Breaking Bread: NYC campaign promotes restaurants serving Muslim-ban cuisines
Breaking Bread: NYC campaign promotes restaurants serving Muslim-ban cuisines
Protesters against Donald Trump's Muslim Ban find appetising way to show solidarity with immigrants from banned countries.
3 min read
Breading Bread NYC campaigners believe fear can be overcome through food [AFP]
A group of US campaigners feeling particularly gut-wrenched by the Muslim ban passed by US President Donald Trump last week have put together an appetising way to protest - one that involves dining on fine Yemeni and Syrian cuisine.
A campaign called Breaking Bread NYC has released a map of local New York restaurants that serve the cuisines of the seven countries affected by the ban.
The idea was first initiated by a number of food enthusiasts who came together to find a way to express their protest against Trump's orders.
"A bunch of us in New York city who are involved in the food world and were upset about the isolationist attitude the US is showing right now, got together to try to find a way to express this," Scott Wiaener, one of the organisers of the campaign, told The New Arab.
"So we have decided to set food events over the next 90 days, which is the period of the ban, because we believe that it is more effective to push for something rather than push against it," Wiaener, who works as a food tour guide in New York, added.
The Breaking Bread NYC campaign has over the past few days approached restaurants who offer cuisines from Syria, Iran, Iraq, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen.
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Amid the climate of fear now hanging over migrant communities in the US, a few restaurants declined to participate worried over potential reprecussions.
"We asked restaurants whether they would like to participate in this initiative, and they had the option to opt in," Wiaener said, "Many did, but for some, they were worried that their participation may place them in a dangerous position.
"We pushed our neighbourhoods to try local restaurants that served these cuisines," Wiaener explained.
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We believe that it is more effective to push for something rather than push against it |  |
"Fear is generated from unfamiliarity, so when you break bread with someone that completely goes away. That is how all conversations begin."
Breaking Bread NYC has put together a weekly map, which can be downloaded online, listing the restaurants that have opted in.
For a donation of $10 - which proceeds to the Council on American-Islamic Relations - food enthusiasts can access the list of restaurants in New York city that serve cusines from nations named in Trump's executive order.
The idea seems to have also kindled enthuisiasm from like-minded campaigners outside New York.
Wiaener told The New Arab that many have already been in touch with him to find out whether the campaign was coming to their local neighbourhoods.
"We got lots of emails from others who want to do the same in their towns, and we are trying to help them set up."
In addition to the downloadable map, Breaking Bread NYC is also performing food tours of immigrant restaurants.
"We tour neighbourhoods with a number of participating restaurants in them, and get bites of the food there," Wiaener said.
"People who join the tours get to speak with the restaurant owners to find out more about their cuisine and culture."
Wiaener believes Breaking Bread NYC offers an alternative form of activism against the US president's isolating orders.
"It has only been two weeks [since Trump assumed office] and people don’t know what else to do other than protest," he said, "Breaking Bread NYC is a different form of activism against what is going on and we are focused on supporting our local communities.
"People connect through food and the most unlikely forms of friendships can be formed."
And what of the food itself? Wiaener said of the dishes tried, it is the Yemeni roast that has proved particularly popular.
