Dialogues and Tensions in the Eating Habits of Syrian Refugees Living in São Paulo, Brazil

ABSTRACT

This study investigates the processes of acculturation, interculturality and interactions in the eating habits of Syrian refugees who had a Syrian food venue in the city of São Paulo, Brazil. We conducted a qualitative study, with an ethnographical design, with ten participants, using semi-structured interviews and participant and non-participant observation. There were changes in the preparation of consumed and served food products. These changes were accompanied by tensions, connected to the acculturation strategies and intercultural relations. Even with these changes, consuming Syrian food allowed our participants to maintain connections with their original country, despite the sudden temporal and spatial separation.

KEYWORDS:

• Acculturation
• Syrian refugees
• eating habits
• Brazil
• qualitative research

Acknowledgments

The authors are grateful to the participating Syrian refugees, MIGRAFLIX, and ADUS.

Data availability

The data that support the findings of this study are available on request from the corresponding author [FBS]. The data are not publicly available due to the fact that the study participants are refugees with tense political relations with their country of origin.

Declaration of interest statement

The author do not have conflicts of interest.

Notes

1. Please consult the Glossary in the Appendices for a description of this and other Syrian foods.

2. Coxinha: a dish made from potato dough, stuffed with shredded chicken meat and fried in hot oil. Pão de queijo: bread with a soft and rubbery consistency, made of cassava starch, egg, salt, oil, and cheese. Pastel: pastry stuffed with cheese, meat, or other fillings, and fried in hot oil.

Additional information

Funding

This study was financed in part by CAPES (Finance Code 001); FAPESP (Grant numbers. 2016/24847-0, 2017/05651-0, 2015/12235-8, and 2017/17424-9) and CNPq (Grant numbers. 311357/2015-6 and 309514/2018-5). The opinions, hypothesis, and conclusions expressed in this material are under the sole responsibility of the author and not necessarily reflect or had any influence of FAPESP, CNPq, and CAPES. The authors declare that there are no conflicts of interest associated with this study.