Bait al-Mouneh: Traditional Syrian Homemaking as Roots for Women’s Agency

by Nabila Hijazi, The George Washington University

 

Introduction

The Syrian conflict, which began in March 2011, emerged out of the Arab Spring wave of protests that swept across the Middle East and North Africa. These protests, which emerged from citizens’ discontent with local governments, started with peaceful calls for political reforms, but quickly escalated into a full-blown civil and proxy war, particularly in Syria (Al-Ghazzi; Yassin-Kassab and Al-Shami). The conflict has led to one of the worst humanitarian crises, the Syrian refugee crisis, resulting in the largest exodus of the century with endless convoys of Syrian families seeking refuge from the brutal war (UNHCR, 2023a). Around 6 million people are internally displaced and 5 million left to neighboring countries, while some  have risked their lives taking dangerous journeys to Europe (Connor).

Several scholars such as Noor Ghazal Aswad, Leila Al-Shami, Banah Ghadbian, among others, have written about Syrian women’s agency and activism during the revolution and in the wake of different radical extremist groups and power struggles between rival rebel factions in Syria. For instance, Banah Ghadbian highlights Syrian women’s activism: how they participated in creative and political activist efforts and grassroots organizational work during the Syrian revolution. She details how they organized networks of protest across the country, ran social media platforms to publicize the weekly Friday protests in various regions, provided sustenance to anti-government fighters, and established networks of Syrian women to house people during police attacks and shelling. She details how they “organized systems of care and informal networks of humanitarian assistance that focused on psychosocial healing and immediate support (clothing, food, child-care) … [and] began to film indoor living room protests and post them to YouTube when they could not protest on the streets” (Ghadbian 147). Additionally, Leila Al-Shami posits that the chaotic state of the country as well as the conditions of war and the bad economic situation became the catalyst for Syrian women to work outside of the home. With the absence of male figures (who were either killed, detained, or forced to migrate), women lost their breadwinners and their source of economic sustenance. They were compelled to seek opportunities outside the home and sustain themselves independently. And even on a larger scale, women emerged at the forefront of Syrian society, with many assuming different roles in the grassroots efforts to rebuild the country and establish a Syrian civil society while advocating for a gendered approach to the peace process. They resiliently opposed the various forces battling for control, particularly in Northern Syria, which became a fierce battleground for power (Al-Shami). Meanwhile, Syrian women have taken the lead in NGO efforts and have spearheaded leadership initiatives tailored for women; many of their graduates have transitioned to roles within local councils. They established centers to teach vocational skills to women, enabling their financial autonomy and fostering dialogues on women’s rights (Al-Shami).

Nonetheless, critical refugee and migration studies have often framed female refugees as non-agentic, and when seen as agents, their agency is often depicted as a means of breaking free from traditional norms and challenging cultural backgrounds (Culcasi; Kanal and Rottmann). Diverting from placing refugee women in dichotomous boxes, either as traumatized victims or emancipated from traditional patriarchy, “literally mov[ing] from darkness to light” (Govindan 511), and drawing from research grounded in storytelling with Syrian refugee women in the Washington D.C. region, I demonstrate how these women exercise agency by preserving  their Syrian traditions and homemaking practices—connecting to their roots by planting new roots that derive their strength from their Syrian cultural origins. I adopt the definition of agency as the ability “to discern the exigencies of oppressive rhetorical situations” (Aswad, “Radical Rhetoric” 208-09). Aswad contextualizes and theorizes agency in relation to “the radical subject” that “hails from historically oppressed communities, is in crisis, and is revolting against repressive hegemonic force … to create liberatory social change in society” (“Radical Rhetoric” 210). It is an “embodied agency to alleviate … oppressions, often at risk of death and/or injury… [and] competency in providing determinative analysis of their revolution” to come up with the most productive tools in the face of the most difficult constraints (Aswad, “Radical Rhetoric” 209). However, I adopt a different and more radical approach to this embodied agency, moving  beyond liberatory acts and political or public domains to focus on domestic spaces, the home, and homemaking, which challenge and complicate the binary between domestic and public roles. I posit that Syrian refugee women demonstrate the capacity for autonomous action through their homemaking choices in response to the world and surrounding circumstances, even though their agency might be constrained or undermined by dominant, hegemonic forces. Gendered Syrian homemaking traditions counter hegemonic Western notions of female liberation. For these women, agency involves autonomy, choice, and the capacity to uphold conservative gendered practices that counter Western views of Syrian women needing liberation from their traditions and conservative gender roles. Through embodying their Syrian homemaking practices in their home country and in the diaspora, they engage in liberatory transnational movements while reclaiming and revitalizing their local food systems in transnational spaces, transcending national borders. While their agency is seen as non-disruptive and exceeding revolutionary political projects, it diversifies and even liberates agency from the confinement of mainly public, political discourse and activism. Their agency manifests itself in how their unique relationship to homemaking shapes their definitions of identity and community.

