Refugees Cook to Counter Stereotypes

In Paris, France, restaurants opened their kitchens to refugee chefs in an innovative gastrodiplomacy initiative aimed at facilitating cross-cultural understanding. The Refugee Food Festival, which took place last weekend (June 17-21, to coincide with World Refugee Day) in the French capital, invited refugee chefs from Syria, Sri Lanka, Iran and the Ivory Coast to showcase their cultural and culinary traditions, and to break stereotypes about the image of refugees. The Festival was co-organized the United Nations’ refugee agency (UNHCR) and two French food organizations—Food Sweet Food and Les Cuistots Migrateurs—and encouraged hungry diners to celebrate diversity, globalization, and great tasting culinary traditions. 

In France, Syrian Refugees Cook To Fight Stereotypes

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