She worked for several years as a mathematics teacher in Yemen before being promoted to a teacher of guidance. She lived throughout her life knowing only the educational curricula and teaching for male and female students. She did not know that her life would be turned upside down, when Samia Sabry (50 years old) decided to pack her bags and leave for Cairo Al-Moaizz, leaving her past and memories in the city of Taiz (southwest of Yemen), her hometown and her three children who are still residing in Yemen.
Samia first went to work in the manufacture of sweets and the famous Yemeni food in Egypt so that she become the first Yemeni chef to work in Yemeni-owned restaurants in Egypt. By this, she broke the customs established by Yemeni society, which does not allow women to stand among men and work hand in hand. This woman was able to prove herself successfully and honorably. She proved that a woman is no different from a man in anything, she has rights and duties, and she is not ashamed by her work, no matter how hard it is.
Sabri gained enough fame that she was requested by name to work and moved from one restaurant to another, increasing her experience in this field, until she decided to work in partnership with her sister and friend to make delicious Yemeni meals cooked at home.
Samia Story
Samia Sabri tells her story to "Khuyut", saying that she came to Egypt 7 years ago, despite her work in education as teaching and guidance, but she is passionate about working in the kitchen, preparing meals and making sweets, so she decided to leave her field of work in her country, Yemen, after coming to Egypt.
A medical treatment trip led Maimouna to reside and work in Cairo, while Nihad says that her previous experience was limited to handicrafts, but with the decline in her economic and living situation, she decided to search for a better job for her in Egypt in the field of making the famous Yemeni food and sweets.
In 2017, she worked in a Yemeni restaurant and was the first Yemeni chef to work in a restaurant in Egypt. No Yemeni woman has ever worked in this field, and within a short period of time, Samia confirms that she was able to prove herself, and she found a demand to buy what she cooked and manufactures of famous Yemeni sweets and foods, such as the Zurbian meal with chicken, lahooh (a type of bread in Yemen), bint al-sahn, in addition to pizza, and vegetables soup.
She added that these meals were popular in the Egyptian market despite the difficulty, but she succeeded and moved between a number of famous Yemeni restaurants in the Egyptian capital Cairo, gaining more experience day after day.
“The courage and self-confidence I gained during my stay and work in Egypt are enough for me,” says Sabri. Samia dreams of opening her own restaurant one day, but financial circumstances do not allow her to do so at present, as Samia and her sister Dhekra and her friend (Umm Tasbeeh) jointly cook famous Yemeni meals. She made sweets and sold them to Yemeni and Gulf families in Cairo, in addition to learning how to cook a number of famous Egyptian dishes such as Mulukhiyah and okra.
Nihad and a new step
With the intensification of the war in Yemen since 2015, Nihad Ali Maatouk (45 years old), born in the city of Aden (south of the country), decided to pack her bags, looking for a safer place for her life and her family to settle in the Egyptian capital, Cairo, especially that the Egyptian people are friendly people and are most closely connected with the Yemeni people.
It is worth noting that the Egyptian Prime Minister, Dr. Mustafa Madboli, said in a previous press statement that "Egypt hosts more than one million Yemenis who receive the same treatment as the Egyptian citizen, especially in terms of education and health care."
Nihad told "Khuyut" that her previous experience was limited to handicrafts, but with the decline in her economic and living situation, she decided to look for another job in Egypt in the field of making the famous Yemeni food and sweets, such as "Sanbousa, Chocolate Cake, Mudarbish, Donuts." Beehive, pizza, candied falafel, tawa bread and Yemeni Khameer (sweet bread).
Some did not appreciate her effort at work, according to her, which led to her stopping for about 3 months, before returning to work and focusing on marketing what she cooks and manufactures of food and sweets through the social media "Facebook".
Medication trip and accommodation
A treatment journey led Maymoona Ahmed (45 years old), five years ago to leave Yemen to Egypt with her four children and husband for medical treatment of her sick child. Then, she decided to settle in Egypt due to the ongoing war in her country, and to receive appropriate health care for her child.
Maymoona tells the details of her story to "Khuyut", that she worked for about 25 years as a nurse in Yemen, and knew no other profession before coming to Egypt, to escape the inferno of war in Yemen, which she says "wasted our hopes and dreams."
In the Faisal zone of Cairo, she met with a Yemeni lady who owned a bakery, and helped her work and learn Yemeni baked food, such as Sana’ani cakes, the famous Tawa bread known with Saj, and cakes in various shapes.
She continues: "It was difficult for me to work in an oven. I had never worked in this field, but the circumstances prompted me to do so. There I learned the basics of the profession well, and for three years I have been working in the field of baked goods, and I worked from home, but the demand for my products is even less right Now".
It is worth to mention that Maymoona did not stop at the field of Yemeni bakery and sweets manufacturing, but rather started making the Egyptian “Feteer Meshaltet,” according to her assertion, as she moved to work from the home she lives in to provide for her expenses, needs, and her four children who are enrolled in various stages of education in Egypt.
