Tacos and narrative wars

Maria and her father were born in a Baltic Sea port, Tallinn, the capital of Estonia, one of the 27 countries that belong to the European Union. Her mother, on the other hand, was born about 1,750 kilometers to the southeast, very close to the Sea of Azov: she is Ukrainian, a native of the Dombas region, where her grandparents and most of her maternal family still live. So both her father and mother were born in a country that no longer exists: the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.

 

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Bayron and his mother were born in Minnesota, in a city near the Canadian border. His father, on the other hand, was born some five thousand miles to the southeast, on the other side of the Atlantic, in Senegal. Many generations ago, his mother's ancestors arrived to America from Africa as slaves. Bayron studied Economics at Columbia and enjoys cooking.

 

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Almost two years ago the pandemic caught Maria by surprise in London, then, she emigrated to the most cosmopolitan European city, Berlin. A few days ago, talking about the difficult situation in Ukraine, the homeland of her mother's family, she said:

 

— This war, rather than tanks and bullets or trade sanctions, is a war of narratives.

 

Maria is not a geopolitics specialist. She studied classical dance.

 

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Victoria Tacos was established by Bayron and his German partner. For the partner's finances, the investment was irrelevant; but Bayron put all his eggs in this basket. Victoria Tacos is a restaurant located in Neukölln, a once slum area that has been gentrified and is now considered to be one of the coolest neighborhoods in the city. Bayron designed the menu and is the head chef.

 

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Maria was taught to speak by her mother. Her first language is Russian, as it is for more than 70% of the population of Dombas, a region made up of the Donetsk and Lugansk Oblasts. Maria is in her early thirties. In addition to Russian, she speaks Estonian, English, Ukrainian and some German. Maria, who makes her living as a waitress at Victoria Tacos, argues that the war in Ukraine did not start a few weeks ago, but started in 2014. Her point of view has brought her strong criticism and has even made her lose several friends. Ironic, considering that anyone could look up the entry in Wikipedia —War in Dombas—, and see that the military conflict started in April 2014 —the Wikipedia reference can be read in a lot of languages, including German.

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Victoria Tacos does not portray itself as a Mexican food restaurant. They are just into tacos: We've taken the spirit of Mexican cooking and forged our own way to create tacos that we want to serve. And what about their prices? If you decide to eat in to try one of each of the four types of tacos they sell —quesabirria (vegetarian), Brussels-sprouts (vegan), carnitas and asada—, and to order a michelada —made with Victoria beer—, then your bill will be 21.25 euros. For four tacos and a beer you would pay 23.25 US Dlls, and that’s without the tip —you’d normally tip 10%—.

 

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Maria, the Estonian dancer with Ukranian backround, affrirms that what Western press keeps reports is true: the Russian invasion has caused a huge flow of Ukrainians to Poland, Romania, Hungary, Moldavia, Germany... But Maria is annoyed that they dont mention the humanitarian corridors for Ukrainians fleeing the war and going to Russia. By the way, Germany is not very far from the war: Berlin is 830 miles away from Kiev, the same distance between San Luis, Misuri to Filadelfia, Pensilvania. Moscow is also not very far from Kiev (521 miles), less than the distance between San Francisco and San Diego, California (540 miles).

 

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By 2021, inflation in Germany had reached 5.3%, the highest rate in thirty years. The clash between Russia and the European Union, particularly the NATO member countries led by the United States, has led to a sharp increase in prices. It is expected that this year inflation will exceed 6%, as a direct result of the increase of gas prices. For this same reason, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, food prices in the world have risen to an all-time high. Increases in energy and grain prices and disruptions in supply chains... a dark scenario for the world, especially for Europe. Bayron and his business partner are already assessing whether it is time to close Victoria Tacos, they had even made it through the COVID lockdown but this time it might be too much.

 

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During the first days of the war, Maria tried to share her opinion with her European friends. She did not try to paint the opposite picture to the one presented by the western press —Putin is Hitler—; she sought balance. She stressed that there is indeed a fascist movement in Ukraine, but she recalled that a referendum was held in Crimea (2014) and that the majority of people voted for annexation to Russia. She posted that there have been genocidal actions against the Russian-speaking population of Ukraine... Soon Instagram and Facebook deleted her posts, many of her friends blocked her and some even insulted her. 

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Last week, one of Victoria Tacos owner thought it would be a good idea to post on the restaurant's social media that they would give a free meal to Ukrainian refugees who showed their passport. Maria explained to him that the Ukrainians who make it to Berlin were most likely upper middle class or even wealthiest citizens.

 

— Oops, I thought it would be cool!