Sometimes "right time, right place" makes all the difference.
Before leaving the American Legation in Tangier Morocco in 2014, we scheduled a screening of Deborah Perkin's documentary "Bastards." The film featured Rabha El Haimer, whose fight to have the courts recognize daughter Salma's birth was inspiring. We were so impressed with this young woman, giving her all for the sake of her daughter. It was the beginning of a decade of friendship.
We'd been discussing staffing needs at the Legation, especially someone to clean the museum. Hence the lightbulb moment: how about Rabha? So that's how it happened: Rabha jumped at the offer and moved from a windowless room in Casablanca to Tangier and a job in a pleasant environment where she is treasured by her colleagues and supervisors; Salma started school and is now poised to start her first year at university; and Rabha, without any formal education, has enrolled in the Legation's Arabic literacy classes and learned to read and write. Deborah Perkin's film did indeed lead to life-changing impact, and not only for Rabha and Salma; we now have "family" in Morocco.
The little girl who appears in the film is now 19 years old and worked hard to pass her secondary school "bac" exams. We're impressed with her intelligence and maturity - at 14, she helped her mom recover from cancer - and we're happy to participate in this GoFundMe effort. Please consider donating, and - small or large - know that your investment in Salma's education will "pay off" for her and her mother.
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Participer à une cagnotte ? Oui, pour aider notre jeune amie Salma à poursuivre des études universitaires à Tanger.
Qui est Salma ? Le film de l'anglaise Deborah Perkin "Bastards" - sorti en 2014 - raconte le combat de sa mère Rabha pour faire reconnaître officiellement son propre mariage et ainsi établir une identité pour sa fille.