36/365 - Mo Arekat - The Fumbally Cafe, Dublin

Dublin

5 Feb

I met Mo Arekat in the Fumbally Cafe where he works as a chef and instantly I realise that he is a bit of a local celebrity. Everyone has a big hello and hugs for him as we wander through the busy cafe on his day off.

He is well loved in his new community and that feeling is truly reciprocated. Mo is bursting to tell me his story, but not the one you may think of when you meet a Palestinian/Jordanian asylum seeker, he wants to tell me about his amazing new Irish family. The people who rescued him from sleeping on the streets and the extended community who have surrounded and supported him since.

The young man who sits before me today is eloquent and witty. He has the same cheeky charm of many Irish men I’ve met before, so I’m surprised to hear he didn’t speak any english only two years prior when he arrived.

Hearing that Mo was rescued by absolute angels on the streets of Ireland and welcomed wholeheartedly by the Fumbally community gives me an enormous amount of pride. It also leaves me very saddened to know that there must be so many more people like him, clutching a tent, who simply want to be safe, to contribute and to belong.

As I tuck into Mo’s incredible carrot and tomato soup today, I overhear the table next to us raving about the food “the chefs here are amazing” and I agree.