DIARY OF A GIRL IN CHANGI, 1941 - 1945

Many of us have read the diary of Anne Frank. But how many of us are aware that there is another diary written by a girl who lived on our local shores around the same time as Anne Frank.

A Diary of a Girl in Changi is a wartime diary kept by a 17-year-old girl imprisoned during World War II. Her account is a girl's point of view about the war and Japanese occupation in Malaya.

This book is available at the Singapore National Library -- Catalog No. English 940.547252092 ALL -[WAR]

ACTIVITY

Please write a short book review below if you have managed to borrow and read this book during the holidays.

Do remember to write your name and class on your review.

ARE RIOTS ENTIRELY BAD?

Photograph (above) - 1964 Racial riots

We need to be thankful that we are living in peaceful times where riots were a thing of the past. As you have read in the History books, Singapore went through a turbulent period in the 1950s and 60s. Many riots took place at that time.

In 1950, we have the infamous Maria Hertogh riots which started when the courts in Singapore under the British government ruled that Maria Hertogh be returned to her Catholic biological parents, after she was raised a Muslim girl. The verdict resulted in a riot where the Muslim community turned violent against the European community. The riot resulted in the death of 18 people and 173 people were injured. Needless to say, the riots also affected businesses and economy with the imposed curfews.

The Anti-National Service riots took place in 1954. The riot came about when the British government in Singapore made it compulsory for males (ages 18-20) to serve National Service. The young Singaporean rioted because they were not willing to serve a foreign government. The riots made the Chinese community more political and it planted the seeds for more anti-British colonial government feelings, which the locals felt at that time that the British were not looking after the welfare of the people enough after WWII.

In 1955, a labour riot took place. Workers of the Hock Lee bus company rioted against the poor working conditions set by the bus company. It was reported that the Hock Lee Bus riot was in fact a politically motivated affair, where the bus workers and Chinese school students vented their anger against the company and the pro-British government at that time.

By 1956, the people became more political, in particularly the students in the Chinese schools. Many of them were pro-communist. When Lim Yew Hock, the Chief Minister of Singapore at that time de-registered and banned two pro-communist organisations. The Chinese students began a series of riots which started at Chung Cheng High School and Chinese High School. The rioting resulted in the death of 13 people and about 100 people were injured and had to be taken to the Singapore General Hospital.

The occurrence of riots in Singapore did not stop after the 1950s. In 1964, a more serious riot took place. This time, it involved the Malays and the Chinese. The 1964 Racial riots resulted in the loss of 23 lives and 454 people were injured. The riots came about when a breakaway group from the main Muslim possession which was celebrating the birthday of the Prophet Muhammad was told by the police to re-join the main party. The group began to attack the policeman, which sparked into a free for all riot.

Photo resource:

Internal Security Department - http://www.mha.gov.sg/isd/ct.htm

ACTIVITY TIME

Study the quote by this famous historical person.

“A riot is the language of the unheard” - Martin Luther King, Jr.

Do you agree with this statement? Do you think riots are entirely bad?

Please support your response with evidence and it should have a minimum of 150 words.

It is suggested that you write your response on Microsoft Word to take advantage of its spell-checker before doing a cut and paste it into the box below.