Homemaking: Making Meaning

The literature on forced migration and homemaking states that migration often leads to a “roots shock” as refugees need to learn how to re-root in a new environment and feel safe again. “Taking up roots” (Ghorashi) is a process through which refugees establish and create a new home, while homemaking demands considerable physical and emotional energy (Dowling and Mee), as refugees frequently lack proficiency in the local language, possess unique cultural backgrounds, and have endured multiple stages of displacement prior to reaching their final destination and resettlement. It is critical to challenge the representation of refugee women as “apolitical, nonagentic innocents in need of protection” (Fiddian-Qasmiyeh); to broaden the default definition of agency in migration studies; and to increase awareness of the everyday agency of refugee women—to reconsider refugee agency by examining their decisions and actions within cultural contexts, through documenting their stories and intimate conversations about their lives. (Re)rooting in a new, different environment and culture, Syrian refugee women preserve their original homemaking practices while making meaning of their new emerging situations and practicing cultural survivance (Powell; Vizenor). By sharing these firsthand experiences and narratives, I illuminate the complexities and human aspects of refugee women’s lives, showcasing their diverse choices and preserving the wealth of intricate details of home where these women are respected as dignified subjects capable of decision-making.

Storytelling and conversational exchanges play a crucial role in shaping and preserving a community’s culture, values, and identity and contribute to the construction and understanding of culture, communities, and the constellation of homes. Cultural rhetorics scholarship emphasizes the centrality of the story—story as a methodology to bring the voices of marginalized communities to the forefront (Bratta and Powell) and “focuses on how a specific community makes meaning and negotiates systems of communication to disseminate knowledge” (Riley-Mukavetz 110). Syrian refugee women’s stories allow them to enter the dominant culture and portray an authentic image to who they are. Their stories reveal their  meaning-making in displacement and resettlement, asserting their right to be seen as they choose, not as the dominant culture dictates. Sharing their homemaking and “mouneh” stories and conversations serves as a form of knowledge and meaning-making, facilitates cultural understanding, and highlights Syrian practices’ migration across spaces and borders. Their mouneh stories: assert their voices and counterhegemonic perspectives; “braid a living vision of a relational framework” (Riley-Mukavetz and Powell 192); show women’s roles as caregivers, providers, and protectors; and “move us beyond plain study and mere critique, encouraging relational accountability and active engagement in making and building—in making new meaning, new knowledge, new language” (Gagnon 3). Their “stories are ‘more than survival, more than endurance or mere response’; they have the power to make, re-make, un-make the world, [and to transform] … necessary for the construction of new histories” (Powell 396). Their stories of survivance reject dominance, tragedy, and victimhood, transforming positions of oppression into ones of resistance and resilience.

Storytelling Grounded in Trust and Cultural Survivance

Growing up in Syria and immersing myself in Syrian domestic practices, even after immigrating to the United States over thirty years ago, has made me extend my roots into the Syrian refugee community that exists and continues to grow in the Washington D.C. region since the end of 2016. Attending to the needs of this community and constantly interacting with them in Arabic, particularly the Syrian dialect, on a regular basis has allowed me to dive into storytelling—capturing and documenting our stories and conversational exchanges as a cultural literacy and cultural rhetoric practice where our authentic Syrian voices and homemaking practices lay the foundation of Syrian cultural survivance in the diaspora. Sharing our casual conversations and stories chronicles the everyday experiences with settlement and homemaking, preserving their voices while safeguarding the Syrian community from cultural erasure and eradication that can forestall the rebuilding and thriving of this community. In listening to their stories, I follow Powell’s guidance: I focus on their language of survivance to reimagine and redefine the Syrian woman. This language, I argue, shifts their status from objects in colonial discourse to active subjects, transforming absence into presence to assert and preserve their Syrian identity.

Identifying as a Syrian immigrant woman helped gain access to and build comfort with  the Syrian refugee women featured in this piece. I’ve come to know them well through my  involvement in various volunteer projects at a local mosque frequented by Syrian refugees seeking religious and financial support. While regularly interacting with them and visiting them at their houses, I was able to create not only a rapport but also a harmonious, friendly relationship that is grounded in trust, respect, care, and empathy (Alvarez). Over the course of several years, I established deep connections with them, investing numerous hours in gathering donations, second-hand furniture, and clothing. I also supported fundraising events, purchased appliances such as dough kneaders and sewing machines, and provided transportation for some of them to attend medical appointments. We’ve had many friendly conversations over Syrian coffee and sweets, discussing their ordeals regarding the war in Syria, struggles en route, and challenges resettling in the diaspora. 

Due to the strong and seamless relationships I developed with these women and the frequency of our interactions, my research methods were flexible and extended beyond single interviews. I engaged with them in reflective discussions about their daily practices and coping mechanisms in this country, particularly considering their financial constraints and their husbands’ challenges in securing adequately-paying jobs to support their families. These continuous and informal dialogues became a cornerstone of my research. I diligently took notes and reflected on our interactions, even on seemingly minor issues such as helping them or their children find suitable programs to enhance their English proficiency while preserving their Arabic language competency, Quranic knowledge, and Islamic practices.

These conversations extended beyond their homes to mosques and religious communal spaces, where we attended lectures and strengthened our community bonds. Additionally, I accompanied some of them to medical appointments, acting as a translator and source of support, which transformed these visits into research opportunities. While I had prepared questions, the nature of our interactions led to the organic emergence of new questions, enriching the information gleaned from our sincere conversations and the advice exchanged due to my prolonged stay in this country. Furthermore, some women sought my advice on dealing with issues such as their children’s experiences with discrimination or microaggressions stemming from their religious and refugee identities. Consequently, my methodology evolved into a more informal and adaptive approach, guided by the evolving dynamics of our interactions and the genuine needs of these women.

