This bellow was given to my mother from my grandfather when he came to visit us in New York. My grandfather and my grandmother from my mother’s side are both Moroccan, but they couldn’t be more different. My grandfather grew up in Casablanca, where he learned Arabic and French and wanted to leave the country to live and work in Europe. My grandmother, on the other hand, is Berber, a nomadic people living among the Arabs in Morocco. She didn’t grow up speaking Arabic and instead learned it on her own through books. When they met, my grandfather wanted to leave for Europe, and my grandmother refused to go with him. When push came to shove my grandfather couldn’t take it and left for Amsterdam, where he eventually landed a job making watches. He sent money back to my grandmother whenever he could. He came back after six months but eventually returned to Europe. This pattern kept on repeating itself until, one time, my grandmother got fed up and hid his passport. My grandfather finally got the message and hasn’t been back to Europe since. They ended up having six girls and all of them, like my grandfather, left for Europe, all, that is, except my mom, who ended up going to the United States. 

Despite not being used for its original purpose of strengthening fires, our bellow reminds me of the humble origins we had in Morocco. Whenever I see this bellow the metaphorical fire within me strengthens, increasing the passion I have toward my origins.

– Mohamed

Relationship:  Child of im/migrant Child of im/migrant