The refugee chef bringing the Ivory Coast to Athens.
I am Moussa , 29 years old. I was born in Ivory Coast.
I am a very social and sensitive person. I'm a fun guy (well, that's what my friends says ;) ) I consider myself being
kind to other people and I love meeting and talking with people from others countries.I am open minded , always ready
to learn new things and transfer my knowledge to others .
I left from my homeland in 2012 after the political crisis that shook the country. In 2010-2011 Iqvory coast went to elections after 10 years of conflict. Laurent Gbagbo, president of the country since 2000, said that he won the election, but the opposition did not recognize the outcome. Alassane Ouattara, leader of the opposition, declared himself president and fatefully the conflict got civilian dimensions ...
" In July 2012 I left my home country. I left my home because of the political situation. More than 3,000 people have lost their lives. The situation was very difficult and I had to leave. It was a difficult decision. After these elections, we ended up with two presidents. The opposition leader (Ouattara) declared himself president despite losing. The elected president (Gbagbo) did not accept it. So we ended up in a clash. Two presidents for five months in the country.
"The supporters of the two began to intercede. If you were not part of the one, you were automatically on the part of the other. When the violence broke out, my shop and the car were burned. I could no longer stay, I was not safe. I was only 22 years old. I left alone because I had already lost my family. My mother and my father and my little brother. "
Travel far from Ivory Coast
" I went to Turkey. I had a visa to travel and I stayed there for two weeks. Then I decided to come to Greece because I wanted to feel safe. I went to Turkey with the thought that at some point, when things were calm, I would go back to my country. But if you are a black or a foreigner, it is difficult to live in Turkey. I did not feel that Turkey is a good country for me. So I decided to go to Greece.
"The Turkish police stopped me at the border and arrested me. They held me for a week because I had no papers. They left me when they realized I was coming from a country that has real problems.
"I arrived at the coast. There, there was a refugee caravan preparing to climb the boat to go to Greece. I did not go with them, I did not want to. I stayed behind and I waited ... Finally I decided to go. After a lot of trouble i arrived in Alexandroupolis. It was August 5, 2012.
"But the police arrested me. In the morning and while I was in the cell, they came to get my data. I have been in prison for 7 months because I entered illegally in greece. I got a lawyer and went to court in Komotini. They asked me to prove that I had problems in my country, so i proved it .After seven months, at last, I was released. I have lived in very bad conditions. The police joined me at the Alexandroupolis railway station. From there I took the train and came to Athens.
"The first thing I did was look for a place to sleep. I wanted my own space. It was common to see a lot of people sharing a room. I could not go into this process. I had some savings and found a place where I stayed for seven months. I thought I had to leave Greece. In prison the authorities did not behave properly. Furthermore, the legal framework does not really protect refugees and immigrants.
"When I arrived in Athens I saw a lot of negative eyes on me. From the way I was staring, I felt disturbed, I felt I was a stranger. Will I was walking in Kypseli’s the police captured me regularly even though I had papers. They were taking me to the department, just to waste my time while checking my papers. They treated me with no respect. All this discouraged me and naturally I wanted to leave . "
The acquaintance that kept Moussa in Greece
" Everything changed when I met Ilia. I met her on 16 July 2014 at a bar in Glyfada. I did the first step. I went to talk to her. I told her I want to invite her to eat at McDonalds. When I suggested it, she broke into laughter. She told me he does not eat from there. I told her we can just meet there and then go somewhere else. But again She said not. Eventually she gave me her facebook. We were talking for two weeks until we finally went out.
"In our first date I must confess that I was late and she was very angry with me. We walked at the beach. We were talking for hours. After arriving back home I was trying to figure out if she wanted to see me again or not. I immediately sent her a message that I had a very good time with her and wanted to see her again. She replied positively .
"When you love someone , You love him without fear. Ilia is a good person, she is very smart, she cares about others, loves me and shares the same goals and vision. " I love her.
To you feel a refugee:
" I do not feel like I'm a refugee, I do not feel like I'm an immigrant. I'm just a man with his own story.
Since I was young I decided to fight for myself. I stopped school from very young because I had to fight to survive. I want to bring people closer together. I want to show the world that the refugees are not numbers, or people without a face and character . We are people like them.I am working really hard to get it done.
I love helping people, I like to see people happy, I like meeting new people from different countries , different religion
etc..., I like to learn, I like to laugh.
I would also like to change the lives of thousands of people around the world.
My dream is to see our world with peace everywhere.
My Idea for the business :
It was my friends’ requests for my cooking that first sparked my idea for a business.
“Everyone was telling me that the food of my country was very good. They asked me: ‘When will you cook again? Where can I find this food?’ So I decided to take this opportunity and start a business.”
My dream is to open the first africain fast food of Greece, inspired by his childhood in the Ivory Coast.
Since I was a kid, my family in Africa would cook for the local community for free every night. We would see everyone arriving and just being happy together, then the food would come out and we’d all eat together. When I came to Greece, I missed that. For me, setting up my restaurant will remind me of my family when everyone, from all different religions, races, nationalities, came together to eat.”
I plan to call the restaurant ‘Our Home’ as i want people to feel at home when they come through the doors.
I am a strong believer in the power of food to bring people together, open minds and transcend borders.
“Food can connect people. People will always go where they can be happy. Good food makes people happy and so it brings people together. I like to push people to try something new and experience new flavours, when people try new food it opens their minds.”
My restaurant will help to tell a positive story about the Ivory Coast. “It's important for me to cook Ivorian food because I want to show people what we eat,” .
“I want to bring people into Our Home so they have a more open mind about our culture. I hope by doing so people will be happy and learn new things. They will learn there are good things in Ivory Coast. There is good food and good people. That's what I want them to understand. We want to integrate with them, be friends, be happy together.”
I first started cooking for my Greek girlfriend after i got tired of eating Greek food – and she’s been encouraging me ever since!
I was enrolled in the IRC ‘Back My Business’ programme supported by the Citi Foundation where i have been given mentoring and funding to kick-start my restaurant business.
“The course has taught me what a business is, now I know I can make a business from cooking the food of my country. Every day of my life I use what I’ve learnt on this course – every day!”
I believe that all good businesses start with passion: “I tell to my friends the time: keep doing what you enjoy and you can make money from it and learn to do it even better. For me, business starts with doing something you like.”
I love the diversity, I would like to use food to bring everyone together, to connect everyone
in one place. I believe in the power of food
1 - 650 € for the engineer
2 - 2100 € for 6 months rent
3 - 3000 € for the kitchen
4 - 1810 € Vacuum installation
5 - 380 € for decoration
6 - 310 € Refrigerated drinks
7- For other expenses , i have some money with me.
“Everyone has ideas - refugees, citizens - we all have dreams, but we don’t know how to realise them. It’s important to have help to make your dream come true.”
I need your support to achieve this great dream.
What would I do after fundraising?
I can't refund the money back to you even if I did not reach the goal of 8250 euros, but I will organize a party for you, I will cook for all of you and we will eat together as a family.
I apologize for my English.
Best Regards
Moussa
E-mail: monsieursangaremoussa@yahoo.fr
Grèce - Athènes
User Comment