Fostering positive relationships with them has been a continuous journey marked by authentic interactions and commitment to honoring their autonomy. Establishing trust and rapport ensured they felt respected and valued, making them more willing to contribute honestly to the research process and openly discuss the most intimate details of their lives. In practicing active listening, I paid attention to their verbal and nonverbal cues and homemaking acts. I listened to them as they wished to be heard, not according to my academic perspective, moving away from a rigid research format to allow for spontaneous interactions and conversations (Hijazi, “Syrian Refugee Women’s Voices”). This, as John Gagnon asserts, “emphasizes discovering meaning—and making meaning—via work that embraces multiple forms [and] acknowledges difference” (13). 

Bait al-Mouneh: Intergenerational Food Practice

While constructing a Syrian home in the diaspora, Syrian women strive to maintain their cultural identity by preserving traditions and customs within their families: cooking traditional meals, sharing recipes, and gathering around meals. They use different literacy practices to preserve their heritage, with food playing a crucial role in conserving their Syrian culture, and, as a result, the Syrian home and homemaking. They construct a Syrian home in the diaspora through (re)living and (re)creating some of the most important cultural practices they are accustomed to—practices that have passed down through generations. 

One important practice of Syrian homemaking is “بيت المونة,” “Bait al-Mouneh,” which is commonly used by Syrians to refer to the storage area where food provisions are kept. It is not only an integral part of Syrian culture that is associated with preserving various types of traditional Syrian cuisine that are linked to heritage, but also an act of agency Syrian refugees and immigrants use to validate their Syrian culture in the West. Mouneh is a food literacy that is sustaining culture across multiple generations, contexts, and even temporal, geographical locations—crossing borders and barriers. It sustains the culture in times of ease, upheaval, war, migration, or displacement. The preparation of mouneh is a communal and intergenerational practice, where knowledge and techniques are passed down from older to younger generations. It is not only a practical aspect of food preservation but also a stark signifier of cultural value, connecting people to their agricultural roots and fostering a sense of shared identity and heritage. It is a support system that sustains families culturally and economically.

Brief History: Definition

In Arabic, the word “bait” means house or home, while the word “mouneh” refers to food provisions: the supply of food that is necessary for sustenance and nourishment, especially seasonal food and provisions that are preserved for certain time periods. It encompasses the availability, accessibility, and distribution of food to meet the dietary needs of individuals or communities. Mouneh is to preserve, to store, and prepare in advance for difficult times and provide sustenance for family and community; it is a collection of homemade pickled, dried, and canned foods, prepared by families during the harvest season to sustain them throughout the year. This practice has long served as a safeguard against unpredicted harvests, changing weather patterns, and unforeseen disasters, helping to combat food scarcity and hunger. It represents an act of survival and survivance, offering both sustenance and a sense of resilience during difficult times.

“Bait al-Mouneh” refers to the physical space or the pantry that houses all the food provisions prepared and stored for a Syrian family’s consumption throughout the year. As a practice, “Bait al-Mouneh” involves storing seasonal food supplies in varying quantities based on the family’s needs and yearly consumption, with the intention of using them during other times of the year, particularly during the winter season when none of the vegetables or materials are available. Additionally, “Bait al-Mouneh” has become associated with periods of war that Syria has experienced throughout history. People have developed the habit of storing large quantities of food in anticipation of blockades and difficulties in obtaining supplies. The food is typically stored using the most efficient and organic methods, with the summer season often dedicated to preserving it for future use. The practices of mouneh have persisted in recent histories of siege and displacement.

Over time, the concept of “Bait al-Mouneh” has evolved with changes in lifestyles and housing patterns. Traditional Arabic-style houses often had a designated lower area, an annexed space for Bait al-Mouneh, or a separate storage room or a small, dedicated space adjacent to the kitchen, known as a “سقيفة,” “saqifa” in Arabic. The provisions stored in “Bait al-Mouneh” include various food items prepared by women during the preservation period. It is built on domestic skills and organic food practices, which Syrian women are taught at a young age. While organically preserving food is done across different seasons, summer is the harvest season when women gather to make and preserve different types of “mouneh.” Mouneh includes four major categories: vegetable, fruit, dairy, and grain, while food provisions include various types of food items, such as grains, fruits, vegetables, meat, dairy products, and other essential nutrients. Traditionally, these provisions can be obtained through various means, including farming, fishing, food production, distribution systems, and humanitarian assistance. A wide variety of preserved foods that are created through Bait al-Mouneh include dairy products, such as labneh (strained yogurt), cheese, Arab ghee (samn), and butter; Makdous (pickled eggplants stuffed with walnuts and red pepper); pickles; thyme; olive oil; olives; jams; and dried fruits and vegetables.^[1] They are stored in significant quantities to meet the family’s needs for an extended period. The mouneh tradition, rooted in Syrian culture, reflects its agricultural heritage and the need to preserve surplus produce for times of difficulty.

