The Last Remaining First Generation Chinese Migrant in Malaysia

The early 19th century saw an exodus of Chinese from Mainland China into Malaya then, all looking for greener pastures when China was still far from an economic giant as it is now in the present. The lady illustrated in this panel is one of the few surviving migrants of that exodus. Mdm Tham, 89 years old, is widowed, childless and lives alone. For a living, she practices Facial Threading (the ancient art of facial hair removal using threads), a service still used by brides to be of Chinese descent in modern day Malaysia. I came to know her some seven years ago, and what started out as a single picture of her work as a traditional Facial Threader grew into a relationship of sort between her and me, until two years ago when she passed on. Even though I don't understand her dialect, through gestures and expressions, somehow, it was meant to be that we became connected in our own special ways. Mdm Tham has been on her own for three decades in her old wooden home, and this panel illustrates a day in her life, what most of the remaining First Generation Chinese migrant faces. Two years ago, she left us due to old age, and this portfolio is a memory of her remaining few years of her life, and I am happy for her that finally she can rejoin her late husband, wherever that may be.