by YUK YEE (JAY) CHAN FUNG

My mother was a worker in a factory that made incense. All my siblings and I spent most of our childhood in the factory where our mother worked. We all started our time in the factory from the second day of our lives. We were not the only children in a family who had to start their lives there. Most of the women who worked there had to carry their new babies to work after the delivery. Life was very difficult during that period. Babies were either on their mother’s back or
on the dirty, cold ground while awake or sleeping. The environment was terrible.

The floor was full of powder and the wooden, skinny sticks that hurt people’s skin. Younger children were not allowed to go outside because nobody would look after them. The older children played outside, but most of them had dirty faces with snot running from their nostrils. Nobody had time to take care of the urchins.

I remember there were many rows of tables lined up in a dim and crowded area, similar to a garment factory with sewing machines. There were a few electric bulbs hanging on top of the ceiling, covered with lampshades. All the wooden windows were open in summer. My

Continue reading →