On a table covered in white linen, Maisaa Alkhdir opens up a tray of savory and tart yalanji 鈥� a Syrian appetizer of grape leaves stuffed with rice and vegetables, which is part of the catering for a women鈥檚 empowerment event at SMU.
Alkhdir is a cook with , a Dallas-based food company that empowers refugee women 鈥� from countries like Afghanistan and Syria 鈥� to enter the food industry and cook for a living.
Originally from the central city of Homs in Syria, Alkhdir came to North Texas in 2016 to escape her country鈥檚 civil war. Given her own experience as a refugee from a war-torn country, she worries about the escalating violence in Ukraine.
鈥淚 hope one day it will end. No one is losing 鈥� just the people,鈥� Alkhdir said.
She now lives in Wylie with her husband and her mother-in-law. Alkhdir can鈥檛 help but remember all that she lost when war broke out in Syria.
鈥淪o we lose our homes, we lose our families,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 didn't see my family for more than 11 years.鈥�
More than 2 million refugees have fled Ukraine since Feb. 24, according to data from the (UNHCR). are expected to seek asylum.
Amid that mass migration, there鈥檚 been ongoing discussion about how Ukrainian refugees have received than refugees from the Middle East.
Alkhdir said she鈥檚 not sure whether that鈥檚 due to religious, racial or other differences. But what she鈥檚 adamant about is her conviction that war has devastating effects 鈥� for regular people everywhere.
鈥淚 don't like to be a person who defends our culture or any culture because I don't want war in any country because no one will lose 鈥� just the people. So the rich people, they will not lose anything. So it's just for the babies and for their mothers, and someone will kill their fathers.鈥�
Some have criticized immigration policy changes like Denmark opening its doors to Ukrainian refugees, while Syrian asylum-seekers have been asked to return home.
Many online have pointed out that the media鈥檚 coverage of the Russia-Ukraine war has contributed to the .
In recent weeks, a series of journalists have faced backlash for their coverage of the conflict, like . He compared the fighting in a 鈥渞elatively civilized, relatively European鈥� nation like the Ukraine to conflicts in countries like Iraq and Afghanistan.
The language of food
For Alkhdir, Break Bread, Break Borders has been an opportunity to build cultural bridges and connect with other North Texans from different backgrounds.
鈥�When you made a plate and you give it to someone and he likes it, this looks like it's a language between you and with someone who doesn't have this language," she said.
She wants to see Break Bread, Break Borders continue to grow with community support so they can cater more events. In the future, she dreams of opening a restaurant that specializes in Syrian cuisine.
鈥�There's a lot of Arabic restaurants here, but they are not from Syria,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e will find, maybe from Palestine, maybe you will find from Jordan, but not from Syria.鈥�
She loves serving people and seeing them smile as they bite into her food, but the fluffy hummus, falafel and stuffed eggplant has an underlying message: embrace refugees.
鈥淥pen your doors for all the refugees because they need. Maybe one day it will be here, maybe one day it will be another country. So we don't want anyone to hurt and we don't want any place to make any war.鈥�
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