Samsui women

The term Samsui women (红头巾; 紅頭巾; hóng tóu jīn) broadly refers to a group of Chinese immigrants who came to Malaya and Singapore between the 1920s and 1940s in search of construction and industrial jobs.^[1] Their hard work contributed to the development of the Straits Settlements, both as colonies and later as the new nations of Singapore and Malaysia. Samsui women did manual labour similar to coolies but were more independent.

Background information (Why they came to Singapore)[]

China faced the problem of overpopulation in the 19th century. Between 1650 and 1800, China’s population nearly doubled. However, there were insufficient farmlands to support the rapid population growth. Provinces of China such as Fujian and Guangdong were especially affected. Many of them lived in mountainous regions where there was limited land for growing crops. As a result, many Chinese in Southern China suffered from starvation. Hence, many Chinese immigrants came to Singapore to seek job opportunities to make more money for better lives.

In Singapore, there were more workers needed to load and unload goods, repair ships, clear jungles for settlements, construct roads and buildings, and provide service for the workers, hence, many immigrants came to Singapore because of the job opportunities, higher wages, and better living conditions.

The red cloths around their heads[]

In Chinese, these women are referred to as Hong Tou Jin (红头巾; 紅頭巾; hóng tóu jīn), which means "red bandana", because of the red cloths they wrapped around their heads. The red cloths around their heads also kept their hair clean while they work as dust and debris can dirty their hair- since they washed their hair only once a month.

Jobs[]

Coming to Singapore as cheap labourers between the 1920s and 1940s, it was hard to find jobs in Singapore, so the Samsui women worked mainly in the construction industry and other industries that required hard labour. They also worked as domestic servants.^[2] Samsui women were the traditional source of manpower supply in the construction industry. They came here to work so that they could support their families in their homelands, who could not find a job. Their work was tough and tiring. They only earned 40 to 50 cents per day, barely enough for their food and rental, and still have to return the money borrowed from the agency to come to find work in Singapore. They usually have to work for about a year to pay off their debts.

Samsui women were paid very little. As a result, they gave up the prospect of marriage and children and lived very simply to save money to support their families who they might never see again after they left home. They led frugal lives, sharing accommodation and eating simple food. The jobs of Samsui women were tough and physically demanding. They dug soil and carried earth, debris and building materials in buckets hung from shoulder poles. Although their working hours were long, they only had short lunch breaks, which they sometimes need to gather wood to bring home as fuel for cooking. However, Samsui women found it worth it as they could earn money to feed their families. Their contributions to housing construction and as well as labour at hawker centres have been invaluable to Singapore's early development.^{[citation needed]}

Social interactions[]

They lived in cramped conditions with other Samsui women, helping out each other and forming tightly united cliques.

Samsui women also remained in touch with their relatives back home in China, communicating with them frequently through letters. As they are mostly illiterate, they may hire professional letter writers to write the letters for them. Occasionally, they would send money to the relatives.^[3]

Current status[]

There are fewer than a hundred Samsui women left in Singapore today, most of them in their 80s and 90s. Organisations exist to raise awareness of these women's achievements and contributions to Singapore's development, and their current state. Some of these organisations also strive to provide free travel for the women back to China to visit their relatives before they die. One such organisation was the Sam Shui Wai Kuan Association that took care of the needs of Samsui women.

Portrayal in media[]

The travails of the Samsui women were portrayed in Samsui Women, a television drama series produced by Singapore Broadcasting Corporation in 1986, which has widely been considered as one of the best dramas Singapore has produced over the years. There was also a theatrical play by The Finger Players, called "Samsui Women: One Brick at a Time", held at the Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay.^[4]

References[]