00:00It's Christmas Day in Praia Lane decades ago.
00:07Along this narrow lane in Malacca, houses hummed with laughter and movement,
00:12the air alive with a sense of celebration.
00:15When we look out of the window, we see all these people visiting each other.
00:20Our neighbours are just walking around visiting each other
00:23and then you could hear them maybe having that laughter, that merriment.
00:28They are just maybe singing, enjoying themselves, family eating.
00:33So it was an ongoing activity. Everyone was actually on the move.
00:37Also very grand scale, happy-happy, drinking-drinking, talking-talking, love-love-love.
00:43Yet the spirit of togetherness was not just evident during Christmas time.
00:48Portuguese, Eurasians, Chinese, Indians and Malays lived side by side,
00:54their daily lives intertwined throughout the year.
00:57That spirit shone particularly bright in 1975 when sea erosion threatened the land on which the Assumption Chapel sat.
01:07Without hesitation, residents came together to build what became known as the Wall of Friendship.
01:14Okay, Wall of Friendship is because we had the whole community involved.
01:18We had the Chinese community coming to help to give a hand.
01:21We had them even some coming to give in cash and kind.
01:24The Indian community also who are basically Indian Catholics also came to give a hand.
01:29The Malay fishermen, the Malay Frenchopolar petty traders that live among us, also put a hand by helping us to mix the cement and laying the rocks.
01:39And it was really a community effort. So that was actually one of the best time of my life.
01:44In its own unassuming way, Praia Lane reflected a Malaysia many of us now remember with longing,
01:52where neighbors cared for one another and differences did not divide.
01:56Life here moved at a gentle rhythm. Families gathered to watch Piramli movies together and enjoyed sweet treats at the Saturday Ice Café.
02:07Children turned the lane into their playground, spinning tops, flying kites and pedaling bicycles.
02:14We know what time to meet and what time we need to go back home.
02:18Because there wasn't any phone, you know, we do not need to call.
02:223 o'clock means we are there. 3 o'clock we are there.
02:25You know, my best memory is actually playing in the sea.
02:31Yes, yes, that's my best memory in Praia Lane.
02:38Indeed, the word Praia means beach in Kristang.
02:41But Praia Lane was more than just a name. It captured who they were.
02:47A unique community shaped by the sea and one another.
02:52Alas, the 1970s brought change when a land reclamation project in the area reshaped its coastline.
03:00Now what you see is scarce. But in the 60s and late 70s, it was boats.
03:07Sadly, this whole area became reclaimed in 1984 onwards.
03:13So reclamation started in 1974 at Banahile, reached here in 1984 and completed at Garnet City in 1994.
03:20So the whole project of reclamation in this area took 20 years.
03:24The project did more than alter the coastline. It quietly changed the lives of those who called Praia Lane home.
03:31As fishermen, they lost their livelihood. As residents, they also lost maybe a livelihood of making, processing, belacan and chinchalo.
03:40Many were dependent on that. As Sri Danyanya ladies, they used to make belacan, chinchalo for sale.
03:46Over time, families slowly drifted away and younger residents set out for better opportunities.
03:53Houses turned empty and the lane grew quieter.
03:57Still, the spirit of Praia Lane endures, especially each December, thanks to the Christmas caroling organized by Assumption Chapel.
04:06In the evening, as residents past and present gather, and those warm familiar melodies drift down the lane, it's easy to imagine how Christmas once unfolded here.
04:18Praia Lane is a reminder that the true spirit of the season, like the best of Malaysia's past, lives in the simple act of coming together.
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