Transnational Homemaking

For many Syrian refugees, the process of homemaking is complex, especially since these refugees have distinct cultural backgrounds and suffered multiple stages of displacement and ongoing hardship. For them, homemaking involves establishing a sense of stability, safety, and familiarity in their new living environment. The process of “taking up roots” (Ghorashi) and making a new Syrian home in the diaspora can be physically and emotionally taxing, entailing an energy that revolves around replenishing Syrian roots in a new soil—an interplay between the past and the future, the East and the West. Homemaking is an active process to establish not only security and familiarity but also control and autonomy in a new place. However, for Syrian refugee women, this autonomy extends from their past—encompassing domestic space and skills—and challenges the traditional view that relegates women’s role to the private sphere. Their homemaking practices demonstrate their skills, knowledge, and contributions as vital and influential to community survival. Through these practices, women assert their autonomy, engage in community-building, and participate in economic activities such as home-based businesses. This visibility and active engagement in both private and public spheres blur the traditional boundaries, highlighting the integral role women play beyond domestic confines. Homemaking becomes crucial in rebuilding their lives, as home represents “an interplay between the house and the world, the intimate and the global, the material and the symbolic” (Van Liempt and Staring 309) and a prism through which they retain, circulate, and emplace significant aspects of their roots while physically away from them. 

Syrian ways of homemaking bring ontological security: coming to terms with past experiences of dispossession and reengaging with everyday life. Practicing their Syrian traditions and norms offers a safe and familiar environment to Syrian refugee women: becoming actors within particular places and making contributions not only in domestic realms but also economically in public spaces—extending their traditions across borders. These specific and contextual forms of agency challenge the image of passive, helpless refugee women and combat portrayals of Syrian women as voiceless, helpless victims. Syrian women’s agency, like women’s work, becomes invisible if judged according to Western feminist ideas of agency that prioritizes action outside the home. To highlight agency, I contextualize Syrian refugee women’s work within cultural context, familial roles, gender norms, and daily coping strategies. I contend that these women demonstrate agency by enhancing their personal situations while navigating cultural constraints—expressing and exercising agency through various means. 

By staying true to their roots, Syrian refugee women demonstrate significant agency. They act agentically within structures of subordination with “the capacity to endure, suffer and persist” (Mahmood, “Religious Reason and Secular Affect” 217). These women exercise agency and decision-making skills, rooted in preserving traditional Syrian customs and upholding conservative gender roles, which diverge from Western notions of liberation. Their agency is a “modality of action” (Mahmood, “Politics of Piety” 157), where norms are “performed, inhabited and experienced” (Mahmood, “Politics of Piety” 22). Building on Lila Abu-Lughod’s critique of the Western-centric view that equates agency with rebellion against norms, I argue for recognizing the diverse ways women exercise agency within their cultural contexts, including through upholding traditions and roles that may appear oppressive from a Western perspective. Syrian women’s agency is manifested in carrying on with life and making the best out of their circumstances. Digressing from reductive frameworks of freedom and resistance and from equating agency with disruption—disruption to the culture’s patriarchal structures—these women embody agency by not only aligning with their cultural and gender norms but also coming up with creative ways during challenging and hard times, including wars, disasters, and displacement. Their stories of homemaking implore us to think beyond Western ideologies that suggest that to achieve liberation, women must find work and subsequently empowerment outside of their homes. Their agency reclaims domesticity, as these women strive to preserve family, culture, community, and the environment—embracing a domesticity that values productivity and sustainability. It is a political assertion of their home culture and continuation of traditional homemaking practices that challenge the concept that only women in public spaces and outside of the home are agential.

Stories of Mouneh: Practice of Care and Cultural Survivance

Mouneh involves year-round practices, but women focus their efforts during the summer months to prepare these provisions. They gather to assist one another, producing large quantities of mouneh while fostering a pleasant and enjoyable work atmosphere. When making makdous [2], miniature, tangy eggplants stuffed with walnuts, red pepper, garlic, olive oil, and salt, women organize group gatherings to collectively prepare large quantities, around 100 kilos, of eggplants. To prepare the best makdous, they wait until the end of the summer season, end of August and early September, when small and tender, black-colored eggplants are harvested. The season coincides with the time walnuts are harvested and red peppers are at their ripest. The night before they make their makdous mouneh, they boil the eggplants, while weighing them down with a smaller heavy pot lid, so they do not float and poach, to be softened, but not cooked completely and to keep their shape. Promptly, they wash them, rub them with coarse salt, make a little dent lengthwise in each eggplant with their index finger while adding salt, and leave them in a colander to collect any liquids. On the day of, they divide tasks: some chop walnuts, others peel and mince garlic, while some grind red peppers. They stuff the eggplants with the walnut-pepper mixture, about 1 tablespoon for each depending on how big they are. Once they finish stuffing the eggplants, they wipe the stuffed eggplants and arrange them in clean jars, flip the jars upside-down, tilted, to drain any extra juices for one day, and then fill them with olive oil to cover all and store at room temperature.

As they prepare the mixture and stuff the eggplants, they converse with each other, gossiping, laughing, crying, lamenting, or just venting. It is a safe space and supportive environment for them to express their feelings and voice their frustrations. Sharing similar life experiences and challenges fosters a sense of solidarity and understanding, empowering and affirming them as they empathetically listen to each other’s stories and offer mutual validation. Ultimately, the preparation and storing of makdous and other types of mouneh represent collective efforts, where community members congregate to help each other during harvest times and share knowledge about preservation techniques, fostering a sense of camaraderie and strengthening social bonds within the community. Figuratively and metaphorically, the tanginess and the saltiness of makdous and its making are a mere representation of permanence, trust, bonding, and endurance in the face of hardships and calamity. Even outside Syria, in refugee camps and host communities, Syrian refugee women continue their homemaking traditions, gathering to share knowledge and resources while preparing mouneh together.

