So Near & Yet So Far

During the Japanese occupation of Singapore my 3 grand mothers lived in grandpa's rubber estate at Chai Chee, Changi. My third grandma had 3 sons and a daughter. Two of the boys were about my age. As kids we played together and got on well. After the war all of us moved back to live in Joo Chiat area. After my grandpa died in 1947, my third grandma and her children moved out of Joo Chiat. I lost contact with the family after my parents passed away. In 2007 I saw one my uncle's obituary in The Straits Times. I attended his wake to pay respect and also to reconnect with the 2 remaining uncles. In all they have 9 children who are my cousins. Except for one, the rest are younger than my children. We got connected and met for the first time. We had two reunion lunches to catch up about family matters. At the first reunion lunch 3 cousins could not made it. At the second reunion lunch a cousin from our grand uncle (grandpa's brother) side came to join us.


My new found cousins - 1st reunion lunch


Meeting of the cousins - 2nd reunion lunch

Close relatives could be strangers on the road if we do not know each other. It happened to my family in March 2010. A cousin and his National Library staff attended a briefing at the Singapore Zoo. He was sitting at the front table listening attentively to the talk. Right in front of him was my daughter (his niece) and her colleague who gave the briefing. For more than an hour they faced each other without knowing they were related. A few days later he got wise to it and wrote to me. I confirmed that they were related. He wrote to my daughter and cc to me. He ended his email "It's a small world". I would rather say "It's so near and yet so far". I am glad that I got reconnected with my uncles and their children (my cousins). Early this month I found more relatives. They are in Australia, London, and USA. Gosh! The family tree is expanding and many have spread branches outside Singapore.