50. Imad's Syrian Kitchen with Imad Al Arnab

07/04/23 • 51 min

Asylum Speakers Podcast with Jaz O'Hara: Stories of Migration and Displacement

In today’s episode I speak to the wonderful Imad Al Arnab of Imad’s Syrian Kitchen. Imad has such an amazing story. He was a successful restaurateur in his home city of Damascus, Syria where he owned multiple restaurants, several juice bars and coffee shops. After they were all bombed and it became apparent he had to leave, he made the dangerous journey to the UK, where at first he worked in a car wash and as a car salesman. It didn’t take long for him to go on to open his very successful restaurant in Central London - Imad’s Syrian Kitchen.. He’s now written a recipe book also called Imad’s Syrian Kitchen - a love letter from Damascus to London, and is in the process of opening an even bigger restaurant still in Kingly Court off Carnaby Street.

In the run up to interviewing Imad I read loads of articles about his story. In some he spoke about the 65 days he spent living in Calais, holding on to the underside of lorries trying to get to the UK. But most importantly I remember him talking about how cooking was always a part of his journey. How a British Pakistani volunteer had given him a small stove and gas canisters so he could cook for himself and 14 friends. How he didn’t want to carry a knife and appear dangerous so he broke the vegetables up with his hands, and how a local Calais resident had been annoyed with them fishing close by, until one day Imad offered him some of the dish he had made with the fish, and from then on, he allowed Imad and his friends to charge their phones at his house.

Imad is so instantly warm and likeable. We recorded this episode in the restaurant after having lunch there together. I didn’t order, but before I knew it the table was covered in colourful, beautiful dishes. I remembered some of Imad’s words from another article saying “In Syria we don’t ask ‘what do you want to eat? We just serve lots of food and you can eat whatever you like, whenever you like. It’s like family.”

I LOVED Imad’s positive outlook and came away from the conversation totally topped up and inspired... I’m so sure you will too...

To support the show: https://www.patreon.com/theworldwidetribe

This episode is brought to you by Skin + Me - a personalized skincare solution that has not only transformed my skin, but also my packing experience wherever I’m going. Use the code ASYLUMSPEAKERS for an over 85% discount on your first month.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I LOVED Imad’s positive outlook and came away from the conversation totally topped up and inspired... I’m so sure you will too...

To support the show: https://www.patreon.com/theworldwidetribe

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Previous Episode

49. Being an LGBTQ+ Refugee: Everything you need to know

In today’s episode we’re exploring what it’s like to be displaced and part of the LGBTQ+ community. This episode is dedicated to everyone who sits at this intersection, and faces not only the challenges of being an asylum seeker or a refugee, but also the discrimination that comes with their sexuality or gender identity.

We will hear from three people. A new friend of mine H - the first openly trans filmmaker in Pakistan and is now living in London and seeking asylum in the UK. My other two guests today I’ll be keeping anonymous. One of them, we’ll call him A - runs a shelter for LGBTQ+ refugees from all over the world in Istanbul where he lives as a refugee himself from Iraq. My final guest M, you might remember from a previous episode recorded at his home in Beirut. He’s Syrian and lives as a refugee in Lebanon with his boyfriend, where he told me the painful but powerful story about what happened to them.

These are three very important voices, and ones we all need to listen to.

To support the show: https://www.patreon.com/theworldwidetribe

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Next Episode

51. REUNITED AFTER TEN YEARS: The story of Mez and his little brother Josi: Part One

This is an episode and a story that I’ve been wanting to share for nearly two years... and I am so happy to finally be able to do so!

This episode is about my Eritrean foster brother Mez and his younger brother Josi. A few years after Mez left Eritrea to avoid compulsory military service, so too did his little brother Josi. Josi is two years younger than Mez and they grew up doing everything together. They wore the same clothes, liked all the same things and Mez described him as being his little shadow. So despite Mez’s warnings of how dangerous it was, it’s no wonder that when he also became of age to be called up to the military, Josi chose to follow in his older brothers footsteps and flee the dictatorship in which he lived, in the hope of joining his older brother here in the UK.

Unfortunately, since Mez made the 9-month journey, things have only got harder, and Josi has spent the last four years on this journey. Most of that time he has been trapped in Libya, trying to cross the Mediterranean sea to make it to the safety of Europe. He has attempted the sea crossing four times, been captured by the Libyan coastguard four times, thrown into Libyan smuggler prison and suffered the unimaginable horrors that come with that. Beatings, torture, modern day slavery, starvation and more.

This is the story of how Mez has spent the last few years doing everything he possibly can to get his brother to safety. It's a very personal episode and I hope you enjoy it. Part two coming soon!

To support the show: https://www.patreon.com/theworldwidetribe

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.