A sharing by Ling Sing Lin
I read local author Catherine Lim’s book on The Bondmaid years ago. Bondmaid is not a new concept to me. To those unfamiliar with this term, it means a slave girl.
Our Family’s Story
My parents hailed from Sarawak. My maternal grandmother had followed the practice which was prevailing then, which was buying young girls from impoverished families. These girls were probably about 10-12 years old when they were sold. They were given room and board, and taught how to do simple chores like tidying and cleaning the house, cooking, helping to look after young children in the family, etc.
When these girls reached marriageable age, my grandmother would ask her friends to help her identify suitable husbands and the bondmaids were married off. Her duty to these girls was done! Over the years, grandma had several such bondmaids.
My parents had come to Singapore to further their education, had met and married in Singapore, and intended to make their home here. So grandma upended herself from Sarawak to live in Singapore, and brought along a bondmaid.
Our Bondmaid
She was probably about 10-12 years old when she came, but small for her age. Her parents had both died, and her uncle sold all the orphaned siblings as he could not afford to support them.
Our bondmaid performed her tasks, and took over many of the housekeeping duties as grandma grew older. She also joined us when we had Chinese tuition, and so she learned some Mandarin. She became part of the family. Grandma didn’t marry her off as she did not have many friends in Singapore to introduce a suitable man to be her husband.
Unfortunately, our bondmaid is not very bright. She never learnt how to take public transport, could barely make a phone call, and never understood the concept of a lift (that it could stop at different floors), having stayed in landed property all her life. As she grew older, she lost the few skills she had learnt. She now has Alzheimer’s Disease and stays in a nursing home. I am her main “family contact”. She is reasonably happy there, as there is a routine in nursing homes that she likes.
Other Bondmaids
I have heard of other bondmaids. Some became good cooks and housekeepers. One actually became the matron of a nursing home. As with everything else, not all bondmaids are the same. This is the luck of the draw.
Slavery
Slavery has a very long history, existing since ancient times and is still practised today. Prisoners of war, debt slavery, punishment for crime, and children born to slaves were sources of slaves. There was the transatlantic slave trade of African men, women and children, which lasted from the sixteenth to the nineteenth centuries.
Slavery is still very much alive today. We now call it human trafficking. It is an international problem. These modern slaves are used as forced labour (including as scammers conned to leave home for overseas “lucrative” jobs), and as sex slaves.
Conclusion
It is sad that despite societal advances over the years, slavery is still a lucrative trade. It is just called by a different name.
lingsinglin
Dr Ling Sing Lin is a medical doctor by training. She worked in MOH HQ for many years, in policy making and administrative positions, until her retirement.
