São Paulo – Refugees living in Brazil will be advertising and selling products at a fair on Saturday, November 12, at Fundação Ema Klabin, in São Paulo. Organized by Instituto de Reintegração do Refugiados – Brasil (Adus), a refugee integration institute, the Adus Ethnic Fair will feature stands offering handicraft, décor items and other objects.
Exhibitors will include four Syrian refugees, according to Adus communication coordinator Erika Omori. Anas Obeid will sell perfumes, Fitoon Assi will offer leather items from Damascus, Rasha Mubayed will exhibit beer mats and picture frames, and Nema Khaled will be selling her pictures and Arabic calligraphy.
Refugees from countries such as Nigeria, Senegal, Pakistan and Haiti will also be there. They will showcase products and services such as turbans, henna tattoos, pictures, costume jewelry, flowers and African textiles and clothing.
This will be the fair’s third edition – past events took place in a different venue, Piknik Faria Lima. According to Omori, the goal is to help refugees earn an income, make their work and culture known and encourage integration. Networking at the fair can lead to new opportunities and partnerships. A few Brazilians will also show their goods at the fair, most of them artisans.
“The Ethnic Fair, as well as the Adus Bazaar, is a chance for them to show their work, the culture of their home country, and to share their culture with Brazilian exhibitors, besides earning income,” says Adus CEO Marcelo Haydu. The refugees keep the full proceeds from the fair. Besides the fair, Adus holds bazaar sales on occasion.
At 3 pm, there will be a workshop on Afro turbans, turbante afro, and a dabke Arab dance session will happen at 5 pm with Anas Obeid. A Syrian journalist, he is making a living off of trade in Brazil, selling items such as scarves, pendants, necklaces and perfume.
The same venue will feature a separate event from 11 am to 1 pm: Sabores & Lembranças (Flavors & Memories), a Colombian cooking workshop. Registration is required. The workshop costs BRL 100 and will end with a food tasting.
Adus is a non-governmental organization that works to socially, economically and culturally integrate asylum applicants, refugees and people in refugee-like situations.
Quick facts
Adus Ethnic Fair
Saturday, November 12, 2016,
1 pm to 6 pm
Fundação Ema Klabin, Rua Portugal, 43 – Jardim Europa – São Paulo
Find out more: https://www.facebook.com/events/610896435757775/
Free admission
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum