TREATMENT OF THE PEOPLE DURING THE WAR
Treatment of POWs:
Life in the prisons and gaols was unbearable. Living conditions were unhygienic and congested. For example, the design of a typical Changi prison cell would be as follows – one window, one lavatory, and a concrete bed 18 inches high, dubbed "the Slab". cell arrangement – four or more POWs to one cell
CELL DOOR OF CHANGI PRISON (IN CHANGI MUSUEM)
The following are the singular elements of the life of the POWs:
- They are constantly starved. The following is the daily food “menu” as described by a Dutch POW: breakfast - a mug of rice porridge, lunch - salted fish with 50g of cooked rice, dinner - a mug of cooked rice with radish. The POWs had to cook their own food with provided ingredients on several occasions.
- Radios tuning into Allied broadcasts were forbidden and were only allowed to lock in to approved frequencies
- Suspected anti-Japanese elements among the POWs were tortured, and sometimes killed.
- The POWs were frequently searched for forbidden objects, such as communication devices
THE POWs WERE CERTAINLY STARVED - LOOK AT THEIR BODIES
The POWs were also forced to be labourers, particularly at the Death Railway. What happened there? The labourers were starved and medication was not provided for the wounded. The sick were also left to die.
Though the treatment of the POWs was typically negative, they were assisted on several occasions - e.g. two unnamed guards provided some POWs with Vitamin B tablets.
Treatment of locals:
Treatment of local civilians during the war was just as bad. They were not spared from adversity and affliction, and many of them were similarly interned for alleged “anti-Japanism” (in our own words).
Japanese demanded respect from the civilians. For example, a survivor of the war, Ismail Zam, recalled that a civilian would be physically persecuted if he or she did not answer appropriately to the queries of any Japanese officer.
The locals were frequently maltreated and victimized by Japanese officers. For example, Liau Thai Chuan, a local civilian, recalled being robbed of his bicycle and slapped without justified reason. There were also Korean women who were “imported” to provide the Japanese officers with “entertainment”.
Many local civilians were forced to be labourers. There were many foreign workers promised decent working prospects, but were eventually taken as slaves and given poor living conditions and treatment. There were also girls imported for the entertainment of the Japanese Kempeitai – Comfort women, as mentioned earlier.
COMFORT WOMEN
“Some of them (Indonesian workers) were suffering from beri-beri or malaria, some were lying down in the drain dying. They were misguided by the Japanese. They were promised a good job when they arrived. Instead they were taken as slaves with no proper treatment, no food, everything. That’s what I remember.”
- Robert Chong Student
Civilian internees were tortured rather cruelly, through “creative” torturing methods which the Japanese thought of – e.g. water bloated, fire and water torture methods
There was a particular fear factor present within the community – The locals suspected each other of being in league with the Japanese:
“In Dhoby Ghaut I saw Timothy Chew and I stopped dead. If I sat with him and he was a Japanese spy, I was finished. If I didn’t join him, he would be upset. I ordered a cup of coffee, said ‘Hello’ and remained silent. But one of us had to explode. So, he finally turned around to me and said, “Tell me are you a Japanese spy?” He was suspecting me! I said, “No. Are you?” He said, “No!” Then we became friendly and started to talk.”
- Dr Yahya Cohen Medical Student
The following is a Japanese perspective of life in Syonan-to (Singapore during WWII) then.
“In September 1943, ten lorries filled with settlers joyfully left the city steps on their 136-mile journey to New Syonan. There were no tearful farewells. On the contrary, there were shouts of joy. Everyone was happy: they were going to a place where everybody would be free.”
- Mamoru Shinozaki Head Welfare Dept
REACTION OF THE PEOPLE DURING THE WAR
Psychological reaction of the people during the war:
The people, including both civilians and POWs wanted to live dignified. They had recreational activities such as drawing and organising plays to keep inspired and maintain their sanity and morale.
Realistic reaction of the locals during the war:
The locals made some adjustments to their daily lifestyle to better adapt to life in the war period. The following are some examples:
- The locals used adapted trishaw (could carry more people) to travel around, for it saved oil.
- They went to the black market to purchase certain necessities. (A black market is a market where all commerce is conducted without regard to taxation, law or regulations of trade.)
BANANA MONEY USED FOR TRADE DURING WWII
“The people of Singapore made their own soap, shoe polish, frying pans, tyres, welding sets, bottles and other items. Ropes made from pineapple fibre and paper from pineapple leaves, bamboo or lallang appeared in the market.”
- History of Singapore, Ernest Chew and Edwin Lee
- They replaced flour with tapioca.
Realistic reaction of the POWs during the war:
In an effort to boost their morale and sanity, the POWs did some stuff as follows:
- As a majority of the POWs were Christian, Sunday was reserved for Confession and Mass. There was also Sunday school for the children. In the afternoon, for all prisoners, there would be a family gathering, for families to derive comfort from each other and last till the next Sunday.
- For entertainment and to while away time, POWs wrote diaries, held football tournaments, skipped, played mahjong, played 5-stone and spun tops. There were plays and concerts commonly organized. There was even a boxing tournament held.
- Some of the female POWs planted flowers to make their lives more interesting. In addition, some POWs wrote books to entertain themselves and also their children.
- There were drawings and murals to either express their trust in God, to remember the scenes of being kept in prison, and also to preserve their sanity and to keep their morale high. They could also be satirical, making fun of their current situation.
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