São Paulo – Since she was little, the merchant Hanan Qabach had to cook in order to feed her ten brothers. She never imagined, however, that this talent would pave the way for her and her husband, Hassan Arabi, to thrive many miles away from Damascus, Syria. In the Santa Cecília neighbourhood of São Paulo, the Muslim couple is successful selling tabbouleh, kibbeh, safiha, coxinha (chicken snack) and coxibe, a combination of Brazil’s coxinha and the Arab kibbeh, at the Schehrasade emporium. Just like other Arab immigrants who arrived in Brazil in the early 19th century, Arabi and Qabach had to struggle before they established themselves.
Once they decided that their married life would be lived away from Syria, Arabi sold his textile mill in Damascus and moved to São Paulo, in 1984. He left his bride, Qabach, in Syria, and she only joined him four years later. The merchant aimed to establish a textile mill, travel to the Amazon and, after a few years, move with his family to Cyprus, a small European country 80 kilometres away from the Syrian coast.
It did not work out. The partner who was supposed to help Arabi open his mill kept all his money to himself. By the time he finally managed to start his business, he posted back-to-back losses. Still, he believed the article he had read in 1975, the one that encouraged him to immigrate: according to it, Brazil was a promising country.
After shutting down their mill in Brás, Arabi and Qabach decided to open a “half-Arab half-Brazilian” restaurant, as he puts it, on Oriente Street. The business did not thrive either, and the couple decided that the Brás neighbourhood was not the place to be.
They then began seeking a place to rent in nehgbourhoods Penha, Lapa, Perdizes and Sumaré. In early 1998, they found a house in Santa Cecília. “The place was all but rented out to someone else, but a friend of mine, Elias Habka [founder of supermarket chain Futurama] committed to being our sponsor,” says the merchant. The couple rented the house, but since they had debts and no money to invest, Arabi and his family spent months with little to eat or wear “I moved here with a mattress, a blanket, a few plates and an electric cooking pot. At times we had nothing to eat,” he reminisces.
Talented cook
That cooking pot would later prove to be the salvation of the family. It was in it that Qabach started cooking the coxinhas Arabi would sell to the Futurama supermarket. Later on, the talented cook also started cooking kibbehs. After the couple bought an oven, Qabach’s saffihas were also sold at Futurama. Arabi started selling snacks to go from the family’s house. The place grew, gained customers and now it attracts people from everywhere shopping for tabbouleh, kibbeh, safiha, Arab sweets and imported goods.
The flagship when it comes to attracting the clientele, however, is not Arab snacks. It’s the coxinha. “Our recipe uses six different types of flour. One of these, for instance, is meant to prevent the coxinha from soaking up too much oil. Another prevents it from getting murky. We worked hard until we found the ideal coxinha,” says the businessman. The couple does not know how many snacks they sell each day. What they do know, however, is that 95% of Schehrasade’s customers are Brazilians. Only 5% are Arab descendants. In 2011, to celebrate the success of their Arab snacks and coxinhas, Arabi and Qabach created the coxibe.
Since he came to Brazil, Arabi never returned to Syria. His parents died, but two brothers are still living in the country. Qabach, who also lost his parents, went to Damascus once, in 2004, to buy a Syrian bread-making machine. “I miss Syria very much, my brothers, my city, the place where I grew up. I hope to go back to Syria one day, in a holiday trip,” says Qabach.
Arabi says he will not leave Brazil because he cannot stand a day away from his children Nabil, aged 14, and Gassan, who is 20. Rachid, his 22-year-old son, lives in London. After the kids have grown, he says he wants to visit Syria. And the Amazon. He came to Brazil dreaming of going there, but 27 years have gone by and he never went.
Still, neither Arabi nor Qabach consider going back to Syria for good. “The Brazilian people are great. They are so welcoming, some of the best in the world. We came to Brazil, struggled hard to adapt, we went through some hardship, but we had our achievements and we don’t want to leave them behind,” says Arabi.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
