This summer Homayoon Shirzad celebrated Ramadan away from home for the first time in his life. Each day at sunset he gathered with a small group of friends from the direct provision centre where he lives to break the fast with a meal prepared earlier that afternoon.
The tiny kitchen area at the Waterford centre made it difficult for the group to prepare the food they ate each evening during the month-long celebration.
“We were about three people each contributing €5 and going to the supermarket to buy ingredients. The kitchen closes at 6pm but people finish fasting for Ramadan at 10pm so you needed to have your own food cooked.
“Mostly you get chicken nuggets and chips or spaghetti in the centre but for Ramandan we needed light food after 17 hours of fasting so we collected the money and cooked together.”
Mr Shirzad, who came here from Afghanistan in November 2016 and was recently given leave to remain in Ireland, often cooked with his wife and sister back home. "I've always loved cooking and I've tried to convince the direct provision centre to give me the materials to cook my own food."
Last Saturday, Mr Shirza joined more than 50 asylum seekers from across the country to take part in a day-long course in food safety and hygiene. The event was organised by the Our Table cafe which was set up three years ago to raise awareness of the conditions for those living in direct provision and to offer asylum seekers and refugees internship and job opportunities.
The Government has pledged to improve cooking facilities in direct provision centres in the wake of the McMahon Report which cited an effective ban on cooking in many centres.
Last year, the Our Table café held a three-month residency upstairs in Project Arts Centre in Temple Bar and since then the group has provided catering for events around the capital. However, Our Table is still searching for a permanent workspace and funding to support training for participants.
Training event
Ellie Kisyombe, Our Table co-founder, organised Saturday’s food hygiene training event to give asylum seekers the opportunity to learn a new skill in a fresh environment outside the hostels where they live.
“After this training if they leave direct provision tomorrow they can look for a job and say they have this experience. It also gives people the opportunity to forget their problems and develop confidence working in a new area.”
Like Mr Shirza, many of the people who attended Saturday’s event in Dublin are unable to cook for themselves in direct provision. “When you’ve been in direct provision for years you lose your self-esteem,” says Ms Kisyombe. “This course will give people the courage to speak to others and be able to socialise.”
Joanna Troughton, an environmental health officer with the HSE who led Saturday’s class, says any person working in the food business must have a basic knowledge of how to handle, prepare and serve food to the public. She used a food hygiene course devised by the Environmental Health Association of Ireland to teach participants the basics in food hygiene.
“It’s a fundamental right to be able to cook your own food and many in direct provision are in isolated areas with no transport,” says Ms Troughton. “Our Table gives people a chance to work, even if they can’t be paid for it, to contribute and be part of a community.”
For Mr Shirza, who worked as an education programme advisor with Concern worldwide before coming to Ireland, the weekend gave him the chance to engage with other asylum seekers.
“I’ ve never cooked for restaurants or big shops but I am a cook and I am aware of different Afghani and other Middle Eastern foods. I’m interested in helping with the Our Table project and cooking helps relieve my stress here.”
