I Felt The Earth Move Under My Feet

Two years ago today, Michi and I were in Jakarta. It was the first time that we had been away from Singapore and our family on National Day.
But in 2007, the 5th Indonesia International Open was held from 1 to 11 August, and Michi was taking part in her first international competition since she joined the Singapore Sports School in January that year.
We arrived in Indonesia on 7 August, and Michi went through the Masters Qualifying rounds. Inexperienced, it was difficult for her to string four good games. She would make it to the top 12, only to be relegated to the 13th spot a couple of rounds later. And this happened several times. But she was determined. Even with a skin-torn thumb, she did not give up. That made me proud.
The night of 8 August 2007 was like any other night. Warm and still. We were glad for our cool air-conditioned bedrooms.
Chief Coach AK Yong and I had planned to hold our own National Day Observance Ceremony the next day. We were going to find a spot in the bowling alley, say our Pledge and sing our National Anthem. I had printed out the Prime Minister’s National Day Message and was going to read it to the team. In that happy state of mind, we went to bed.
And then, it happened. Four minutes after midnight…
I felt nauseous. The bathroom door swung. The bedside lamp rattled. The bed – with me on it – shifted. It took me many seconds before I realised that there was an earthquake. And it felt quite strong.
I used the telephone to call the other Team Mums but the telephone lines were out. I used my handphone. Two of the Team Mums I called did not pick up my calls. I decided to send out mass SMS instructions – to the Team Mums, to the bowlers, to get out of their rooms immediately, find the nearest staircase and walk down it, and go out to the open. Then, I took my trainer bag and left my room.
The staircase was full of people, all heading downstairs. There was no pushing and shoving. Everyone was orderly.
When I got out of the building, I looked for Michi, and the other bowlers. I was relieved to see them, clustered some distance away.
Michi ran up to me, hugged me, and with tears streaming down her face, scolded me: “You stupid mummy. Why did you send out SMSes instead of come downstairs quickly? I was so scared when I couldn’t find you. And we were all receiving your SMSes!”
“I’m here, right?” I pulled her away to give her a smile.
She pounded my chest and hid her face in it, and continued to sob.
“Michi, has anyone taken a head count?”
Suddenly, Michi stopped crying.
“I’m not sure.”
Assistant Coach David Tay had, and realised two boys were unaccounted for. He returned to the building, ran up more than 10 flights of stairs, and banged on the door till the boys woke up, then escorted them downstairs.
In the meantime, I took out my can of mosquito repellent and sprayed everyone’s exposed arms and legs. I offered water, and passed some sweets around.
Curious, some of the bowlers clustered around me and one of them asked: “Aunty Shirley, what else do you have in your bag?”
I said it was a “magic bag” and in any emergency, there would be things in it that would be handy. But if they peeked into it, the magic would be gone.
One of the girls said she was cold.
Out came a bath towel, which I placed over her shoulders.
The girls were satisfied that indeed, I had a “magic bag”.
While waiting for the all-is-safe announcement, we started singing community songs introduced in past National Days: “Stand Up For Singapore”, “Count On me, Singapore”.
Each song was sung with more gusto than the earlier.
Someone called out: “Happy National Day!”
At that point, I decided to pull out PM’s National Day Message. I asked the bowlers to gather around, and I would read it out loud to them. We huddled close. Everyone was quiet as I tried to read the text with the light of a distant street lamp.
It was about 3.30 am before we made our way back to our rooms.
At breakfast, Jin Lau’s mother told me that Michi had seen them in the hotel lobby, run in to advise them to go out to the open, away from the building; in case the building blew up, they could be hurt by falling glass shards.
AK told me that Christopher Hwang walked beside him all the way downstairs, and held his arm most of the way.
(Two weeks ago, at Marine Bowl, I overheard AK relate this incident to a pair of parents. He said, for all of Christopher’s playful ways, he showed a responsible side of himself that night; I could detect a note of pride in AK.)
The morning after the earthquake in 2007, six girls and four boys from the Singapore Sports School qualified for the Under 18 Masters Final. Michi was the first reserve.
In the Masters Final, Anthea Soh, Edlyn Kwok and Tan Yan Ling made it a 1-2-3 finish, while Enseilia Goh was 6th, Oriana Tay 8th and Felicia Teo 11th. Among the boys, Justin Lim came in 1st, Christopher 6th, Colin Wee 11th and Alexander Tan 13th.
The National Day of 2007 is one to remember. Away from home, we were one people, one nation, one Singapore.
Happy 44th Birthday, Singapore!