Ciezadlo

           Sometimes doing the right thing is not always easy. Especially for Ali, Jassim, and Ahmed who have left their jobs, families, homes, and lives behind in Iraq in order to not join violent Shiite militias. By leaving everything behind, they give up their culture, and are now in a part of the world, in a culture where they do not belong. Despite their unfortunate circumstances, these refugees are able to keep morale up by cooking their native Iraqi dishes. The tashreeb dijaaj, amongst many other Iraqi dishes, is what keeps these three men together and optimistic. To them, Iraqi cuisine represents their home, family, and culture.

            Tashreeb also represents their pride. Ali invited Annia Ciezadlo (author of the “They Remembered Home”) to his apartment to show off his native cuisine and culture. He wants her to know where he and his roommates come from. It makes him happy to see others enjoy his native cuisine. Him being proud of his heritage and native cuisine is not any different from American fans chanting “U-S-A! U-S-A!” at an Olympic event. Everyone is proud of where they come from, and everyone loves showing off their culture and pride. With the Tashreeb dish, not only do the Iraqi refugees remember home, but also they show their Iraqi pride.

            When I first learned of the Iraqi refugees in the writing, I did not think of then to be violent, American hating terrorist. What I did not understand until the end of the piece was how similar these men were to me. I understand that I am not from the Middle East, or a refugee, but I know what it is like to miss home and to miss my culture and customs. I spent two weeks in Germany a few years ago, and even though they had McDonald’s and other small examples of American culture, I felt out of place. The food is different, the language is different, the architecture is different, and the culture is different. Although I felt like an outsider, I had a sense of satisfaction when I would walk by a McDonald’s and see it packed with Germans, enjoying hamburgers and French Fries. The same can be said about the refugees feeling out of place and away from home while living in Lebanon. They too are able to get a sense of satisfaction and pride by sharing their native dishes with outsiders such as Ciezadlo.

            After reading this piece I realize that people might be on opposite ends of the earth, and might even have conflicting viewpoints, but are not so different when it comes to representing where they come from. Always remembering home and what made us the people we are today is a valuable lesson Ali and his roommates have taught me. No matter where we end up, or what the future brings, we will always have something like a tashreeb dish, or McDonald’s, to bring us back home.