Aia Khalaily, a Palestinian from Sakhnin, graduated from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem with a Bachelor’s degree in occupational therapy and is now completing her Master’s degree in the Glocal program in International Community Development.

Aia came to Glocal knowing that she wanted to focus on one of the main consequences of today’s conflicts: refugees. With her passion for learning the Spanish language, Aia found herself in Ecuador interning with HIAS, an INGO that aims to protect refugees who have been forced to flee their homelands because of who they are, including ethnic, religious, and sexual minorities. Within Latin America, Ecuador welcomes the largest amount of refugees from neighboring countries, Central Africa, and the Middle East. With her native Arabic and the understanding of Arab culture, Aia was involved in livelihood initiatives, leading a group of Arab refugee women in Quito to either initiate their own small businesses or to find adequate employment. Aia approached this task based on participatory principles to empower the women, encourage them to play an active role in decisions that affect their personal life. Aia helped these women to start their own social catering business, making arabic food for healthy cafes and festivals all around Ecuador! Check out Laila La Cocina Arabe en Quito (on Facebook or Instagram) the next time you’re visiting!

The experience that Aia has gained throughout her internship with both refugees and women’s empowerment, together with the academic knowledge that she gained in Glocal, has widened her horizons and provided her with practical and theoretical skills to share with the world. 

Out of all Latin American countries, Ecuador welcomes some of the largest amounts of refugees coming from Venezuela and Colombia. Surprisingly, there are also between 200 and 300 Arab refugee families that have been relocated to Quito from Syria, Yemen, and Iraq; these families are facing many challenges that prohibit them, many times, from meeting their basic needs. One of the main challenges faced by this community is the lack of job opportunities due to immersion in the new and different language and culture of Ecuador. Here you can see pure initiative, led by these gorgeous Arab refugee women who are trying to integrate within the Ecuadorian society using their cultural food and stories as a form of bridging social capital.

 

 

 

 

 

BACK TO ALL STORIES