[Image 1: A little girl in a party dress and hat, being held by her smiling mother. Image 2: A man looking at the camera and smiling, against a wall-patterned background. Image 3: A woman looking directly at the camera, wearing a pink checked hijab]
Part 14 of a series of posts honoring the Grenfell Tower victims.
The Tuccu-Ahmedin family and their cousin Amna
from the 23rd floor of
Grenfell Tower
Three-year-old Amaya Tuccu-Ahmedin died with her mother Amal Ahmedin, 35, and father Mohamednur Tuccu, 44. Her cousin, 27-year-old Amna Mahmud Idris, was visiting the family the night of the fire and also died.
Mohamednur was a football lover with a BSc in genetics and a MSc in bioinformatics. He fled Eritea after opposing the government, went to Nigeria and then to the UK, where he became a security guard. His brother Ibrahim Toukou spoke at the Grenfell inquiry:
“I will never forget how he was always smiling. who knew him described him as kind and loving. His phrase was ‘don’t worry’. I dreamed of being together with our families and children. I wanted so badly to introduce Amaya to my daughter who is seven. My children do not know Mohamednur and his family have passed away. We have told the kids they have gone away on a trip. My mother is not accepting Mohamednur’s death. It’s hard for any of us to even think about it, never mind talk about it.”
Amal’s sister Winta talked about Amal and Amaya, whose bodies were found together. Amal, she said,
“…taught me how precious life was and the importance of the
kind of people you surround yourself with. She was supposed to be here, alive… She loved her friends and family so much, especially her daughter who was the love of her life. Amal was an incredible mother, motherhood brought out a layer of her personality that we were all in awe of….“For the rest of my life I will never accept they are gone. I will continue planning Amaya’s life: what she will be doing on her 10th birthday, her 18th and 21st and the rest of her life. We will miss them so much.”
Her sister Feruza also spoke out. Amal spoke five languages, she said, and “her infectious joy would light up a room.”
“Those we grew up with, who shared our fondest memories with, celebrated and mourned, have had their lives stolen from them while the whole of London watched.“
Amna, who was also born in Eritea, was a keen artist. Her husband Ibrahim called her “all my life” at the Grenfell inquiry. “She would support me at all times. She came to live with me in the UK in March 2016. After one year I lost her forever.”
–
Sources
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-44238276
https://www.pressreader.com/uk/the-guardian/20180525/281848644269411
EDIT: Found a picture of
Amna
Mahmud Idris.