Elselyn Harriette Angelique Fa Si Oen – Aunt Es for friends, family and the rest, actually – is the oldest resident of Amsterdam at 108 years old. She was born just after the start of the First World War, but after more than a century she still has razor-sharp memories of her childhood in Suriname. “Free, nature, lots of forest and animals.”
Aunt Es has lived in the Rivierenbuurt since 2004. On four floors with a beautiful view. That view is nice because she doesn’t get out much anymore. She likes to watch sports. Ajax is her club. Last weekend she was – at the invitation of Ajax – fully dressed in the stands of the Johan Cruijff Arena. “On that day I received this book (about Sjaak Zwart, ed.) And a ball, it’s there.”
Tante Es was born in New Amsterdam in Suriname. “That was then a fortress. It was during World War I. I was born in 1915. My early childhood years were unforgettable. I can remember everything since I was two years old. Free, nature, lots of forest where small animals came. Like monkeys.”
Es came to the Netherlands in 1957. She outlived both sisters and both brothers, but still has relatives in Southeast, among other places. “They are all nice to me. We have each other as family and it will stay that way.”
To travel
Aunt Es never married. She wanted to travel, see the world, and she did. She went back to Suriname very often. Last seven years ago. “But the memories are there every day. I never forget them.”
Throughout her life, the believer Es has done evangelical social work. Last month she received the Amsterdam hero pin, an award for people who put their heart and soul into helping others. “I wondered what I owed that to.”
She is not 108 years old, but 108 and a half she says herself. And Aunt Es wants to continue for a while. “I feel good. And hope to live as long as possible. I enjoy life.”