ERITREA 1998-2000

Asmara is a beautiful city. It is neat and clean. There are modern buildings, sleek cars on the roads and the people are well dressed. There are no beggars on the streets, which was surprising since I had read that Eritrea is one of the poorest countries in Africa. Begging is discouraged. Crime is rare, since punishment is severe. The country has a small population of about 3 million and so poverty is less visible. The people eat well. While we buy 1kg of mutton, some locals buy a goat.There are a few locals who eat raw meat. The Catholic Cathedral built by the Italians is the most beautiful building in Asmara. Independence Day is celebrated on a large scale. Eritrea was a province of Ethiopia before independence. I was posted at Segeneity and visited Asmara every weekend. Also visited Dekemhare, Adi-Keyh, Keren, Mendefera, Senafe and Massawa during the holidays.




























































Segeneity is a small town with a pleasant climate. It is cool throughout the year. Visited the ruins of the three forts on the hill tops. I was told to be careful about mines and so walked along the worn path. Locals sell vegetables and livestock in the market on Saturdays. Bars are common and beer is popular. Attended the wedding of elementary teachers Hadish Tesfay and Lula (picture). A man was playing the harp and there was singing and dancing at night. We had the local alcoholic drink called suva.






















































Also attended the wedding of Osman, who left his wife and child to get married again. At the ceremony, I saw two groups of people dancing towards each other with swords in their hands. They must be the relatives of the bride and groom. Much later, I learn some people saw him leave on a bus with a goat to celebrate being a father again but on reaching his wife, she dies leaving him with a child.
A student kills himself while playing with his father’s rifle. Attended his funeral, for which most of the town turns up. His body was draped with the national flag.Some women were dancing while wailing, it was a strange sight. During the ceremony, the orthodox priest tells the relatives not to cry since they are Christians and believe he is with the savior.


Senafe is a town near the Ethiopian border. A few days before my visit, Ethiopian jets flew across the border and bombed some places in Eritrea. The border conflict was intensifying. It was strange that some times, we come to know about a bombing only when we are told about it, much later. These are not atom bombs. When we hear a sound we look around and if we see smoke rising, we know a bomb has exploded there. So, to get hurt a bomb must drop near you. There are huge rock formations in Senafe and it is a spectacular sight.





























Massawa is a port city near the Red Sea. There is a resort frequented by tourists. The city has a laid back atmosphere. I spent two days there going to the beach and visiting the restaurants.

BALESTIER HILL TECHNICAL SCHOOL 1971-72

After two years of secondary education at Upper Thompson, I joined Balestier Hill Technical School  in 1971.Had to spend more time on the bus now, since it was far from home. Technical subjects were more interesting. Awareness of the world increased with teenage. Interest developed in music and movies. The Beatles broke up and George Harrison had a big hit with ‘My Sweet Lord’. We started skipping classes and going for movies.

Jurong Bird Park - with friends from Balestier Hill Technical School - 1972

Women’s liberation movement was going on and our class teacher, a lady, decides to change the seating arrangement. She made the boys sit in front and the girls at the back. Next day, the boys decide not to allow it and returned to their old places. She gets angry but accepts it.

Jurong Bird Park - with friends from Balestier Hill Technical School - 1972

British armed forces pull out of Singapore and Father becomes redundant. Parents decide to move to India. On 14/3/1972, we leave for India on steamship S.S. Rajula.


UPDATE: I found some old pictures of Balestier Hill Secondary School - 1972. They are shown below.

