The Migrateful family is overcome with grief as we mourn the loss of Ahmed, a beloved cornerstone of our community. His absence will be deeply felt by countless individuals, including his family, partner, and friends both near and far.
Things had really come together for Ahmed in his final years: he obtained his immigration status after many challenging years of waiting, found love with a wonderful woman, became captain of the wheelchair basketball team, and utilised his entrepreneurial skills to initiate multiple business endeavours, including a Lebanese catering company. He recently received an award for being in the British Red Cross for five years as an emergency responder & volunteer representative for London.
Even if you only met Ahmed once at a Migrateful cookery class, it is impossible to forget him. His teaching style was known for being fun, passionate and uncompromising on upholding high standards. To share a few memories from those who met him at his cookery classes; from my dad: ‘I remember his firm view that one should never buy canned chickpeas’. My partner’s parents: ‘Our memory of him will be of joy and a love of life’.
This extract from the Migrateful blog on resilience written when the pandemic first broke out in 2020 poignantly captures his incredible resilience and positive outlook on life despite the challenges he faced:
Ahmed was shot in Lebanon and paralysed from the waist down and now has to use a wheelchair. He explains that you learn about who you really are when you lose everything.
‘I had a great job in Lebanon. I had my fiancée, my family and friends. A beautiful house. Then one day, I lost everything: my ability to walk, my ability to work and my ability to live safely in the country that I love….
For me, the best way to cope when everything is out of my control is to try to surrender to the sadness and uncertainty, instead of trying to run away from it. When you really face it, it can’t hurt you anymore.
Getting paralysed and losing everything taught me that life has many different stages. One moment you’re up and in the blink of your eye you’re down. But you must never give up. Every stage involves a new version of you. There’s always a light at the end of the tunnel.
I believe life makes these things happen for a reason, only time shows you the reason why.
I feel very grateful for my life. I know that I’m still better off than a lot of other people.’
One of the things I found so inspiring about Ahmed was that he never let being a wheelchair user stop him from doing what he wanted. Whenever there was a cookery class venue that didn’t have wheelchair access, he said he would teach the class anyway as long as we could carry him up the stairs. I remember he had four volunteers carry him up two flights of stairs at the Migration Museum in the old fire station in Lambeth so he could teach his class! When Migrateful was asked to perform at WOMAD Festival, he jumped at the opportunity and had a fantastic time demoing his Lebanese cuisine at the Taste the World stage.
When I told the news to a friend today, she reminded me of him dancing to a live folk band at the festival by doing loops in his wheelchair at the back of the crowd. He always seized every moment in the most joyful way and was happy to have me ride on the back of his mobility scooter at the festival to share that joy.
Ahmed was known for being the life and soul of the party. Here he is salsa dancing with our Cuban chef, Lola, at our Christmas party in 2019.
Migrateful would not be where it is today without Ahmed’s drive and advocacy for our mission. Whenever there was a chance to give a speech or feature in the press to talk about Migrateful’s work, he would be the first to volunteer. This first photo below was taken just after we finished a talk about Migrateful together in front of 200 people at my choir’s Christmas fundraiser for Migrateful. The second photo is an example of Ahmed’s advocacy in the press for Migrateful’s mission (read the full article in the Independent here) and the video below shows him talking very eloquently about the impact Migrateful had on his life.
Five years ago, I was going through a tough time in the early stages of starting Migrateful: cookery class sales were slow and I was feeling burnt out from all the work needed to build an organisation from scratch with limited resources. Ahmed took it upon himself to encourage me; he even went so far as to buy me this t-shirt (photo below) which I never showed to anyone because I was too embarrassed! It’s now a precious reminder to me of Ahmed’s incredible support and love. He really helped me not to give up in those early days.
I remember when the pandemic broke out we had to cancel all of our in-person cookery classes. It seemed like it might be the end for Migrateful because the majority of our income came from cookery class sales. Ahmed called me up and said ‘Don’t worry boss, we’re going to start doing online cookery classes’. He sent a message on the chef WhatsApp group (see screenshot below) and organised a meeting with our community where we drew up a plan to start online classes. They ended up being a real success leading to significant growth for the organisation during that time. Without the enthusiasm and energy with which Ahmed mobilised the Migrateful community, we might not have had the same success.
We have all learned so much from Ahmed’s approach to life. He will never be forgotten and his legacy will touch the lives of those who didn’t have the fortune to know him. You can read more about Ahmed’s incredible life story in this interview I was hugely privileged to conduct with him in 2019.
We are holding a memorial to honour this wonderful man at 3.30pm on 14th May in the Migrateful cookery school. Everyone is welcome, please let us know if you’d like to attend. I am sending my love to all those affected by this news at this very challenging time.
24 comments
Tamsin
I cherish happy memories of Ahmed’s joyful inspiration to everyone involved in Cook&Eat at Barry House, East Dulwich from 2017- 2020 and of his determination and warm hospitality at the Migration Museum and of his brave and gracious provision of profuse and delicious refreshments at a large event for Herne Hill Welcomes Refugees, May 2019.
A piece of his heart will live on in the hearts of all who knew him as he now sleeps peacefully.
Claire Harding
I attended the last Migrateful cookery session that Ahmed was running before he left the organisation to set up his own business. He was so enthusiastic and passionate about the food as well as talking excitedly about his future business plans. I so enjoyed his class and was so impressed with his determination in both work and personal activities – a true inspiration. So I was very sorry to read the email. I only met Ahmed that one time but he made a lasting impression.
