Syrian refugee chef finds home in the US
Abdul Raheem fled his war-torn homeland in 2013 and suffered greatly along the way
■
The streets of Washington are dark and empty when Majed Abdul Raheem first arrives at Union Kitchen, a shared commercial cooking space in a warehouse on the city’s northeast side. By 4am, he has already made headway on preparing a meal for 150 people.
Just before dawn, the 29year old pauses to gulp down water and say a brief prayer under his breath before getting back to mixing a large bowl of chopped chicken with spices for a popular Syrian staple dish called shawarma.
During Ramadan, Abdul Raheem works a customised nocturnal schedule.
The Syrian refugee, who cooks for a meal delivery service called Foodhini, starts his working day around 2am. That way he doesn’t have to spend his days over a hot stove without being able to drink water.
Greater challenges
“The grill makes you thirsty,” Abdul Raheem said. “That kind of work while you’re fasting is very difficult.”
Abdul Raheem has faced far greater challenges: A native of the Syrian city of Dara’a — the birthplace of the Syrian revolution — he was working as a chef in Damascus when he decided to flee his war-torn homeland in 2013.
He ended up as a refugee in neighbouring Jordan, where he married his wife, Walaa Jadallah, a distant relative from Syria ■ and a fellow refugee.
“Three years in Jordan like 30,” Jadallah, 29, said.
Conditions in the Zaatari refugee camp were atrocious.
Life in Jordan was expensive, and as a refugee, Abdul Raheem wasn’t allowed to work legally.
He took under-the-table odd jobs as a chef, cashier and newspaper deliveryman.
At one point, he was rounded up by police while on a newspaper run and spent 10 days in jail for working illegally.
Jadallah was pregnant with their first child and thought felt the whole family would be deported back to a disintegrating Syria. “I was tearing my hair out. It was the worst day of my life,” she said.
In June 2016, months before the American presidential election, the family was approved to come to Tucson, Arizona.
As the campaign reached full swing, so did the rhetoric surrounding immigrants and refugees, propelled by presidential candidate Donald Trump.
Misgivings dismissed
“I don’t know ... Trump maybe no like refugee,” Abdul Raheem says he remembers thinking at the time.
“I thought people would be hostile and wouldn’t accept us. In Jordan, we would hear that (Americans) don’t like refugees, especially Syrians.”
But those misgivings were quickly dismissed the first time Abdul Raheem wandered out to learn the Tucson bus system and buy some household supplies.
“I was amazed that the first people I met on the street smiled at me without even knowing me,” he recalled.
“Then the people after that smiled and said ‘Hi.’ It was strange to me.”
After eight months, Abdul Raheem, Jadallah and their two daughters moved to a small apartment in Riverdale, Maryland, just outside Washington. Shortly afterward, Abdul Raheem found work with Foodhini.
Customers say they get the satisfaction from a tasty meal and a deeper understanding of stories like Abdul Raheem’s.
“It’s a win-win. I get his food and I also can feel that I’m helping him through what must be just an incredibly difficult, difficult time,” said Danielle Frum, who frequently orders from Foodhini.
The grill makes you thirsty. That kind of work while you’re fasting is very difficult.”
Majed Abdul Raheem | Syrian refugee chef