A resilient spirit

By Navyjoti Dalal

In this new column, Home Is Where The Hearth Is, we shine the spotlight on the immigrant experience. And as a cultural exchange get them to share food recipes they hold dear. In this week's edition meet Rachel D'Oliveira, an 18-year-old from Brazil who met the biggest tragedy of her life six months into her stay in Ireland, but never lost the survivor's streak, or hope.

Dressed in a black hoodie and cargo pants, Rachel D'Oliveira, an undergraduate student of science (biotechnology) at TUS, looks like a regular teenager. Her life is akin to most of her peers -- attending classes, hanging out with friends, hitting the gym, coming home to study further, eating dinner and relaxing. But that's where the similarities end. What differs her from any other university student is her indomitable spirit and a steadfast focus on life.

Brazil to Ireland via Portugal

In spirit Rachel bears a resemblance to a soldier. All of 18, this young girl has seen and experienced displacement and loss from very personal quarters. But her survival skills are working overtime to keep her soldiering on and paving life. The Brazilian native was born in the erstwhile capital of Rio de Janeiro. An only child of a restaurateur father and homemaker mother, Rachel had a regular childhood circling around school and playtime. The D'Oliveira family had aspirations for a better quality of life. "There's a big economic disparity in Brazil, the poverty has added to the crime. My parents wanted to escape that culture," shares Rachel. She underscores that living in such an environment needs one to be hypervigilant. "Brazil makes you more grown up and responsible for your age. I don't know if it's a good thing or bad," she explains.

Fuelled by ambition and armed with their knowledge of Portuguese, the D'Oliveiras moved to Portugal in 2018. After initially working in the hospitality sector Rachel's father started a restaurant of his own in the city of Braga. "We soon realised that knowing Portuguese is not enough. In fact, you can be differentiated based on your accent. Their body language and demeanour changes into something unkind and disrespectful when your Brazilian heritage is discovered," says Rachel who, with her family, had some unpleasant, racially-motivated, experiences in Braga. But it was the pandemic which brought an end to their Portuguese stay. The D'Oliveiras had to wrap up their no-longer viable restaurant. They were contemplating if they should move back to Brazil when one of their regular customers, an Irishman, shared he is looking for an extra hand for his business back home. That paved their way into Ireland.

Life In The Time Of Loss

Rachel was only 14 when she landed in Frenchpark, Roscommon, with her parents. "It was in the middle of nowhere. I used to wake up to cows mooing, the area was that rural," remembers Rachel. The family soon moved to Castlerea. It was the year the world was witnessing a pandemic taking over the globe. But that's not how Rachel remembers 2020. For her it was the year of irreparable loss. Within six months of arriving in Ireland, Rachel lost her father. Everything since has been a lesson in embracing life. "My mom was the worst hit by my father's passing. She was in deep sadness for over two years," says Rachel, who, despite the grief, looked for avenues to live life and give it meaning. She began giving nail spa service at home to keep her occupied, bettering her English and academics at school, and being there for her mother. "Life truly began to fall into place after the acceptance of this tragedy. For me one big factor was studies. After graduating from Castlerea Community College I joined TUS's bachelors degree course in biotechnology," says Rachel who felt the difference and relevance of the various grants and welfare schemes run by the government.

Chiselling A Future

A Willow Park resident, Rachel is particularly appreciative of the SUSI scheme, which has helped her with accommodation costs and more. "The government here fosters an environment to make higher studies accessible to the students. There are grants that make education within reach. The university supports us in a wholesome way from providing tuition support to checking in on our mental, physical and emotional well-being," she says. Rachel shares that this attitude to help and make one feel at home is not limited to the education policies alone. "The Irish are more open-minded and welcoming than any other race. Despite knowing Portuguese, we faced discrimination in Portugal, while in Ireland, people rallied around to support us, despite our limited communication in English. The teachers at Castlerea Community College gave me extra classes to help me with language," Rachel cites an example.

The nurturing and support she received from unexpected quarters put her on a path to healing. She could pick up her pieces and alchemise them together with hope. "After this degree I want to get a job and buy a house for myself and my mom," says the optimistic teenager.

Recipe: Picanha

Raised on a staple diet of spicy Brazilian cuisine, Rachel misses the heat quotient on Irish plates. Her most cherished dish is the Picanha, which is the sirloin cut of beef and comes with a thick layer of fat. Traditionally it is roasted and served like a steak with black beans and rice. "With lots of garlic," shares Rachel. She gives us her mother's recipe for the dish. One may source this particular cut of beef from any Brazilian food shop.

Picanha meat: Season the beef with salt and pepper and then grillit in a pre-heated oven. Also roast a few garlic bulbs smeared in olive oil, in a separate tray. Once grilled and cooled on the rack, cut the picanha into steak sized pieces. Finish the steak in a pan using some olive oil and herbs like thyme

Rice: In a pan put some olive oil and smashed garlic with a bay leaf. Add one cup of washed rice and two cups of water, and salt to taste

Black beans: In a pressure cooker/pan add some oil and temper it with some garlic, cumin seeds, 2-3 bay leaves, pepper and a polish sausage. Add your desired quantity of washed black beans and salt to taste. Add enough water to soak all the contents completely and cook for 10-15 minutes. If the beans are still undercooked, add a little water and cook for some more time. Serve the steak with rice and black beans. Another key essential is the far-off, or roasted cassava semolina. In some versions a sauce made of tomatoes, onions, spices and vegetables is also plated.