The strong point of this slim volume lies in the author Loh Kah Seng’s choice to ground his work in oral history, specifically some 20 interviews with former leprosy sufferers having been forcibly interned at the Singapore Leprosy Relief Association (Silra) Home or in the ‘Valley of Hope’ (Sungai Buloh, Kuala Lumpur). Given that such isolation facilities are currently being transformed into homes, and that the inmates are theoretically being reintegrated into mainstream society, this volume helpfully sheds light on many unknown aspects in the modern history of leprosy, especially in Southeast Asia. Loh’s book also nourishes our historical memory, and the research was suggested and financed by the International Leprosy Association’s Global Project for the History of Medicine. This project, funded by the Nippon Foundation and based at the Wellcome Unit for the History of Medicine at the University of Oxford, is currently developing a database of leprosy archives around the world; the project also aims to ensure that the voices of people affected by leprosy are heard (http://www.leprosyhistory.org/english/englishhome.htm).
Laurence Monnais
Université de Montréal
Social History of Medicine, 24 (1), Apr 2011
Link to full article: http://shm.oxfordjournals.org/content/24/1/174.extract
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