At a recent Friday-night gathering in Guadalajara, the assignment was simple: roll your own Vietnamese spring rolls, pour a drink, meet someone new — and help support migrants and refugees.
The event was organized by Alice Liu and her husband, Miguel, the couple behind Speakeasy Cocina, as a fundraiser for the Rhizome Center for Migrants and its annual Migrant Day food and culture festival.
Liu, a Chinese-American chef now living in Guadalajara, has participated in the festival since its beginning, first as a vendor and sponsor. She told guests that working with Rhizome founder Tran Dang opened her eyes to a population that often receives little attention or support: people rebuilding their lives after migration or deportation.
Dang told the gathering that Rhizome provides free legal and humanitarian assistance to deportees and other migrants, helping with immigration cases, family reunification, housing, food and transportation.
But another need is harder to quantify: belonging.
“Finding home again is really difficult,” Dang said.
That is one reason Rhizome created its annual festival, organized with migrants and refugees themselves and designed to bring Guadalajara’s many migrant communities together through food, music and culture.
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