Image size: 37.0 x 55.5 cm
This simple bed belongs to Khau Jie, one of few possessions the retired majie owns. In her mid-eighties, Khau Jie lives alone in a one-room rental flat in Chinatown, which is home to those like her who had sought work as domestic servants in Singapore between the 1930s and 1970s. Since arriving in Singapore from the Guangdong province of southern China in 1959, Khau Jie has worked for a few families, undertaking domestic chores such as laundry, cooking and cleaning. One of the few majies remaining in Singapore today, many of whom have passed on or returned to China, Khau Jie still gets visits from the sons of her former employers a few times a year. This photograph is part of a series by Singaporean photographer Charmaine Poh, which documents the experiences of the majies living out their twilight years in Singapore.
