photograph

Bacha Attar (?) Bent Ahmed Ben Lahssen

Bacha (or Mémé as we knew her) is my dad’s grandmother on his mother’s side. Presumably born in 1906 as it says on her passport, she grew up in the Atlas Mountains and was the daughter of an important man in the local Berber community. Her last name suggests she was the daughter of Ahmed who was the son of Lahssen. I’ve never seen a more complicated last name on a passport (it also says Bent Amadi). She had 3 children and lived a long time, ending her days in the south of France in 2003. Here she is holding her son Hervé. I think she looks exactly like my cousin Vanessa, who is continuing her legacy in making beignets aux pommes.

Casablanca, Morocco

Family photos - Maëlle Urrien

photograph | Morocco | great-grandparents | France