8
Penny Arrives
November 1944
In the camp, children were not afforded any special treatment by our captors, but they were tolerated and some of the guards appeared to find them amusing, like small pets. It was rare these days that they would punish or strike a child. Children were not deemed to merit the same contempt their parents received, as members of the losing side. Since we had chosen not to do the honourable thing and ritually kill ourselves for the shame and disgrace of surrender, we were worthless, lower than mongrels and if we starved to death or succumbed to disease, so much the better.
Disease was rife. Every manner of sickness from the inevitable malaria and dysentery to malnutrition. All would have been easily treatable with medication. The only medicine we had in camp w
