Source 17:     A Japanese kwai-po's* conversation with a group of young girls about her life in Singapore.

The high taxation imposed by the Japanese government coupled with our farm's poor harvests had led to the deaths of my younger siblings. There were times when I had nothing but water to drink in the morning and when night fell, I still have not had the neck of a sweet potato to eat. My parents had no choice but to sell me to Singapore as a prostitute. I have never been happier. I no longer have to plough the land and harvest rice with a sickle*. I can wear beautiful kimonos and eat white rice, fish and meat rather than sweet potatoes. I am even able to send home regularly seventy dollars a month to help my family.

Source Origin: Warren, J.F. (1993). Ah Ku and Karayuki-san: Prostitution in Singapore, 1870-1940. Singapore : Oxford University Press.

Use Record: Holy Innocents' High School, 2015.