Fatima told the museum her story back in 2011 for the Here I am project. Henia’s daughter did the same. Years later, the two friends shared their story together for the temporary Destination Sweetheart exhibition.
Fatima and Henia are proud to tell their story, about how things used to be, how they got here, how life has gone. Now they are grandmothers. They feel a responsibility to tell their story and pass it on to their children and grandchildren, who need to know their history, they both say.
They cherish their memories. “Talking about things is painful sometimes, but it makes us realise that we can be proud. We have gained a place in history here.”
In addition to sharing their story, Fatima and Henia are partners in the study exploring reminiscence entitled How things were, there and here. This is a study of dementia in people with a migration background conducted by the Red Star Line Museum in collaboration with Karel de Grote University of Applied Sciences and Arts.
Fatima and Henia's contribution to the museum
Fatima gave us some photos and the Quran she received as a child and brought to Belgium. We are also preserving her story of her migration to Belgium as an audio recording.
Fatima and Mohamed riding together on a scooter in Casablanca, 1977
Wedding photo of Fatima and Mohamed, October 1, 1973
Fatima with her husband Mohamed and sister Khadija at Antwerp Zoo.
The Quran that Fatima received as a child and brought to Belgium.
We keep a number of photos of Henia, the curtain Henia used every year during the car trip to Morocco, and a gold medal awarded by the city of Antwerp for the golden wedding of Henia El Biyar with Mohamed Falki.
Henia with Madame Simonne and friends in Borgerhout.
Flemish neighbors of Henia on a trip with her children in Antwerp.
Henia El Biyar with her children in front of a mural in Morocco, circa 1970. Henia with Mohamed on a trip in Ostend, 2010. Henia's mother with Aziz, her grandson, on a scooter in Rabat, March 3, 1980.
Portrait photos of Henia El Biyar and Mohamed.
Henia and Mohamed at the beach.
Henia with Madame Simone.
Henia and Mohamed (far right) at a dinner with Mohamed's sister in the early days of their marriage. Morocco, circa 1958.
