What do my kids know about Merdeka?
Adam: Oh…bila Merdeka, ada Jalur Gemilang. Teachers at school main sports, boy teachers main football, girl teachers main netball. And Murid-murid jerit-jerit, and then we sang “Tanggal 31..” and “Negaraku” and “Keranamu Malaysia”…oh..malam tadi ada fireworks!!
Aina: Merdeka…..Aina made flag at school…Merdeka ada fireworks!!
Amir: Amir nak fireworks!! Banyak-banyak kat langit..
________________________________________________
On Merdeka Day, the kids and I were watching "Embun", a pre-merdeka movie about a girl who fought against the Japanese invasion, whilst at the same time falling for one of the soldiers.
What's important was what my (elder) kids learned that day- that life was tough at that time. They got a clearer picture of what life is all about back in the old days. That there was no electricity, no water through the tap and that life was lived in constant fear. Fear of the atrocities and brutalities of what the Japanese soldiers could bring upon the poor kampung folks. But among all those, there are still bravehearts that brought the spirit high to the rest of the people. And this is the kind of spirit I would like my kids to have.
Actually I was quite surprised that all three of them actually insisted to sit through the entire movie. Adam was the most keen, asking all sort of "W" questions, why, what, where, when... but I hope he got some understanding of what Merdeka means...
"So, after orang Jepun kalah, Malaysia merdeka? Ada fireworks tak?"
No comments:
Post a Comment