The clash of cultures at mealtimes
Food is not merely about what we consume; it encompasses when, how, and with whom we share it. For many refugees, these seemingly mundane details carry deep cultural weight and can become subtle yet constant reminders of displacement. Shirin, for example, described the challenge of adjusting to meal times that clashed with her familiar rhythms. In her words:
“In Iran, we eat late, sometimes at nine or ten at night. But in the hotel, dinner is served at six. At first, I kept waiting for another meal or at least a snack, but nothing came. It took my body a long time to get used to that.”
Such small but meaningful mismatches accumulate into daily signals that refugees remain guests at someone else’s table, rather than hosts in a place they can truly call home.
Food, faith and fasting
The situation becomes even more complex when religious practices come into play. Ariana, a Muslim woman working at a hotel that houses asylum seekers, described the challenges during Ramadan:
“At Iftar we break our fast, and before dawn we eat Suhoor to prepare for the day. But what they gave us—a juice box, a small cake, a little apple—wasn’t enough to fill my child, let alone get an adult through sixteen hours of fasting. It was heart breaking.”
Yet, as Shirin’s experience illustrates, refugees’ resilience and resourcefulness often emerge powerfully in the face of such constraints, enabling them to adapt and preserve a sense of cultural continuity despite unfamiliar surroundings.
"I was hungry all the time, and I knew I had to find a way to make my own food. So I folded some bread, put cheese inside, wrapped it in foil, and pressed it with the iron in my room. I was so happy when the cheese started to melt and the smell filled the room. It felt like my little secret meal that made the hotel feel a bit more like home", she said.
Shirin’s improvised sandwich, made with an iron in her hotel room, is just one example of how small acts of resourcefulness can offer comfort and recreate a sense of home, even in the most constrained and impersonal places.