Experiences of people with refugee background who started their business in the food sector
type: CreativeWork
description: The emotional and relational aspects of hospitality for inclusion have been rarely explicitly acknowledged in the food business sector and academic scholarship. Embedded within these aspects is the concept of voice and how it can be used to empower and care for others. Voice is viewed as a fundamental human right and is crucial for communities, such as those with refugee background to express their experiences and gain agency for change. How stories are told using food and within hospitality businesses, illuminates care, as well as communicating the causes of displacement and refugee experiences during their journeys, arrival, collective perceptions and the reception and inclusion of refugees in the countries in which they resettle. A key approach for gaining inclusion and economic resources for refugee background communities has been to start a business. This provides opportunities for employment and, the hospitality and food sector, has been viewed as an accessible sector for refugee-background individuals to start their venture in and offer a transformative avenue for inclusion in their new communities. Through their hospitality and food businesses, refugees can offer positive narratives, challenge perceptions that others in the host community may have of them and construct realistic caring representations of themselves. The hospitality sector emerges as a unique platform for refugees to connect with host communities, fostering mutual understanding and promoting inclusion. Previous academic studies that have investigated hospitality businesses started by people with refugee background have mainly focused on examining the various economic and functional aspects that influence their businesses. In these studies, a humanitarian approach that examined the sociological and cultural role of food and food businesses for diverse communities such as refugee background individuals was rarely acknowledged. To deepen our understanding of the role of food and hospitality for …
abstract: The emotional and relational aspects of hospitality for inclusion have been rarely explicitly acknowledged in the food business sector and academic scholarship. Embedded within these aspects is the concept of voice and how it can be used to empower and care for others. Voice is viewed as a fundamental human right and is crucial for communities, such as those with refugee background to express their experiences and gain agency for change. How stories are told using food and within hospitality businesses, illuminates care, as well as communicating the causes of displacement and refugee experiences during their journeys, arrival, collective perceptions and the reception and inclusion of refugees in the countries in which they resettle. A key approach for gaining inclusion and economic resources for refugee background communities has been to start a business. This provides opportunities for employment and, the hospitality and food sector, has been viewed as an accessible sector for refugee-background individuals to start their venture in and offer a transformative avenue for inclusion in their new communities. Through their hospitality and food businesses, refugees can offer positive narratives, challenge perceptions that others in the host community may have of them and construct realistic caring representations of themselves. The hospitality sector emerges as a unique platform for refugees to connect with host communities, fostering mutual understanding and promoting inclusion. Previous academic studies that have investigated hospitality businesses started by people with refugee background have mainly focused on examining the various economic and functional aspects that influence their businesses. In these studies, a humanitarian approach that examined the sociological and cultural role of food and food businesses for diverse communities such as refugee background individuals was rarely acknowledged. To deepen our understanding of the role of food and hospitality for …
author: Bazrafshan, Shima
license: https://researchcommons.waikato.ac.nz/bitstreams/980a2be7-4a4b-440c-a681-a02b2d5705cc/download
date published: 2024
date modified: 2026-07-24T05:57:38Z
provider: University Waikato
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: The University of Waikato