Chuar gim thuan
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Title: Drawing Picture
Title (Original Language): 画公仔
Year: 2017
Words in the Drawing: “I don’t know how to draw. When the teacher drew a picture, I just follow. This drawing enables me to recall those days we went to watch movies at the cinema. I had a best friend called Kala. She was an assistant nurse. Her husband’s name was Ho Huey Lim. Both of them always dated me to watch movies together. We usually went at 4pm to grab nice seats. There were many people in the cinema and it was so crowded. Many people were staying at the settlement last time and there were many chalets at the Central Section. Some chalets were occupied by 8 persons and some were only occupied by 4 persons. The authorities arranged me to stay at the quadruple chalet. The chalet was like a square box where everyone was sleeping at each corner. The toilet and bathroom were a bit far from our chalet. We usually put on sarung when we went shower. We went back to chalet to change clothes after taking shower. We had a screen or a partition beside each of our bed and it was more convenient to change clothes in the room. That time I was only 20s and I had no defects. It was so convenient for me to move around. But now both my arms and legs were amputated and I can only stay in the ward. When I have nothing to do, I can only watch television. ”
Size: 17.5cm X 15.2cm
Location: The Valley of Hope Story Gallery
Owner: Chuar Gim Thuan
Copyright: Chuar Gim Thuan
Title: Marriage Quarter
Title (Original Language): 结婚楼
Year: 2017
Words in the Drawing: “When I was staying at quadruple chalet, I was still single. I had a friend, called Guat Im, who worked as Hospital attendant at Female Ward. She got to know one dresser who was working at Male ward with the name Lim Cheng Yi. She introduced Cheng Yi to me and we fell in love. We then decided to get married. At first, we went to register at Hokkien Association but we heard that registration of marriage with Hokkien Association was illegal. So we went to Registrar of Marriage to register again by car. After getting married, I started to raise chickens and ducks at home but it only generated a little income. So I decided to plant pot plants in hanging baskets and a great variety of flowers. Last time, someone used to sponsor Chinese opera every Sunday and I watched it with my husband. ”
Size: 17.5cm X 15.2cm
Location: The Valley of Hope Story Gallery
Owner: Chuar Gim Thuan
Copyright: Chuar Gim Thuan
Title: Indonesian
Title (Original Language): 印尼人
Year: 2017
Words in the Drawing: “I was born in Indonesia and I am the eldest in my family. I have 4 younger brothers. My third brother and I suffered leprosy at the same time and my parents raised fund for the shipping fee in order to send me and my brother to get treatment in Malaya. There were another two more patients who came from the same home country and we were in the same boat. One was called Ah Sim and another one was called Ah Heong. Our boat had been drifting for 3-4 days before we reached Malaya. That time, the fare per person was more than RM100. After settling down here, my younger brother got the chance to study in school but I was not able to because I was over-age. I didn’t know anything. I got to know Sai Moi and Sow Cheng. They guided me to cook. Since then, I started my catering business. I had 8 customers in total, including 2 assistant nurses, one dresser, 2 policemen, 2 teachers and one old man. They paid me RM4 each per month for catering fee. After I got my pay, I took care of my brother. I bought him clothes, stationeries and food. But my brother was a bit cold-hearted and our relationship was not good. He is still single and stays in the chalet alone at Central Section. He doesn’t have a job but relying on the government monthly food allowance. My brother hasn’t visited me for long and the rest of my brothers in Indonesia have passed away. ”
Size: 17.5cm X 15.2cm
Location: The Valley of Hope Story Gallery
Owner: Chuar Gim Thuan
Copyright: Chuar Gim Thuan
Title: Flying Birds
Title (Original Language): 鸟儿飞
Year: 2017
