"Singapore is a wonderful country. There is fighting in so many other countries but here there is peace and we have a roof over our heads. The only problem is money. I am not so educated. And without education, there is little money. And without money, it can be a hard life."
"I come here to Toa Payoh from Whampoa every day to sell my cardboard and cans." "How much do you make?" "Usually 4-5 dollars."
"My parents sold me for $800 when I was 9 years old. A family in Johor bought me to work on their rubber plantations. It was difficult work for a child. And once I even got injured. But they didn't give me proper medical care so my leg never healed properly. By the time I was 11, I couldn't take it anymore because they beat me. So I ran away. I knew that if I followed the railway track, it would lead back to Singapore. So I walked along the track and managed to find my way home. After that, my parents returned the $800 to get back my birth certificate. But they were still poor so they sold me again - for $880 this time. I was sold to a temple in Malaysia. I did cooking and cleaning at the temple... But there was trouble at the temple and eventually I had to leave when I was 17. Again I found my way back to Singapore. When I got home, I opened a business tailoring clothes. I was never trained but I'd seen the tailors working in the streets and figured it out. I had lots of business. That's how I met my husband. He came to the shop one day to tailor a jacket and later he asked me out... I suppose my childhood was quite hard. My reading and writing is not so good because I couldn't go to school all those years. And there were some hardships. But now I have a good life. I have three grown children and my husband is always with me. We are very happy."
"I drive this cab 9 hours a day, 365 days a year with no time off. I just make enough money to get by. I'm 63. I have no children - still single leh! I try not to think about the future. Everything in Singapore moves so fast. Everything is IT. If I could not drive a cab, what could I do? I am not so smart to be able to do IT. If my license was ever suspended I'd have no hope. I don't know what I will do when I am too old to drive - how to survive? Cannot think about that. All my friends are married now. I don't see them any more. I just go home and sit. I am so tired when I get home. I am so tired I can hardly think. And every day is the same. I think the smart people, like the government, they have time to think. They can think and figure things out. But I am so tired. All I can do is sit. I wonder sometimes if I am even human. Is this what it means to be human? I don't know. I really wonder if I am human at all."
"5 packets 1 dollar." "That's very generous! Are you sure?" "Sure! Here: take 3 more. These are special tissue. For babies." "It's OK auntie, you keep. I don't have babies" "No! Take. Take. You should have babies. Keep and use for your babies."
"Three years ago I had open heart surgery. They replaced 3 arteries with some from my legs. I don't know how much it cost. $50k? $80k? Not sure. My church paid for the whole thing. And sometimes the pastor gives me a little money when I don't sell enough things. They take care of me."
"Father was a gambler. He lost everything, even our home." The jovial washroom attendant is not bitter. Her history is just a fact of life and now she lives alone in a one-room rental flat. http://on.fb.me/13IrYDx
"Just live one day at a time" - Ah Tai
Dignity above charity This auntie did not give her name. She was selling tissues and was doubled over under the weight of her load.When offered extra money for the tissue she got upset. She didn't say it but the message was clear: she doesn't want charity. She wants to earn her money. A lesson learned. Much respect auntie.