As a Syrian immigrant woman, I embody these practices in my life. I’ve stayed true to my roots, while living the practices I grew accustomed to. Living on the northeast coast of the US, where the climate is like Damascus’s, my mouneh cultural experience has been possible. At the end of each summer, I make mouneh, including makdous, jams, and pickles for my family—food my U.S. born children appreciate and enjoy, connecting them to their Syrian heritage and roots and affording them healthy, organic food. My deep understanding and insight into these practices and experiences allows me to connect more deeply with my study participants.

Homemaking During War: Survival and Resilience Mechanism

In times of crisis, such as wars or natural disasters, ensuring adequate food provisions becomes critical to meet the basic needs of affected individuals and communities. Homemaking by women during times of crisis takes on additional dimensions and challenges, especially since they “are the first to suffer the impacts of the lack of water and food because they are the ones who must look for solutions. They have to travel long distances in search of water for their families. They are also the first to go without food so that their children and husbands can eat” (Leyesa 21). In such situations, they play a crucial role in maintaining a sense of normalcy and stability for their families despite the difficult circumstances. They become extra creative even when their basic rights to water, food, safety, and shelter are violated. 

During the war in Syria, homemaking took on a different dimension as families faced numerous disruptions to their daily lives. The conflict resulted in widespread displacement, destruction of infrastructure, and shortages of essential resources, impacting homemaking practices. Syrian women demonstrated incredible resilience and adaptability, taking on new roles and responsibilities within their households. They had to find ways to ensure the well-being and survival of their families despite the difficult circumstances. With limited access to food and supplies, they became adept at improvising meals and making the most of available resources. They would often rely on creative cooking methods, substitutions, and communal sharing to provide nourishment for their families. For instance, Umm Malik [3] who lived in one of the suburbs of Damascus during the war described to me what she did to help her family and community survive during the siege.

Al-Tall [4] was under siege several times; however, in 2013, it was the hardest; The city endured a prolonged and intense siege and shelling lasting three months; we had to find ways to survive. Once the conflict and the civil war started, I bought a large sack of flour, and every time suppliers and sellers of tomatoes roamed by the city to sell their produce, I would buy a box of tomatoes. It was not as expensive back then, about £S 35. [5] I would make the tomatoes into “كونسروة,” peeling, chopping, and cooking the tomatoes. [6] I would boil the tomatoes in a big pot for about half an hour and add salt. Immediately, after turning the heat off, I placed the mixture into glass jars, covered and sealed them, and put them upside down for six hours or overnight to ensure the jars are fully sealed. I used all these organic preserving ways to many types of mouneh, including grape leaves, okra, and green beans. We did not have electricity, so we had to make sure the food did not go rotten. I handled sheep milk yogurt in the same manner: placed it into glass jars to ferment, sealed them, and placed them under the kitchen sink where the temperature is usually lower. Even if a bit of “cottony material” or mold grows on the top, we threw it away and still used the yogurt, extending its shelf life for six months.

During the siege, buying bread became risky, requiring about four hours to get a pack of pita bread and facing different sorts of danger. To avoid putting my son’s life at risk, I would make dough, using about two to three kilos of flour, and prepare not just bread but also zaatar manakish, [7] muhammara manakish, [8] and cheese fatayer, [9] using the saj stove. [10] In the beginning of the siege, we had gas to heat the saj stove, but later when things became very dire, I used wood to heat the saj and prepare the food.

Also, using a manual stone grain grinder, I ground the small-sized, dry chickpeas, which were not in the best condition and unsuitable for boiling, into flour. Despite the slightly coarse texture of the flour, I managed to turn it into falafel. I combined it with water, salt, parsley, baking powder, and spices to create a falafel batter, which I then fried and shared with my family and neighbors. It was necessary to use all the resources available to sustain ourselves and the community.

Women had to utilize the homemaking practices they learned to maintain normalcy and protect themselves and their families. The mouneh practices played a significant role in minimizing food waste and reducing the need for refrigeration. Fermented foods such as yogurt were stored for long periods without refrigeration, especially as stored in cool, dark areas in the house, such as under the stairs or under the sink. Fermentation and other mouneh practices by Umm Malik and others helped conserve and sustain the food for the family and even the whole community and contributed to a more sustainable and resilient food system that became extremely scarce during the time of war and siege.

These women demonstrated remarkable resilience and resourcefulness as they navigated the challenges posed by conflict, ensuring the safety and well-being of their children above all else. Despite their harrowing circumstances, they found ways to adapt and survive. They devised ingenious strategies to secure food and maintain normalcy in an environment where resources were scarce. During the siege, access to basic necessities became a daily struggle. Women like Umm Malik took on the crucial role of securing food and other essential supplies for their families while managing scarce resources to ensure full sustenance for their families, which reflects their ingenuity and dedication to the survival of their families and communities. Umm Malik’s ability to elevate small-sized, dry chickpeas, a subpar ingredient, into a delicious food to share with family and neighbors is a testament to her resourcefulness and exceptional skills in food preparation and mouneh practices. Her success in creating something delicious from a humble ingredient carries symbolic weight, representing resilience and ability to thrive even in less-than-ideal circumstances. Her mouneh food practices and transformation are not just about the food itself, but also about the broader implications of skill, community, and the capacity to find joy and purpose in everyday acts of creativity and generosity. 

