A handwritten Diary was meticulously kept by Father Marcel Rouhan, the Director of the College General in Penang, during World War Two. While most Allied citizens were evacuated before the entry of the Japanese troops, the French missionaries remained behind as ‘neutral’ subjects. The Diary, therefore, is an exceptional eyewitness account of the Japanese occupation in Malaya. As a chronicle of stories of daily survival interspersed with descriptions of major events, the Diary teems with socio-historical details. The Diary has been translated, introduced, and annotated by Serge Jardin, a French author long domiciled in Malaysia. Join Serge Jardin for the book launch of Diary of a French Missionary: Penang during the Japanese Occupation, published by Areca Books.

Recorded live during GTLF2021, 27 November 2021.