't find me and was extremely worried. She sent my brother to look for me, and my brother rode his bicycle to find my uncle. My uncle didn't hesitate and lit his high beam headlight to search for me."

 "They were all very worried and guessed that I might really go find my father. When Grandma heard that, she said that if I returned home, she would definitely beat me half to death."

 In the evening, Zhu Zhu nervously followed her father back home. When she stepped in, her brothers and sisters saw her holding her father's clothes and excitedly shouted, "Ah Zhu! Ah Zhu! She's really behind Dad!"

 However, Grandma's face turned pale, and she scolded, "Quick, go wash your feet! You can't go upstairs without washing your feet! I'll beat you later!"

 Zhu Zhu’s sisters immediately begged Grandma to spare her and not beat her anymore.

 "Kneel in the public area as your punishment," Grandma ordered, and Zhu Zhu shivered in fear.

 Despite feeling wronged, she dared not resist and knelt for an hour without getting up.

 This time, it was her father who pleaded for her: "It's already ten o'clock! It's late. Let her go to bed and call it a day!"

 Zhu Zhu said that this incident remained unforgettable for her. As she speaks about it, tears often flow uncontrollably.

 To this day, when reflecting on these sad memories, she understands that her grandmother's strictness was due to the circumstances and the pressure from the outside world. She realizes that if her grandmother didn't take action, people would question her upbringing.

 "My grandmother loved me, or she would have given me away to Malay ladies a long time ago. My grandfather had an affair outside, and he rarely came back. Grandma had to take care of all eight of us, and without a mother, how could she not discipline us?"

 No matter how much her grandmother loved her and was reluctant to send her away, life took an unexpected turn. A few years later, at the age of 15, Zhu Zhu was diagnosed with leprosy and truly "ran away from home," but this time, she never returned home.

 "When I got leprosy, no one knew how to treat it. My brother went to seek help by conduct a ritual ceremony, asking our deceased mother to come up from the underworld to cure my illness.  Through a diviner, my mom asked my brother to pick up pieces of coffin wood used for making coffins and boil them to use the water for my bath, but it didn't work. Then they consulted a diviner, and my mom asked me to eat pigeon droppings... It was really miserable!" When talking about this, even at an old age, tears filled Zhu Zhu’s eyes.

 During her teenage years, Zhu Zhu, due to her illness, no longer dared to run around. She gradually avoided crowds, and her happy childhood days had long passed. Despite trying various home remedies, all attempts failed. Eventually, a friend of Zhu Zhu's father took her to the Taiping Hospital for treatment, where she stayed for two weeks, and the doctors confirmed her leprosy diagnosis.

 Her uncle asked, "Do you want to go to Sungai Buloh?" Zhu Zhu realized that her family had gone through so much trouble for her illness, causing them great hardship. She knew deep inside that continuing to hide and avoiding going out would only make her life more bitter. She preferred to die in the leprosy settlement rather than outside.

 "At that time, Taiping Hospital detained many leprosy patients, and we took the train to Sungai Buloh together. Can you imagine? Two train carriages were full of patients, completely packed! Before we left, the hospital prepared a pack food for each of us. After entering the hospital, I saw a severely affected patient named 'Shigu,' and her appearance was extremely frightening, making me extremely scared! I dared not eat the hospital food, fearing infection, so I quickly ate the pack food I had brought with me. However, that pack food was soon empty! The next day, we had to eat the hospital food!"

 Zhu Zhu said that in the past, when people heard of being "admitted" to a leprosy settlement, they thought it meant there was no hope, and it was a one-way road to death. So, everyone was afraid and dared not enter the leprosy settlement.

 "Let's just die! Before coming here, I thought I would definitely die. I thought that after coming in, we would be locked in a small hospital room, and doctors and nurses would take turns giving us injections to make us die. I had no idea that after coming in, I would discover that this place is like heaven!" Zhu Zhu remembered her younger self, that innocent little girl, and it truly made people smile.

 The 15-year-old girl who once believed she would be executed in Sungai Buloh settlement ultimately found a new life here.

 Today, Zhu Zhu is 84 years old. She is our source of joy, and I am often moved by her resilience and optimistic spirit... Her story also inspires us.

 Her full name is Cheong Ooi Chee.