Thinking of his family and friends at this very difficult and sad time.
Joy
My deepest condolences to all who knew and loved Ahmad best. He was a wonderful man with a life well lived.
I’m forever grateful for the experience, food, and happy memories he gave my family, friends, and me. In 2019, Ahmad and a Migrateful volunteer kindly made the journey to my home with LOTS of food and cooking supplies to lead an in-home Lebanese cookery class. Despite the less-than-ideal set-up and persistent socialisation of my c. 15 guests (aka lack of focus), Ahmad embraced the occasion and shared his experience, expertise, and enthusiasm generously. He kindly traded happy memories of life in Lebanon with my grandma and mom, who had lived in Beirut briefly years ago. Ahmad gave us a wonderful evening and the best falafel I have had outside Lebanon. I’ll have to dig out his recipe and make some falafel in his honour.
Lisa
I have been working with Ahmed for the last year on his street-food business and am devastated to hear this news – his energy and enthusiasm, and his love of food, was infectious. He was so close to realising his food business dreams and I know impacted many, many people positively with his cookery classes and delicious dishes. He will be greatly missed. Am thinking of his friends and family at this time and send them all my love and well wishes.
Kam
I am so very sorry to hear! :((( Seeing Ahmed on WOMAD’s Taste the World stage is how I found out about Migrateful and decided to start volunteering for the organisation. He presented so well and his enthusiasm was infectious. I was also lucky enough to meet him in one of his classes. What a great loss to the Migrateful community
Kate
I attended a class run by Ahmed and was very impressed by his knowledge, passion and warmth.
My thoughts are with his family and friends and I will always remember the class and the impact it had on.
clare shinebourne
So sad but so wonderful to hear about such an amazing and loving man and what he has done for so many people.
Kenza Cheikh
Allah yehramo.
I met Ahmed once a few years ago when I was volunteering during his class. He is a memorable and inspiring person and as someone with Lebanese and Palestinian heritage we really connected during the cooking class.
I am deeply sorry for you loss.
S
We took one of Ahmed’s classes and, exactly as you, he is impossible to forget. Unbelievably heartbroken by this news. Love to his family and friends.
Sarah
I’m so sorry to hear this news. I met Ahmed when Migrateful was in its infancy when I volunteered to help a handful of days when the mentoring programme was just starting to take shape. What a beautiful read about his life and his impact on Migrateful and those around him. A beautiful man who will be greatly missed. I feel so inspired by his legacy and encouraged to bring joy to those around me.
Anita
Thank you for letting the wider Migrateful community know about Ahmed. I never met him but reading about him makes me feel inspired by his determination to accept that which cannot be changed, whilst retaining optimism, dignity and a great sense of fun. I am at the Iranian cooking class this evening and will hold him in my mind and heart.
Jenny Chu
I’m in tears mourning a man I have never met because I can sense his beautiful soul even through the screen as I read about the amazing life he led and the dedication and spirit he infused into Migrateful’s mission and work. May he rest in peace and my deep condolences to all that knew him.
Georgia
Very sad to hear this news and sending love to all those effected.
I volunteered at one of Ahmed’s classes many years ago and picked up a trip for crushing garlic using the back of a fork (rather than a garlic press!) that I have used ever since. I’ll think of him every time I do this. What an inspiring man x
Laura Waters
Hi,
I never met Ahmed, I wish I had. I’ve done one cookery class (so far) and was blown away by this charity and the people involved. Reading this and watching the videos, Ahmed was clearly an incredibly special human being. Maintaining such positivity and sharing so much love despite experiencing that much adversity is utterly inspiring and humbling.
Thank you Ahmed, Thank you Migrateful. And sending all my love and thoughts to you all.
Laura
Diane Duke
Wow – what a guy! So encouraging and heartwarming to read, view and listen to. It’s such a shame but it was nice to see he was the life of the party. It is always great to see someone who is inspiring, someone who can teach you a lesson or three and someone who also loves cooking.
It’s nice to see the impact he made and it’s great that he will be remembered for just being amazing.
May he rest in peace.
Olivia
Heartfelt condolences during this difficult period. May the memories you shared with Ahmed bring you comfort and strength as you navigate this challenging time.
Christy
This is very sad news. Thank you for this touching remembrance of a really special person.
Ziad haj hussien
I did not know him personally. I had never met him before. But I feel deeply saddened not only by the death of Ahmed, but also because we lost an important part of humanity’s feelings with the death of people like Ahmed. I offer my deepest condolences to humanity first and to everyone who knew Ahmed.
Sarah Bentley
What a soul. Reading his message in response to Covid19 and seeing that t-shirt I just burst into tears – it really sums up his incredible spirit. I am deeply sorry for your loss of this phenomenal man.
Mr Oliver A Rennalls
I’ve know Ahmed for almost 3 years, his support determination and laughter was a huge part of what made him who he is. Anyone lucky enough to come into contact with, would leave with nothing but positivity. My deepest and most sincere condolences go to his wife, family and friends. And for Brixton Ballers #Ballers4life. RIEP “Bro”
Nour Toufaily
We had hope of you staying with us till the last moment. Losing you and your kind loving heart and soul is one of the hardest things we are going through right now .
Will remind karim of you every day and will tell him how much you loved him and couldn’t wait to meet him in person.
You will always shine 🤍
May your soul rest in peace dearest Ahmad💔
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