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Journey out of China – an autobiography by M. Y. Lam O.A.M.
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The map on the cover of this informative book gives a clue about what's inside. The cover map features China, the vast Pacific Ocean, Australia, New Zealand and some small dots of islands. This book, in a way, fills in some of those blanks on the map and joins the dots from mainland China via one dot in the middle of the Pacific, and then onto Australia. The autobiography of M. Y. Lam is not just the story of one man. It provides insight into life and the great changes witnesses during the turmoil of the first half of the 20th century in China. Mr Lam, or Raymond as we come to know him through these pages, is both an unlucky and lucky man. There's a Chinese blessing which goes something like this: may you live in interesting times. Well, our man Raymond does in and through 'interesting times'. His struggle for survival and success is often against a backdrop of dramatic political upheavals and change. Born in 1919 into poverty in crowded Hong Kong, he is shunted around relatives and by eight years old is working to avoid being a burden on others. Believing he had brought bad fortune to his extended family, the young lad is a uniformed solider in Guangzhou at the tender age of 12, and later takes on exhausting work to support himself and his loved ones. Even though Raymond has been handed a lousy hand, he plays his cards with a stoic poker face. Forced to flee Hong Kong to avoid the invading Japanese, he undertakes epic journeys into China's interior, narrowly avoiding likely death and ending up as a World War II refugee. Throughout the first few decades of Raymond's life, he manages to pack in so many experiences and ordeals, including the loss of his mother, estrangement from his father, and his tragic separation from his first love. He marries and in order to support his new family decides to go to the remote island of Nauru in the Pacific to work in the phosphate mining industry. While life is relatively peaceful in this Pacific island, it is not paradise, and Raymond encounters new challenges, rising to the occasion and becoming a respected representative for the hundreds of Chinese workers brought in to mine the phosphate for fertilizer. Despite his lack of formal education, he goes beyond the normal call of duty to gain the trust of others, including warring factions. Raymond fights to be re-united with his family and also has to deal with gambling, offers of bribes, favoritism and personal issues among the Chinese workers. The second half of the book details the events on the island, showing what life was like for the Chinese laborers shipped in to work on the seabird-deposits. Nauru even has its Red Guards and threat of workers' revolution. From the descriptions of functions, Chinese operas, cocktail parties, picnics and trips around the island, we get a fair impression of Raymond as a family man, community leader, wise and loyal employee, and modest man of letters. His love of Australia, developed during long holidays there from the island, is reflected in his warm depictions of people and places. In the 1960s as the island moves towards independence and the islanders seek a greater share of the profits from mining, Raymond crusades for his family to become Australian citizens, with help from allies on the island and in Godzone. Do they make it? You will have to read the book to find out. As well as being more than 300 pages long, the beautifully-designed book has a selection of historic and family photos, some appealing well-drawn maps, and a useful appendix about the island of Nauru. Essentially a book of two halves, this will appeal to anyone interested in Chinese and Pacific island life and times. The unique circumstances of Raymond's life make this book an important contribution to understanding more about the impact of China's turbulent history and the equally challenging times on the Island of Nauru. Keith Lyons is a New Zealand teacher and photographer based in south-west China.
Journey Out of China
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