Umm Malik’s story highlights the multifaceted roles and agency of Syrian women during times of war, showcasing their contributions not only in terms of providing food and sustenance for their families but also through emotional support, maternal care, and protection. They serve as pillars of strength and stability, providing reassurance amidst the chaos. Whether by maintaining cultural traditions or simply offering a comforting presence, they provide their children with stability and reassurance in a world that had been turned upside-down.

Like others, Umm Malik put her safety on the line, while protecting her children from imminent types of danger they were surrounded with. Her resourcefulness in baking bread at home, regardless of the scarce resources, played a crucial role in saving her son’s life. By taking the initiative to prepare bread herself, she was able to shield him from the significant dangers associated with waiting in long, exposed lines for bread, which were often targets for violence. Her ability to adapt and find solutions in a time of crisis exemplifies her unwavering dedication to her family’s safety and well-being.

These women’s unwavering commitment to their children and communities showcased an extraordinary blend of strength, ingenuity, and compassion, embodying the true essence of resilience and resourcefulness in the face of adversity. Their agency in these areas highlights their indispensable contribution to the well-being and survival of their families and communities. Regardless of the constant shelling and the violence civilians endured, they tried to maintain a sense of normalcy and foster hope and resilience amidst adversity.

 She adds:

I stayed in Syria for six years trying my best to live a normal life and support my children finishing their college education. We tried to maintain a normal life even during the conflict. Before the siege, I was in the process of arranging my daughter’s wedding. I already contracted with the poultry supplier and bought the chicken on Saturday as the wedding was on Monday. I, also, had already contracted with the rice supplier and chef to cook for the wedding. Unfortunately, the city became under siege, so the chef backed down due to the siege. Since I had already made the necessary preparations for the wedding and extended invitations to people, I felt compelled to proceed with my plan. After negotiating with the chef, he agreed to cook for me if I provided him with everything including a sack of rice (about 30 kilos), chicken, onions, foil trays, and more. He made only the rice dish. I had to find ways to make the side dishes of salad, tomato salsa, or yogurt. In the initial stage of siege, we were not permitted to leave or for anyone to enter the city. Unable to buy produce, I went to my daughter’s uncle, who already planted in his small farm/garden tomatoes and jalapenos and took some from him. I already had the tomato glass jars, “كونسروة,” as well. I mixed everything together and made the salsa. I made yogurt-based drink, لبن عيران, using the yogurt I stored earlier. [11]

During the time of the siege, we did not have electricity, so any slaughtered meat would go rotten. Using an open fire grill, I would boil the bones and use the broth to make food dishes like “قمحية,” Qamhiya, [12] to feed as many people as possible; this type of food is fulfilling and enriching.

Umm Malik’s story exemplifies how Syrian women’s knowledge and resourcefulness can have profound impacts on their families and communities. It demonstrates strong decision-making skills and leadership by deciding to proceed with her daughter’s wedding despite the siege. She negotiates with the chef to ensure the main dish is prepared and takes charge of organizing the event under challenging circumstances. Her ability to adapt to rapidly changing and dangerous conditions showcases her agency. When the chef backed out due to the siege, she did not give up. Instead, she found alternative ways to prepare the necessary dishes, ensuring the wedding proceeded as planned. She effectively mobilized available resources, whether negotiating with the chef or sourcing ingredients from her daughter’s uncle’s garden. Her actions demonstrate her capacity to leverage her social networks and personal resources to overcome scarcity. The story also underscores the importance of traditional mouneh practices, such as storing food. Umm Malik’s use of stored yogurt and tomato jars (“كونسروة”) illustrates how traditional food preservation methods can be crucial in times of food shortages. This knowledge enabled her to prepare necessary dishes even when fresh produce was unavailable. Her use of bones to make broth for “قمحية” (Qamhiya) exemplifies sustainable food practices. By utilizing every part of available food and not letting anything go to waste, she optimized resources to provide hearty and nutritious meals for many people. This practice is particularly vital in a siege situation where food waste is catastrophic. Her efforts extend beyond her immediate family, aiming to feed as many people as possible, a community-oriented approach that is a testament to her and other women’s commitment to supporting their broader community during times of crisis.
This story illustrates how women’s agency and mouneh practices contribute to resilience in conflict zones and highlights women’s critical role in navigating and mitigating the challenges posed by conflict and scarcity. The ability to manage and sustain a household’s food security and social obligations under siege conditions highlights the empowering role of women’s skills in preserving cultural practices, showcasing how food literacy is intertwined with cultural identity and continuity. These practices strengthen social solidarity and provide a sense of normalcy and cultural grounding amidst chaos. Women’s resourcefulness, adaptability, and commitment to their family and community underscore the profound impact of their mouneh skills on individual and collective resilience.

