The object is called Sabaayd, a Somali flatbread that carries the weight of history in its thin, golden layers. Sabaayd comes from Somalia, where it is cooked on wide metal pans and shared during mornings, celebrations, and quiet family meals. Long before I learned about the object, it was made by women using simple ingredients: flour, water,oil and patience passed down through generations. When my grandmother moved to the United States, she brought this recipe with her, not in a suitcase,but in her memory. The smells followed her. In our American kitchen, the scent of sizzling dough still traveled through the house like a familiar voice calling everyone the house together. The pan hissed as the bread cooked, sounding almost like the ocean she once lived near. Her hands knew the movements by heart. She rolled the dough thin and laid it on the pan, where it bubbled and turned golden, soft yet crispy. When I tasted it, it felt warm and comforting,like being wrapped in a story older than me. My grandmother once said “Jidka qofka qalbigiisa loo maro qalbigiisa” meaning a way to a person's heart is through their Stomach. Through sabaayad, Somalia traveled across oceans and borders into our home. This object teaches me that culture does not disappear, it adapts, survives, and lives on through what we make and share. 

– Naima O

Relationship:  Im/migrant who arrived as a child Im/migrant who arrived as a child