No dram of mercy by Sybil Kathigasu
A narration by Sybil Kathigasu of her life in Ipoh( about 700 km north of Singapore) in Malaysia during the evil days of Japanese occupation 1941-1945. The wife of a doctor, she took her husband's duties during the upheaval. Among her patients were anti-Japanese freedom fighters and for that she paid dearly.
This is a 'Japanese' book that touches me. I reread this book after watching a programme during the weekend on the bombing of Hiroshima. It showed Japanese children going to school, workers leaving for office, women doing housework etc... before and the scenes after the bombing. And this is an excerpt from the book on what S.Kathigasu ( and millions like her in East Asia) went through, probably during the time Japanese mothers sent their children of to school, doing shopping, cleaning house...
My beating continued until I could scarcely stand but hung limp in the bonds which tied me to the pillar. Now, on a command from the Japanese, a couple of Haehos tied a rope round Dawn's chest, (6 yrs old) then the other end over a branch some ten feet from the ground, and hauled her up, her hands tied behind her back, into the tree. The tree was swarming with ants and my daughter was soon wriggling uncomfortably as they bit her. 'Are the ants hurting you, Dawn darling?' 'I can stand it, Mummy. Don't worry.' Then to my horror, a brazier was brought, and at a word from Yoshimura the glowing coals were emptied out and spread on the ground below my daughter's feet. Nearby was a pile of wood and tin of kerosene. 'Now speak,' said the Japanese,' or your daughter is finished'.