The experiences of Syrian women during the war were varied and diverse, as they encountered different circumstances based on their geographic location, socioeconomic status, and other factors. However, their resilience and determination to maintain a sense of normalcy and stability within their homes played a crucial role in navigating the challenges posed by the conflict. Their stories and conversations are not merely forms of entertainment or communication but powerful tools that shape culture, preserve heritage, and foster community cohesion. They embody resilience in the face of natural disasters or crises that disrupt food supplies and cultural practices that function as coping mechanisms during emergencies and aid in recovery efforts to ensure survivance and sustainability. Their multifaceted and far-reaching agency not only contributes to household well-being but also sustains community and family. Their active roles in the realm of food highlight their leadership, creativity, and influence within their societies. Their ability to cope, adapt, innovate, and mobilize resources, or lack thereof, drawing on their strengths, creativity, and solidarity to navigate adversity and shape positive outcomes for themselves and their communities shows their resilience.

Umm Malik’s food practices constitute and depict the existence of “networked cultures of care” that materialized as a response to attempts to displace communities from their land in Syria (Aswad, “Unsafe Homecoming” 39). Aswad describes how non-profit organizations like “Syrian Jasmines” (formerly Beit al-Mouneh), comprising women from six Syrian governorates, gathered in the city of Idlib in northern Syria to establish environmentally-sustainable farms during periods of siege. Using environmental resources, these women organized initiatives like setting up food banks and distributing essential food items, including olive oil, pomegranate molasses, eggplant, and tomato paste to internally displaced refugee households. These homemaking practices show how Syrian women extended their roles beyond the domestic sphere to serve communal needs. They formed networks to house people and provide food during bombings, contributing to food security and sustainability. All the mouneh food became a savior during siege and displacement. With limited and even nonexistent access to food resources, mouneh techniques ensured a steady source of food during periods of scarcity.

Mouneh in the Diaspora: Preserving the Past, Creating a Future

The Refugee Cash Assistance (RCA) program supports refugees by offering cash aid for up to twelve months following their arrival in the United States. In the initial 90 days, refugees receive federal assistance known as “Welcome Money,” intended to address immediate needs and cover initial rent expenses (“Benefits for Refugees”). Nevertheless, there is an expectation for them to swiftly transition to financial independence and achieve self-sufficiency by entering the workforce, thereby reducing reliance on government support. However, due to limited English-language proficiency, refugees often resort to accepting low-paying, unskilled jobs that fail to provide a livable income, substantial benefits, or opportunities for upward mobility (Megrue et al.); even when men work several jobs, they struggle to manage their finances. It becomes evident that both men and women must work to support their family. Besides, refugees are placed in economically-disadvantaged neighborhoods where access to affordable and nutritious food, particularly fresh produce and culturally-appropriate ingredients, are limited. Tight financial resources, unfamiliarity with local food systems, and language barriers can hinder their ability to obtain diverse and healthy food options. ​​Moreover, while many receive initial support through programs like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), navigating these programs and maintaining eligibility can be complex. Some face food insecurity with lack of consistent access to enough food for an active, healthy life. Ultimately, Syrian refugee women resort to their homemaking skills to achieve economic independence—turning food insecurity into food prosperity through their homemaking mouneh skills. Syrian refugee women living in the Washington D.C. area have started their own businesses, utilizing their Syrian mouneh traditions to pursue opportunities as food entrepreneurs. Through their food literacies and entrepreneurial efforts as microbusiness owners, they support and provide for their families—sustaining their families and communities and demonstrating resilience, autonomy, and agency as they negotiate traditional gender roles and new economic, social, and political futures (Hijazi “Reclaiming Forgotten Literacies”). Their Syrian homemaking is an active process to establish security, familiarity, and control in a new place. The process of homemaking, being forward-looking, entails longing for a lost past. Syrian women’s homemaking in the diaspora makes new stories and memories—in retelling their stories and reliving these practices, they create new ones. In coming together to embody and celebrate their cultural practices, they preserve their traditions. These women reimagine, reconstitute, and even reconstruct a Syrian home in the diaspora. Their homemaking mouneh stories become “an active sense of presence over absence, deracination, and oblivion; survivance is the continuance of stories, not a mere reaction” (Vizenor 2).

Umm Basim, alongside other Syrian refugee women residing in the Washington D.C. region, perceives the traditional practice of mouneh as an essential survival strategy during severe resource scarcity. She explains how, in refugee camps and host communities, Syrian women congregate to exchange knowledge and resources, collaboratively preparing mouneh. Once resettled in the D.C. region, Umm Basim transformed her mouneh skills into a small business, selling her products to the local community. Despite the change in location, she preserved the communal aspect of mouneh preparation, gathering with fellow Syrian women to make traditional Syrian food like makdous, stuffed grape leaves, fatayer, and kibbeh. This collective approach is indispensable, as it facilitates resource sharing. Many of her counterparts, living in the same neighborhood, have been unfamiliar with the locations of local markets where they could purchase the necessary ingredients that are unavailable in regular stores. By pooling their knowledge and resources, these women could sustain their traditions and support each other in their new environment. This communal activity not only ensures food security but also strengthens social bonds among women, providing emotional support and a sense of community. These gatherings are crucial for mental well-being as they offer a space for sharing stories, coping strategies, and mutual encouragement. Syrian women have been reported to use their food preservation skills to build connections within their communities. These activities not only help in sustaining their families economically but also facilitate cultural exchange and mutual understanding between refugees and local residents

Mouneh, as a homemaking practice, functions as a rhetorical and cultural survivance, and Syrian women’s narratives, conversations, collective memories, and cultural practices allow them to develop a sense of identity and establish a shared understanding of who they are as a group. By embodying and relieving their mouneh stories and experiences in the West, these women create a sense of belonging and community, strengthen their bonds, and build empathy and understanding across communities. They further prove that homemaking is “an active process involving efforts to establish security and familiarity—as well as a sense of control or autonomy in a new place” (Van Liempt and Staring 310), while the space of the home functions as a vital secure space for human agency: a space that provides the ability for memory to shape and reshape in response to surrounding circumstances.

