The Choo Chronicles - Part 1 of many

I have got it good being a mum in this era. 

I learned a few nights ago that my "Ah Ma" [grandmother from my dad's side] actually had 9 children. Our family was so poor then that they could not afford to buy food to feed all of the family. My grandfather passed away from TB when my dad was 11 years old. Again, something I didn't know about until my sister shared the story. So it was down to Ah Ma to fend for the family. Cue WW2 and its impact. These were very hard times. 

I have always thought that I had 7 Aunties and Uncles. 

Ah Ma had to give away two of her daughters to the convent to keep them alive. And as soon as she was able to take them back, she went to the convent asking for her daughters but they refused to give them back to her. Knowing what I know about the Catholic schools in North America, I question whether the same was experienced in Malaysia... given my second Uncle's experience. 

After my grandfather's passing, a priest came to the house and asked Ah Ma "How can you afford to look after the family?" The priest said he'd take in a child and send them to school. The kids were lined up in front of him. He said, no girls. Then he chose my dad who was the oldest of the family. Ah Ma said that she needed him to work and support the family. So she gave my second Uncle (the second oldest son) who was 9 at the time. He felt so sad and remarked to Ah Ma "don't you want me anymore?"

There was a strict rule in the school that everyone needed to attend church on Sundays otherwise they'd get caned at least 6 times. My second Uncle was trying to support the family by working Saturdays and Sundays [when school was out]. He'd get caned the following Monday for doing so. Every. Single. Monday. For a whole year! He said the priest did not care what the reasons were for skipping church. So he took the caning. Well, most of it. 

Choo Kuang is my grandfather's name. I have just learned this. And the priest and nuns would confuse my second Uncle with my grandfather's name. On one occasion, they called out my grandfather's name for the caning. His name sounded very similar to one of my second Uncle's classmates name. My second Uncle turned to the boy "Hey, they're calling out your name". So this boy, who could not refute the orders of the nuns, went up and was caned.  

My second Uncle laughed as he recalled this at Ah Ma's wake in 2019. It was as if time had not passed when he shared the story since he remembered it so vividly. 

My dad has hardly shared any of this childhood stories. My second Auntie said it is too hard to recall these stories as they're so traumatic. But they relived it in Ah Ma's funeral. They meant so much to her.