Aysa Achmat (née Mustapha)
Aysa Achmat (nee Mustapha) was born to Fatima Mustapha (nee Jassiem) and Mogammad Rashaad Mustapha. The couple had nine children, Mog. Yusuf (aka Boetie), Gadija, Gabiba, Aysa, Salega, Mog. Amien, Gamja, Mog. Faried (Goegie) and Somaya. When Fatima and Rashaad first married, they lived with family in Harvey Road, where Yusuf and Gadija were born. They moved to Lansdowne close to the Broadway Bioscope, Gabiba and Aysa was born here. Both helped out at the local grocery shop and Rashaad also worked in the butchery, and he was a bouncer at the Broadway Bioscope
All four children attended All Saints Primary school in Denver Road, Lansdowne. Aysa recalls at All Saints they attended church services every Friday morning, in the church across the road. When Aysa was in sub-A, Rashaad and Fatima bought a house at 12 York Street, which was in the same road as Rashaad’s parents, Imam Amien Mustapha (aka Bonds) and Salega Mustapha (nee Ryklief), who lived at 33 York Road. The children walked from York Road to All Saints school, eventually the older siblings moved to high school and Aysa walked home alone. In winter Aysa was given money to take the bus which she kept in a metal cigarette box. Aysa had school friends who lived in Kirstenbosch who walked to school, if she saw them walking, she knew she was on time. After school Aysa would use the bus fare to buy gooseberries or fish bones at the smoked fish factory. She would sit along the river with her friends, their feet in the water, and eat. The fish factory was in Wolseley Road and the river was along what is now the M5 before the bridge was built. On the way home from school, Aysa would stop at the shop to get groceries for her mother, and she would often get a free sucker.
The siblings born after Aysa attended Clareinch Primary, which was closer to home. After All Saints, Aysa attended Oaklands High where she finished Std 6, then high school wasn’t seen as important and, like most, she had to go to work in a factory. The lucky ones went on to complete higher grades.
The neighbours were diverse Black, Indian, Chinese, Christian and Muslim and their homes were open to everyone. It was easy to ask for a cup of sugar or stale bread. Aysa’s family was fortunate. They didn’t have to go to the neighbours to ask for sugar, but they would have to ask for stale bread to make frikkadel. Aysa remembers when her dad had excess money, he would buy fruit for all the neighbours, a box of peaches or half a watermelon. Some men joined her father after supper for a cup of tea, her mother would make vetkoek or rys koekies.
Aysa recalls going to Cape Town with her father on a Saturday, he would tell her to put on a nice dress, her father loved children and having company. In Aysa’s house, they had soup and bread which they shared with their friends, but Aysa liked eating at her friend’s home because they had sugar and water on bread. Her friends also had a turn table and music which they could dance to which didn’t happen in Aysa’s home.
Aysa’s paternal grandparents lived on the same street and her cousin, Sulaiman Fakier, lived with their grandparents because his parents died when he was a baby. Their grandparents’ home was always open. Their grandmother would feed them and look after them. Aysa remembers when she was young, three of her father’s sisters were still living with their parents: Joghra, Mareldia and Asma, her uncle Gamiet was around as well.
Joghra married Yusuf Galant and they owned a shop on Second Avenue, next to McBride Lane. The couple lived on Rutland street in a house with a big yard. Aysa remembers visiting her baby cousin, Shireen. After her paternal grandmother died, her grandfather moved in with his daughter Joghra.
Aysa’s parents’ home was semi-detached. The neighbour in the attached house was an Afrikaans boerenooi married to a black man, the wife remained on her maiden surname. They had four daughters, Helen, and Rebecca, who were all fair-skinned. When they were little, Aysa would move the zinc fence and play with Rebecca in their yard. Rebecca became close friends with Mr Lala’s eldest son. Mr Lala lived in York Road and never moved out during the forced removals. Mr Lala supplied their shoes for school and Eid.
The neighbour across the street were the Reid’s. Mr Reid was a teacher at Livingstone High. Aysa’s mom would send them over to help clean the Reids’ home. There was the Dudley’s, Mr Dudley was also a teacher at Livingstone High, when her mother made chutney, she fetched mint from Mr Dudley, her father liked chutney with mint and garlic.
