Repas métissés. Negotiating identity and participation through culinary practices by undocumented migrants in Liege

Within the framework of a research project focused on the public opinion about refugees and asylum seekers, and on the migrants’ and local citizens’ initiatives of socio-cultural and political participation, it was possible to gather relevant data about the way in which food permits – among other cultural activities – such participation. In particular, through ethnographic research, I could explore the preparation of meals for local population by a group of undocumented migrant women living in Liege as means to take active role in the life of the city, in spite of being excluded from it in terms of legal status and rights. Through preparing food at local events, and through interacting with local organisms (associations, services, institutions) that set the conditions for these activities to develop, undocumented migrant women position themselves as active subjects contributing to local dynamics. While doing this, they negotiate their cultural belonging and food traditions through mixing them with new local practices. As an example, I will analyse the organization of some tables d’hôtes in the house that these women are occupying. The prepared meals combine sub-Saharan African culinary traditions with local recipes and values. In fact, specifically in the neighbourhood where this activity takes place, ecological preoccupations drive food habits in terms of supplying practices and cooking methods. The exploration of this (and other) example(s) shows how food – and sharing food in particular – can be the material and discursive site for establishing relevant relationships and claiming rights. To do that, food habits need to be adjusted to the local environment. Undocumented migrants, whose demand for regular stay in Belgium has been rejected and who find themselves lacking civic rights, manage to find a – though unstable – place in the hosting society thanks to the performance of cultural practices involving local people and engaging with contextual dynamics