NEE SOON PRIMARY SCHOOL 1963-68

Miss Sim was my first teacher. A very kind person. A slight tap on the knuckles with a ruler was the only punishment. I think she made sure it did not hurt us. During the end of the first year in school, each student sew a design on a piece of thick cloth which was then attached to a folding stool. We each took home a small stool. Mr. N.K.Samy (Maths Teacher) was the class teacher for primary 4 to 6. He and Mr. Robert Lee (Science Teacher) were the most popular teachers. There were so many games that we played. Football, badminton,hide and seek, rounders, hantam bola, kuthi kuthi, marbles, top and satay were some of the popular games.Some boys caught a blue and black colored small spider and brought it to school in a small box. A leaf was placed in the box to make the spider feel at home, since these spiders live on plants.The spiders were made to fight and we watched with much interest. They were called fighting spiders. During the windy season, the shops sold kites. We bought a few paper kites but since they tore easily, we started making our own kites with plastic sheets. All the students looked forward to the sports day. There were four houses blue, green, yellow and red. Students were given coupons on the previous day and they were used get free cakes and cool drinks on sports day. The teachers in charge of the boy scouts Mr. Alan Kok, Mr. Chan and Mr. Isaac Chong made our lives at school so enjoyable. We had camp fires, treasure hunts, job week, hiking, picnic at Seletar Island etc. Mr. Chan was the kindest man I have met. Once he found me using a catapult to hit birds and asked me about it. He did not like it that I could hurt a bird. Years later, whenever he saw us he would stop his car and give us a lift. We wrote our first composition in primary 4 and each student had to produce his own work.We got packets of sweets for doing well in the spelling test.Each class had a small library at the back and during our free time we would read the books and look at the beautiful pictures. My favorite was ‘Swiss Family Robinson'.There was an excursion to Mount Faber, Van Cleef Aquarium, Haw Par Villa etc. During the end of each year, when teachers were busy making the report books, we were engaged in some projects, making models or toys. Coconut shells were polished and made into coin boxes. Models of object were made with paper. We each made a robot during the last year. A cigarette can was the body. Bottle caps with a wire through them, made up the hands and legs. Two pieces of wood were the feet and a ball was the head of the robot which was then painted silver. There was an exhibition showing the best of the students work. At the end of each year prizes were given to three students from each class who performed well in their studies. Once while witnessing the prize ceremony, I was surprised to hear my name being called out. I was given a prize for showing the most improvement. One day, while at school, I felt a sharp pain in my toe. I could not understand the reason and I started pressing my canvas shoes at the spot. The pain lasted for some time. When I returned home after school and removed my shoes, I found a large dead spider inside my shoe. After that day, I always look inside my shoe before wearing them. There were two instances of students being caned publicly, both for playing truant. One student went fishing for a few days. A special assembly was called and the headmaster announced the reason to all the students and then proceeded to give him three strokes on his behind. The amplifier was turned to full volume for the caning. In another case, a student went to work as a caddy. He was asked to stand in front of the class and the headmaster arrived and told us the reason before caning him. During the last year, I climbed the ladder attached to the school water tank. Miss Sim, primary one teacher, spotted me and scolded me. I could not understand why. She was so kind. Did she change now? Only later did I realize, she did not want me to fall off and hurt myself. For the first few years at school, we looked forward to the holidays but during the last few years we just hated the holidays. School had become so enjoyable.

Mr.Alan Kok, Mr.Issac Chong & Mr.Chan with some boy scouts.

SHOLAI SCHOOL

When Mr. Brian Jenkins, Principal, Sholai School, Kodaikanal, invited me to visit Sholai School, I could not refuse. I had read about the school and wanted to see it, since it is a school unlike any other. This school is not connected to the Grid and uses renewable energy.















The campus is 100 acres. There is a river passing through the land and the flow of water is used to run a hydro electric generator. The energy is stored in cells. There is a bridge across the river built by students.














Biogas is used for cooking. Solar cells and Solar Water Heaters tap the energy from the Sun. There are animals and vegetable farms. Students help in farming and other work. The food is vegetarian and most of it is grown on the campus.















In the hostel room, I noticed that there are glass panes in the roof to allow the light in.















Mr. Jenkins was earlier at Brockwood Park School in the UK, which was founded by Jiddu Krishnamurti. He had met Krishnamurti and was influenced by him.
















In the afternoon, I visited Elephant Valley, where Mr. Jenkins is using the land for organic agriculture. I traveled with him in his 1920 Austin car, which he had brought from the UK at great cost. It was a once in a lifetime opportunity for me.

















After a late lunch at the school with Mr. Jenkins, it was time to say goodbye and leave for Kodaikanal City. Sholai School left a deep impression on me with its alternative way.