Elizabeth Choy, The Heroine
To us, a hero is not only someone who saves the world like superman. A hero can also be someone who quietly contributes to the country through small acts. A hero arises from some 'special' circumstances. Elizabeth Choy is one such hero that many Singaporeans look up to and show respect to.
Many people know Elizabeth Choy, the heroine during World War 2. During World War 2, many anti-Japanese were captured and interogated by kempeitai, Japanese police. Elizabeth Choy, together with her husband, was one of the victims. She was captured for helping to pass food, medicine and messages to the British prisoners of war during the Japanese occupation. She was imprisoned by the Japanese after being suspected of helping British internees.
It was her psychological resilience that helped her endure the interrogations by her Japanese captors. She once said, " I don't hate the Japanese, I just hate the war." That proves that she is indeed a war heroine with a very kind heart. She has the qualities of selflessness, fortitude and valor.
Challenges in the cell alone...
Elizabeth Choy was locked up in a very small and cramped cell for 200 days. The cell was only 4m by 5m big. However, Elizabeth Choy was put into that cell with more than 20 people in it. There was only a tap and a hole for toilet purposes. Being the only female in the cell, it was a big challenge for Elizabeth Choy as it poses an inconvenience for her as there is no privacy at all. Moreover, the awful stench coming from each and every internee's perspiration, human waste and stagnant water fouled up the whole cell and it was suffocating.
Challenges faced during interrogation...
During the Japanese Occupation, interrogations by kempeitai was what everyone dreads the most as the Japanese uses extreme torture ways to get information from people. Internees had to crawl out through a small trap door at the side for interrogation. When Elizabeth Choy was being interrogated, Elizabeth Choy made a painful decision by refusing to adhere to the kempeitai. She did not provide any information to the kempeitai. Seeing that Elizabeth Choy was not willing to give any information, the kempeitai brought Elizabeth's husband, who was being kept in another cell, and in front of her husband, stripped Elizabeth to the waist and applied electric shocks on her bare body.
It is one of the biggest challenge Elizabeth had to face is the withstand the electric shocks as it was excruciating. This also changes Elizabeth Choy's life as even after the Japanese occupation, she had a phobia for electrical appliances.
In her reflection on the lessons learnt from the war, Elizabeth Choy said, "My values are quite changed. I am no more materialistic, even to this day. Never mind if I have no mansion, no diamonds... still I'm happy."
Sources of research information:
1. http://infopedia.nl.sg/articles/SIP%20816%202005-01-25.html
2. http://ourstory.asia1.com.sg/war/headline/ec200.html
3. http://www.a2o.com.sg/a2o/public/html/etc/elizabeth/htm
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ReplyDeleteAs what u said, ms elizabeth choy is a selfless, courageous and determined person,i also agreed to the statement,but you can add in some points that can show how selfless, courageous, she can be. For example, the officers stunned her with electric guns to force her to say the person in charge of rebelling against the japanese etc.She persever through the hardship and ordeal. This, in all,can show how great she was that time.