Words in the Drawing: “I love to see birds flying in the sky. There are many pigeons at our ward. We usually throw our leftover at the compound outside the ward to feed the pigeons. I have some problems with my arms and I am not able to lift the food holder. So I usually get the help from the Malay cleaner to assist me to feed the pigeons with my leftover. Besides birds, aeroplanes also fly in the sky. I have never taken an aeroplane before. Last time, we usually travelled by boat to come over here for treatment. There was no motor attached with the boat. Hence, the boat would be drifting for many days before we reached here. I heard that nowadays someone is able travel back to Indonesia to visit relatives by motorboat in just one day! Some wealthy people take flights to go back to Indonesia and they reach home within few hours. Now both my arms and feet are spoilt and how can I go home then? Even if I am able to go home, my parents are no longer around and my three younger brothers have passed away, isn’t it pointless for me to go home? In fact, I still have two younger sisters but they are not my parents’ biological children. They were adopted. When I was admitted to the settlement, one was 6 years old and another one was 10 years old. When they grew up, they wrote me letters. But after my parents have passed away, I no longer receive their letters. Previously when I was staying at the chalet at Central Section, both of my sisters came to visit me. I think they came together to Malaysia with other Indonesians to visit relatives. That time, my right foot was removed and I had fixed a prosthetic. I was planting flowers in front of the chalet. After meeting up with them, I got to know that they had settled down. My first younger sister gave birth to two sons but her husband had passed away. My second younger sister had 4 children and her husband was a fisherman. Life was very tough for them. I gave them RM200 each. Our government pay us food allowance and we are given food as well as accommodation. Whatever I can help, I definitely help. I have been staying in this ward for more than 10 years but they have never come anymore. We lost contacts. ”
Size: 17.5cm X 15.2cm
Location: The Valley of Hope Story Gallery
Owner: Chuar Gim Thuan
Copyright: Chuar Gim Thuan
Title: Stars
Title (Original Language): 星星
Year: 2017
Words in the Drawing: “When I stayed at the hill top last time, I have seen stars before, each of them was small. I could see them shining and twinkling in the sky. That time, my husband was a government servant. He came home at 12 noon to have lunch every day. I cooked for him every day. Every evening, he came home at 6pm. He took shower and we had dinner together. We watched television until 11 o’clock before we went to bed. Sometimes, my husband and I took the Council Bus to have a half day trip in Kuala Lumpur. I could still walk that time. We went shopping together. We also watched movies and had nice food. We were so happy. Someone said that good people will definitely go to heaven after they pass away. I think my husband has gone to heaven. I am a Buddhist. Volunteers from Tzu Chi always come over to guide me to recite prayer. I recite namo amitabha every day and night. I believe that after I pass away, Buddha will lead me to heaven. ”
Size: 17.5cm X 15.2cm
Location: The Valley of Hope Story Gallery
Owner: Chuar Gim Thuan
Copyright: Chuar Gim Thuan
Title: Siblings
Title (Original Language): 兄弟姐妹
Year: 2017
Words in the Drawing: “I came from a very poor family. My father was a fisherman and my mother is a housewife. My father and my uncle went to the sea to catch fish. Each time they went to the sea, they usually came home at least after one month. However, they didn’t really get a lot of fish and they earned very little only. In order to support the family, my mother helped others to babysit. I am the eldest in the family. At the age of 7, I had to carry a basket and sell pastries (kueh) door to door. I had never been to school because we were poor. My younger brothers still had chance to attend night class. My third younger brother who was like me, suffering from leprosy, also had the chance to continue his studies when he was sent to the settlement. They were luckier than me. ”
Size: 17.5cm X 15.2cm
Location: The Valley of Hope Story Gallery
Owner: Chuar Gim Thuan
Copyright: Chuar Gim Thuan
Title: Dogs
Title (Original Language): 狗仔
Year: 2017
Words in the Drawing: “When I stayed at the chalet last time, I had kept three dogs before. One was called Ah Loo, the female one was called Ah Mee and the bigger-sized one was called Poppy. I released them at 6 o’clock every morning to get them to pee and pass motion. They usually came back to have food at around 7 o’clock. After feeding them, I tied them up again. I had been keeping them for more than 10 years until they got sick and passed away. After that, someone wanted to give me dog as gift but I didn’t want to keep any. Besides, someone also wanted to give me cat as gift but I also rejected. This is because cats like to climb up the cabinet or table to sneak food. So I dislike cats. ”
