Mastura Fakier Arend
Mastura Fakier Arend was born to Mymoena(Moena) George but she was raised and lived with her grandparents, Gamat Fakier and Gawa Van der Schyff Fakier, Mastura’s uncle, Abdullah Dullah Katjies Fakier and his wife, Kaami Fakir lived with them. Abdullah and Kaami had five sons: Haadie, Ebrahim, Asad,Taufiq, Suroor and one daughter, Fowzia. In addition, they had a family member, Emmie, from PE, who came to live with them. Mastura’s parents and siblings lived in Steenberg.
Mastura and her cousins attended Tafalar Primary and after St Matthews. At St. Matthews, they attended church services and they wouldn’t understand the sermon, so they would throw each other with peanuts. They went to madrassa at Sheikh Ismail Moos and after they went to Imam Ebrahim Sep Davids and his brother, Boeta Saleem at Stegman Road Mosque. If they were naughty, they would be put in the falakah (foot whipping device).
They lived in a big five-bedroom house in the Main Road opposite the Claremont Civic Centre. There was a garage, then lived the Slamdiens, who were next to the Fakiers. Mastura was friends with Ebrahim Hiema and Mogammat Gamat Slamdien, who were her age. There was a chemist, a laundry and a florist. Across the road was the Claremont Civic and next to it was an orphanage and behind it the swimming baths for non-whites. Down Wilderness Road was about five houses, living at one of the houses was a white boy named Angus, who was their friend. Behind the civic and the orphanage was bush, as children they would go catch chameleons.
The Fakier house had big sash windows which Mastura and her cousins would jump through, to go to parties, the next morning they would get a hiding. Fowzia, her cousin, would always say, whatever they did, it was worth the hiding they got. Mastura’s uncle would threaten to burn their clothes, if they say where they had gone, they had gone dancing. Mastura and her friends would play in Claremont/Arderne gardens, they would take bottles of water and if they see couples smooching, they would douse them and run away. They liked going to the graveyard at St Saviour’s because it was said to be haunted. There were two bioscopes, the Scala for whites and the Orpheum for non-whites. Jonty was the caretaker at the Scala, so he would let Mastura and her friends into the Scala for gratis. They would steal messaris chips from Ali at the corner shop and run out of the shop. Their group of friends gave themselves a name, The Scala Gang.
When they were forcibly removed, Mastura’s grandparents had passed on. Mastura went to live with her aunt, Amatie in Cape Town, it was closer to work. She earned R4.95 but back then you could buy a full trolley of groceries for R2. Mastura’s uncle, Abdullah Fakier and his family moved to Wynberg, right next to Mohammadiyah Primary.
Mastura remembers her cousin, Fowzia’s beautiful wedding dress that was filled with embroidered leaves. Fowzia tragically died in a car accident. Mastura married Magboeb Arend and had two children, Salman and Madiegah. She currently lives with her son, Salman, Maghboeb passed away 13yrs ago.