On the 1948-1960 State of Emergency in Colonised Malaya and the Emptiness of my Birth Certificate
May 2020
-nat-, root.
This piece looks at several events that coincide with my birthday. I examine my family history, how it intersected with the counterinsurgency campaign during the waning days of British Empire in Malaya and the intergenerational trauma that followed.
Through this rediscovery of my past, I am able to understand the sense of homelessness I felt my entire life.
Addendum:
Epilogue - May 6, 2021
-nat- comes from Latin, where it has the meaning “born;
birth.’’ This meaning is found in such words as: nature,
natal, native, innate, naive, nation, naturalisation
This piece looks at several events that coincide with my birthday. I examine my family history, how it intersected with the counterinsurgency campaign during the waning days of British Empire in Malaya and the intergenerational trauma that followed.
Through this rediscovery of my past, I am able to understand the sense of homelessness I felt my entire life.
Addendum:
Epilogue - May 6, 2021