Size: 17.5cm X 15.2cm
Location: The Valley of Hope Story Gallery
Owner: Chuar Gim Thuan
Copyright: Chuar Gim Thuan
Title: Father Fishing
Title (Original Language): 父亲捕鱼
Year: 2017
Words in the Drawing: “My family was very poor when I was a kid and my father caught fish in the sea for a living. Each time they went to the sea for more than one month but they usually came home without fish. This was because my uncle sold out all the fish to get money. Sometimes they brought back a pack of shrimps so that my mother could fry them with vegetables. We rarely had the chance to eat even one Mackerel because the price of the fish was super high. I still can recall the scene where all my siblings fought for fish whenever my mother fried it. Now I stay here and the government takes care of me. The hospital provides us with fish or chicken for both lunch and dinner. But I feel heaty taking fish and chicken every day. I always have ulcer problem. The hospital seldom provides us with vegetables. Hence, I usually get my friend for help to pack vegetable soup or some fried vegetables so that I can eat with rice. ”
Size: 17.5cm X 15.2cm
Location: The Valley of Hope Story Gallery
Owner: Chuar Gim Thuan
Copyright: Chuar Gim Thuan
Title: Bunny
Title (Original Language): 兔子
Year: 2017
Words in the Drawing: “I hang a bunny decoration beside my bed. It was a gift from a Malay doctor. This male doctor did his first ward round here and he saw me doing nothing on my bed. So he came to chit chat with me. After a while, he brought this bunny for me. I was so happy. I was worried that this bunny would get dirty after keeping it for long. I got my friend, Pak Nang to get me a plastic bag. I packed the bunny with the plastic bag and hung it beside my bed. I feel happy looking at it. In this drawing, I drew a carrot for the bunny. I also drew grasses around it and I hope that it lives happily. ”
Size: 17.5cm X 15.2cm
Location: The Valley of Hope Story Gallery
Owner: Chuar Gim Thuan
Copyright: Chuar Gim Thuan
Title: Three Flowers
Title (Original Language): 三朵花
Year: 2017
Words in the Drawing: “This drawing makes me recall those days where I planted a wide variety of flowers as well as hanging planters. I sold each pot for RM1. My business was very good and I could make hundreds ringgit a month. Before planting flowers, I also raised two coops of chickens. There were about 30 chickens in a coop but I didn’t earn much money. After we started to plant flowers, our life had been improved. However, I only planted Chrysanthemums and multi-flowers because they needed less attention. I only watered them once a day. I didn’t dare to plant roses because roses were hard to take care of and they required water twice a day. After my husband passed away, my feet were pain and I got to remove one of them. I was not able to water the plants even once a day. As a result, I could only see all the plants at my compound dying. ”
Size: 17.5cm X 15.2cm
Location: The Valley of Hope Story Gallery
Owner: Chuar Gim Thuan
Copyright: Chuar Gim Thuan
Title: The National Flag
Title (Original Language): 国旗
Year: 2017
Words in the Drawing: “I have two national flags. I can’t recall who distributed the flags to me. I have also forgotten which year I got them. I put these two flags on top of my bed as decoration. If you were to ask me which country is better, Malaya or Indonesia, I would say Malaya is better than Indonesia. This is because previously leprosy was an incurable disease in Indonesia and there was no leprosy settlement in Indonesia. Only some churches, established by Catholic priests or nuns, were willing to accommodate leprosy patients but they didn’t provide any medication for the patients. Last time, in our home country, we heard that there were good doctors in Malaya who could treat leprosy. So my parents raised fund in order to send my brother and I by boat to seek for treatment here. At first, I thought that after getting treatment, I could go back to Indonesia but I have never thought that I never have the chance to go home anymore. This settlement has become our home. I don’t know what had happened to my own home country now. I don’t even know how the flag of Indonesia looks like. However, I have seen the flag of Malaya before through television. So I can recognise. ”
Size: 17.5cm X 15.2cm
Location: The Valley of Hope Story Gallery
Owner: Chuar Gim Thuan
Copyright: Chuar Gim Thuan