Beyond the Domestic Space: Connection to Place and Space

Syrian women have demonstrated remarkable resourcefulness in adapting to their new circumstances and rebuilding their lives, including within the realm of homemaking and domestic spaces. Mouneh holds importance as a cultural practice that ensures food security, strengthens community ties, preserves traditional knowledge, and promotes sustainability in food consumption. It reflects the ingenuity and resourcefulness of communities in adapting to their environment while maintaining their cultural heritage.

By utilizing their homemaking skills and transforming their domestic spaces, Syrian women demonstrate agency and resilience, becoming active agents in rebuilding their lives and creating a sustainable future for themselves and their families. They play transformative roles in preserving and evolving their cultures for future generations. Their stories and conversations are essential vehicles for passing down knowledge, beliefs, customs, and traditions not only from one generation to another, but also across borders and communities—for sustaining communities that can be lost due to displacement. They represent ways to preserve a culture that is at risk of eradication in the diaspora, empowering and (re)connecting individuals to their cultural roots and heritage. Bait al-Mouneh contributes to culinary diversity and allows a transfer of heritage and food ways across borders, transcending space and place. Homemaking mouneh practices for Syrians in the diaspora involve physical accommodation and encompass emotional healing, community integration, and cultural identity preservation. Their stories further counter narratives of passivity associated with protracted displacement and show how their Syrian food mouneh practices are looking forward to the futurity of cultural survivance and the preservation of the culture. They safeguard their Syrian cultural heritage against the threat of erasure and maintain a sense of continuity amidst change. Mouneh, amongst Syrian homemaking practices, serve to assert their right to cultural autonomy and to challenge dominant narratives that seek to homogenize cultural diversity, while Bait al-Mouneh is a figurative representation of a diasporic Syrian home—extending not only the shelf life of foods, but also the lives, physically and metaphorically, of Syrian cultures in Western contexts, making Syrian roots stand firm in new lands and across generations.

Notes

[1] Other types of food preserved and stored in Bait al-Mouneh include okra, eggplant, vine leaves, bulgur, pickles and jam of figs, apples, pumpkins, and other fruits.

[2] Makdous is one of the main dishes for Syrian breakfast and dinner. A typical Syrian breakfast includes green olives, Syrian cheese, black olives, Syrian olive oil and thyme, strained yogurt (labna), makdous, and Syrian bread, served with Syrian tea.

[3] In Arab cultures, mainly Syrian cultures and more specifically rural and suburban cultures, married women with children are addressed by the name “Umm” plus the name of the eldest child, mainly the male child. “Umm” means the mother of. If the family does not have male children, they use the name of the eldest daughter. In these cultures, it is an honor to address married women with children this way. Fathers are addressed by “Abu” which means the father of.

[4] Al-Tall (التل) is a city in southern Syria, administratively part of the Rif Dimashq Governorate and capital of the al-Tall District.

[5] The Syrian pound or lira is the currency of Syria. In 2013, £S 35 was less than $1.

[6] The word “كونسروة” means canning, which is preserving food by placing it in sealed cans or containers to extend its shelf life and maintain its quality. Typically, food is packed in tightly sealed metal containers and heated for a long period to prevent food spoilage and to be consumed later.

[7] Zaatar manakish is a flatbread that is made with a simple dough recipe and topped with an olive-oil based zaatar spread.

[8] Muhammara manakish is a flatbread topped with zesty red pepper paste. Muhammara is originally from the Syrian city of Aleppo.

[9] Cheese fatayer are small savory cheese pies, a bread dough, filled with Syrian cheese and a hint of parsley.

[10] Saj stove, a grill that originated from the Middle East, features a metal dome and a heat source below it (wood/coal, electric, or gas). The dome shape makes it useful for baking flatbreads and pita bread. The dough is rolled out in a large circular shape, with a thin layer.

[11] لبن عيران is a yogurt-based drink; yogurt thinned with water, and used as a cold beverage in summer to quench thirst and resist excessive sweating. It is normally drunk plain, sometimes with added salt and mint.

[12] Qamhiya is a coarsely-ground cracked wheat mixed with meat and seasoned with spices.

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About the Author

Nabila Hijazi is a Teaching Assistant Professor of Writing at the George Washington University. Her research interests include multilingual writing, the rhetoric(s) surrounding Muslim women, literacy studies, with a focus on Syrian refugee women’s literacies. Drawing on community-based work with Syrian refugee women, Hijazi examines the cultural, economic, and political dimensions of Arabic literacy practices. Her work received national recognition; her dissertation, “Syrian Refugee Women in the Diaspora: Sustaining Families through Literacies,” received Honorable Mention in the 2020 Presidents Dissertation Award by The Coalition of Feminist Scholars in the History of Rhetoric and Composition.

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