THE LATIFF FAMILY HISTORY OF OTTAWA

 

(Mrs Hawa Bibi Latiff, wife of Mr Abdul Latiff, with her sons from left: Cassim, Amod (Bhabi), Ismail, Yunus (Mahomed) and Goolam)

A FAMILY THAT NOT ONLY BECAME AN INTEGRAL PART OF THE COMMUNITY BUT ALSO PROVIDED HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE TO RESIDENTS OF THE VILLAGE AND THE OTTAWA SUGAR ESTATE

By Subry Govender

(Mr Abdul Latiff during a visit to Amsterdam with his wife, Hawa Bibi, in the 1970s/1980s)

For more than 70 years since the early 1900s at least one shop-keeper family became an integral part of the lives of residents of Ottawa and the neighbouring sugar estates because of their willingness to provide goods to needy families on credit.

That family was none other than Mr Abdul Latiff and his wife, Hawa Bibi, and eight children who were owners of the Ottawa Trading Store situated in the area known as Central.  

Mr Latiff, known to be a disciplinarian to both his children and residents, showed his humanitarian side when he used to allow many residents to purchase goods at his shop on credit.

                                      (Mrs Hawa Bibi Latiff)

I personally, in my young days, used to witness this humanity in Mr Latiff whenever I visited the shop and interacted with his sons – Goolam, Cassim,  Mahomed and Barbie. I can clearly recall one instance in the early 1960s when he intervened to help a young girl from the Ottawa Sugar Estate who did not have sufficient funds to pay for the goods she had selected.

“Don’t worry we will write it down,” Mr Latiff told the young girl.

“You can pay the balance when you visit the shop again.”

Mr Latiff and his family members continued with this kind of generosity for more than 50 years that they had run the Ottawa Trading Store.

Mr Latiff, who was born in Clairwood, south of Durban, worked at the Bosco Bakery in his teenage years.

He moved to Ottawa sometime in the 1930s after he married Hawa Bibi who was from Richmond in the KwaZulu-Natal midlands.

Here in Ottawa Mr Latiff and his wife stayed in a house behind the shop. Their immediate neighbour was one of his two elder sisters, who was the mother of Hoosen Hans and Ismail Hans, who also ran a shop next door to the Latiffs.

The Latiffs were also closely related to the Dhooma family who used to live in a house on the Main Road. A mosque has now been built on this property.

Mr Latiff’s parents came from a village situated in the area of Surat in North India.

In order to obtain more information about the Latiff family, I spoke to and interacted with Amod, also known as Barbie, who is the seventh child of Mr Latiff and Hawa Bibi.

The siblings in order of their births are:  Goolam, Cassim, Rabiya, Katija, Sara, Mohammed, Amod (Barbie) and Smiley.

Mr Latiff, with the help of his sons, grew the business over the years and established new stores in Verulam and Springvale, near Avoca.

Some of the businesses the Latiff family is well-known for are Bon Bon Café in Verulam and the "sweet meats and Chillie bites" establishments.

When the Latiff family established their businesses in Verulam and Springvale, they re-located their home from the Central area to Uplands. They stayed in a house near the Michaels and the Ruthans.

(Cassim Latiff behind the counter at one of the family shops.)

Despite their heavy work-loads, Goolam, Cassim, Mahomed, Barbie and Smiley also took an active part in soccer, cricket and other sporting activities in Ottawa and Verulam.

With their father, they also assisted in the building of the new Jhugroo Primary School in the Tin Town area of Ottawa.

Cassim Latiff, who studied at the University for students of Indian-origin at the Island in the Durban Harbour, also showed an interest in the struggles against apartheid in the 1960s. He taught at schools in Verulam and at one time headed the school at the Verulam Madressa. Cassim was also a teacher at the Crescent in Durban and served the Verulam Madressa school as teacher and principal for 19 years.

Cassim Latiff, who became a close friend of this correspondent in the 1960s, provided me an opportunity to work over weekends at their shop in Springvale. He used to provide me with a lift to Springvale in his car from Ottawa.

The gesture by Cassim Latiff demonstrated the humanity that his father used to treat people at his shop in Ottawa.

(Amod Latiff with his sister, Sara, on the left, and on the right Mrs Goolam and Mrs Ismail - Smiley)

According to Barbie, six of the siblings have now passed on. Only Sara, who now lives in Durban, and Barbie, who lives in Kissoon Road, are going strong. The widow of Goolam is also living in Ottawa.

One grandson of Barbie has settled in Riverview Road in Ottawa. 

The Latiff family have now reached five generations with 20 grand-children, 56 great-grand-children and 14 great-great-grand-children. There are now a total of 118 members, including spouses married into the family and more on the way.

One of their best memories was the Latiff, Hans and Dhooma families providing milk and fruits to people of all cultural groups who used to attend and witness the Mohrun festival that used to be held in an open area near the Central shop.

Another memory that Barbie recalled was when he used to deliver groceries on a cart to people in the Ottawa sugar estate.

On his return he used to fetch water in tanks from the river.

“Ottawa will forever be the home of the Latiff, Goolam Hoosen and Dhooma families,” said Barbie.

(One of the sisters, Rabiya)

“We hold dearly and closely all of our profound memories, good times and happy moments in our community. We also cherish the times when we used to walk in the nearby sugar cane bushes in search of mushrooms and sugar cane to eat. We carry these memories all the time and we are certain that these memories are also embedded with our departed loved ones.” Ends – subrygovender@gmail.com Dec 22 2022 Feb 5 2024