At the end of Matthew Road was a nursery school, they didn’t walk further than that, because that is where the whites lived. In winter, they offered free soup, milk, and cocoa but they had to bring their container or jug or cup. Aysa would go with the Ficks family to the nursery. Aysa’s family didn’t qualify but she would get a cup of milk to drink but was told she couldn’t have cocoa or soup.
There was lots of family in the area, her paternal grandfather’s family, all his sisters and their families, so basically Claremont was family. Aysa’s paternal grandfather was the only son, and he had a few sisters, his sister Muneerah Mustapha Fredericks, died young. Munierah had two young daughters Jainap (Janie) Fredericks Green and Galima (Limie) Fredericks Gabriels. Janie was a baker and Limie was a dressmaker. The girls went to live with their grandparents and their mother’s youngest unmarried sister, Jainap (Eeya) Mustapha Gasnodien. When Jainap married Mog Salie Gasnoedien, she had her sister’s children as part of her family. In top Claremont, were the Adurahmans, Yasmina, Aysa, Ali, Ebrahim(Hiempie), their grandmother was another sister of Aysa’s grandfather, and their father, Amien Abduraghmaan, was the only one in the family who owned a lorry. He was a vegetable broker. They lived and owned properties behind Cavendish square. There was a lane up there called ‘dronk gangtjie’ because there was a drunk guy who liked sitting in the lane.
Some men would come on Sundays to play draughts (dums) on Aysa’s parents’ stoep with her grandfather. They would take out the bench and dum board and her mother would bake cakes and serve tea. Some of the men came from upper Claremont and Lansdowne with the bus. Aysa remembers her Aunty Limie Gabriels, father-in-law as one of the visitors as well as her friend Fatima’s Ameerodien Ebrahim’s grandfather, Said Saab. Aysa’s grandfather was an Imam but also a tailor by profession, there were times when they played draughts, and the boys from the reformatory school would come for tailoring. They would want their pants narrowed (zooted). Aysa’s grandfather wanted to continue with his game, so he showed Aysa’s mother how to tailor and Aysa had to assist, so her grandfather showed her to assist by using a ruler. They were paid 14 pennies for each job; the money was shared between her grandfather and her mother. So, the reformatory boys knew Aysa and her siblings well. The reformatory boys would buy liquor in the Langry, and they would fight with each other and not interfere with others.
Aysa worked at Barkers shoe factory where she met her friend, Moira. Moira was a part-time physical trainer at St Joseph’s home for the girls opposite Claremont Police Station, it was a big old house in Lansdowne Road, the house mother’s name was Mrs Currie. Further up the road was another building, a reformatory school for boys. Mrs Currie had been a teacher of Aysa’s mother, so Aysa was allowed into the home. Mrs Currie always served them cucumber sandwiches, which they thought was odd, but they ate them. On Thursdays, Moira would do the physical training at the home and lentils were on the menu. Moira always complained that the lentils didn’t taste as nice as Aysa’s mother’s lentils.
Aysa had a good childhood, her parents had their difficulties but no major fighting, there was only minor squabbling mostly about the children. Aysa’s father was the oldest child, and it was his role to sort out any family disputes of his extended family.
Aysa moved out of Claremont in 1966 when she married Mogammad Tayeb Achmat from Bo-Kaap, they have three children Yusuf, Ebrahim and Manovie. At the time of the forced removals, her parents were still in York Street. Most of her siblings had married and moved out of the house except for Salega (Leggie), Faried (Goegie) and Somaya. Aysa’s older brother, Yusuf (Boetie) had married Moerieda (Molly) Walhurther from Second Avenue and her brother, Amien, had married Gasiena Mohammad from Princess Street, both brothers lived in York Road. Aysa’s paternal grandparents had both died, but her youngest Aunt, Asma lived in her grandfather’s house with her husband, Boeta Koefie (Jakoob) Hendricks, they had to move to Philippi. Aysa’s father applied for a house in Groenvlei, Wetton, in his forties, he had to take all his savings to buy a house.