The Bahar project: Many recipes, one city

The project

The Athens Coordination Center for Migrant and Refugee issues in cooperation with ActionAid Hellas presented the book “The Bahar project: Many recipes, one city”. Cooking procedure as being a journey of discovery and knowledge, operates as mediator to bring people together wherever they come from. This is what happened when women who live in Athens were invited to cook in a feast of flavours and cultural exchange. This event was part of the actions performed under the “Athens 2018: World Book Capital City”. Migrant, refugee and Greek nationality women came together to cook, to invite visitors to taste dishes from Greece and abroad, to get to know each other, dance and have fun. Melissa Network of Migrant Women in Greece also supported the project. Out of this activity, the book “The Bahar Project: Many recipes, one city” was created. This book presented 12 recipes that were prepared during the feasts as well as the stories that cooks shared. 

According to Hanna from Ukraine, an active member of Melissa Network for migrant and refugee women living in Greece, cooking is linked with family. “Cooking reminds me of family. That we were, that we lived as one big, loving and happy”, she said. “My daughter plays with all the other kids at school, no matter where they come from, and I encourage her to do that. Soon enough, she’ll go to university with these kids, they’ll spend an entire lifetime together, they need to communicate”, says Spyridoula who is living in Kolonos area, a multicultural neighbourhood of Athens.