Elizabeth Choy: The WWII Heroine Who Fought with her Spirit of Humanitarianism
Elizabeth Choy: Her Story graphic novel
A mother, educator, social worker, and community leader — Elizabeth Choy is a prominent figure in Singapore, celebrated for her acts of kindness and bravery during the Japanese occupation of Singapore in World War II. Honoured as a local war heroine today, Choy has made great contributions to her community and left a lasting legacy and testament to the people around her.
Choy developed an unrivalled sense of altruism and compassion from a young age. She was born into a Hakka family of six children in Kudat in North Borneo, known today as Sabah. Growing up surrounded by the rich cultures and lush forests of North Borneo, Choy learnt to respect and appreciate different cultures and practices of the people around her, while gaining a natural curiosity of her environment.
At the age of 19, she arrived in Singapore to pursue an education on a scholarship, but had soon left school due to her mother’s passing. Coupled with the Great Depression, Choy was now left with the momentous task of caring for her younger siblings, and took up a teaching job at a local school. As a teacher, Choy devoted herself to her students even beyond the sphere of the classroom, as she sought to understand their backgrounds and home environments without prejudice, to provide the best care and education she could for them.
Gradually, Choy had built a life and family in Singapore. Years after, however, her life would be irrevocably changed by a slew of bombs falling upon Singapore during the Japanese Occupation. In the midst of this, she never stopped providing aid to her neighbours, members of her community, as well as other war victims, caring for the wounded and taking in families displaced by shelling. Prior to their arrest and imprisonment by the Japanese, Choy and her husband opened a canteen in a hospital during the war to supply medicine, treatment, basic food items, and money to patients and prisoners-of-war.
Choy’s humanitarian spirit and perseverance remained unwavering even while detained by the Japanese. During the 200 days of unimaginable horror and torture that she underwent in her prison cell, Choy continued to serve as a source of hope and strength for her cellmates, offering them her share of food and even volunteering to clean the cell and its toilet to create a more liveable and humane environment.
Choy’s commendable acts and spirit of humanitarianism are commemorated and brought to life with Elizabeth Choy: Her Story, a graphic novel adaptation by Singaporean creators Danny Jalil and Zaki Ragman, portraying her life before, during, and after the war. Through a compelling narrative and vivid illustrations, glimpse into the tenacious and compassionate character that was Elizabeth Choy.
Elizabeth Choy: Her Story graphic novel is available for purchase and international shipping on the Asiapac Books webstore.
