A Taste of Humbleness

We analyse a collaboration between engaged scholars and LGBTQI+ forced migrants in Johannesburg mediated by food practices. The Chakalaka Sessions were a series of brunch gatherings co-created by Thomars Shamuyarira, director of the forced migrant-led NGO The Fruit Basket, and researchers Miriam Ocadiz (and co-promoter). The initiative aimed to enhance wellbeing, both individually and collectively, by nourishing a sense of connectedness and community. On the basis of these encounters, we theorize the intersection of care and knowledge by elaborating on the pedagogy of craving and the methodology of nourishment, frameworks that approach cooking and sharing food as a means of knowledge-making. As participants’ bodies experienced food through emotions such as joy, pleasure, and nostalgia, eating and cooking became a process of (self-)discovery and exploration that allowed LGBTQI+ forced migrants to reflect on their lived realities. We thus demonstrate how food, similarly to art, can be approached as a creative form of expression and representation with the potential to unsettle power dynamics in knowledge cultivation.

Thomars Shamuyarira is a human rights activist and the founder and director of The Fruit Basket. With a passion for equality and social justice, he has dedicated his life to advocating for the rights of marginalized communities. As an assistant researcher, he has conducted studies on the challenges faced by LGBTQI refugees and the impact of discrimination on mental health. He also actively volunteers his time to support various community-based initiatives. Through his work, Thomars strives to create a world where everyone, regardless of their sexual orientation, gender identity, social or immigration status can live free from discrimination and persecution. Thomars is the Chairperson of the Community Advisory Board of Wits Reproductive Health Institute Transgender Clinic, he is also the founder of the Queer & Trans Refugee Advisory Network South. He is on behalf of the organization a part of a group of individuals that is raising funds and responding to emergencies in Uganda ever since the Draconian Anti-LGBTQ Bill was passed in Uganda in March 2023. He is a fitness enthusiast, an aspiring Human Rights Lawyer, a Motivational Speaker, and a Traveller.

Miriam Adelina Ocadiz Arriaga is a creative writer and multidisciplinary scholar. She has recently concluded a PhD within the project Engaged Scholarship Narratives of Change at the Vrije University Amsterdam, where she analysed the role of academia in contributing to the societal inclusion of forced migrants in South Africa. Her work focuses on South‐South mobility from a decolonial perspective, addressing the intersections of migration, gender, and everyday manifestations of resistance.

This webinar is part of an open seminar series, hosted by CISC. To discover more please visit the Centre for Intimate and Sexual Citizenship and follow the Centre on Twitter