Coffee and words. The voices of women who cross borders

Abstract

Within the path that immigrant women’s lives take, one may distinguish two main types of borders. The first and most «simple» to overcome are the physical boundaries between two states. The second sort, meanwhile, takes various forms, such as cultural crisis, prejudices and feelings of sadness. Unfortunately, these sometimes seem insurmountable. The «coffee and words» series of social gatherings, the experience that gave rise to this study, was developed by the Logroño YMCA as part of the intervention of a broader project. Its protagonists were twelve women immigrants of different nationalities, who were given a forum in which to express their opinions on a very wide range of subjects. The object of the initiative was to achieve integration into society via recognition of the other and oneself as a useful person and an active member of the group, through a relaxed atmosphere that combined culinary passion and practicing Spanish. The attempt to achieve these goals delivered successful results and also demonstrated that coexistence based on interculturality is the result of a shared effort.