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Part 22 of a series of posts honoring the Grenfell Tower victims.

Eslah Elgwahry, from the 22nd floor of Grenfell Tower

There’s no picture of her unfortunately. Eslah Elgwahry came
to the UK from Egypt in the 1980s, and settled down in Grenfell Tower. She had lived there for 30 years at the time she passed away, been married, but lost her husband to cancer.

Her daughter Mariem, who cared for her, also died in the fire.
The one surviving member of the family, Ahmed Elgwahry, said that Mariem would not have wanted to leave her mother. He heard both their last moments over the phone the night of the fire, but the details are very distressing. After he was able to read them out to the Grenfell inquiry, he received a round of applause for his bravery.

He paid a tribute to Eslah, who was 64, at the Grenfell inquiry:

“My mum touched many hearts and was a strong woman who raised Mariem and I on her own since my father passed. She was very youthful, both inside and out. She was also a great authentic Egyptian cook.

“She loved to cook for people including neighbours, friends and family. We all loved her cooking and we always remember and miss the taste of her food.”

He also said the fire had been caused by, “a complete catalogue of failures across the spectrum that resulted in the loss of life in the most horrifying way possible.”

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Sources

http://www.gazetteandherald.co.uk/news/16256580.Grenfell_victim_died____hours_before_interview_for_her_dream_job___/

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/ng-interactive/2018/may/14/lives-of-grenfell-tower-victims-fire

https://metro.co.uk/2018/05/29/man-heard-family-die-in-grenfell-then-their-bodies-were-pieced-together-bone-by-bone-7587319/