美国国家公共电台 NPR In An Israeli Prison, 2 Palestinians Found A Future: A Food Truck（在线收听）

In An Israeli Prison, 2 Palestinians Found A Future: A Food Truck 

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Let's talk about food trucks in a complicated place. Food trucks have revolutionized the lunch hour for people across this country, making it easier for diners to try new foods and giving cooks the flexibility to sell their food wherever there's a demand. And that trend has spread as far as the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Two Palestinian men who met behind bars in an Israeli prison have launched their own food truck in their hometown. NPR's Lauren Frayer went to meet them in Ramallah.

ABDEL RAHMAN RAHIM AL-BIBI: (Foreign language spoken).

LAUREN FRAYER, BYLINE: Huddled over a hot griddle in the back of his food truck, Abdel Rahman Rahim al-Bibi doesn't hold back on the curry powder. He's frying up shish taouk, a spicy chicken kebab dish popular in the Middle East.

AL-BIBI: (Foreign language spoken).

FRAYER: He says in Israeli prison, they didn't eat much meat or spices, and used to dream about what they'd cook when they got out.

KHALDOUN BARGHOUTI: Hamburger, schnitzel, chicken breast, chicken fingers, roast beef...

FRAYER: His business partner, Khaldoun Barghouti, teases him about gaining a big belly since he got out of jail a year ago.

BARGHOUTI: (Foreign language spoken, laughter).

FRAYER: Barghouti and al-Bibi say they worked together in an Israeli prison canteen. Barghouti served almost eight years on weapons charges, al-Bibi nine years for shooting at Israeli forces in an incident an Israeli military spokesperson said injured two soldiers. These men are among several hundred-thousand Palestinians who spent time in Israeli jails. And for these two, it was time to think lots about food.

BARGHOUTI: In prison, we are cooking for all the prisoner - in all, for about 1,000 prisoner, we cooking for him breakfast and lunch and...

FRAYER: They had to be creative, scavenging stale rolls for bread crumbs, frying spices to stretch their flavor. That's what gave them the idea for this food truck, stocked with all the spices they'd dreamed of. They painted it with psychedelic rainbows and a smiley face on front.

(SOUNDBITE OF ELECTRONIC BEEPING)

FRAYER: Barghouti shows me four solar panels on the roof, designed by an engineer they did time with. The West Bank has lots of fast food joints and vegetable carts. But they say the Palestinian Authority had to create a new kind of license for this restaurant on wheels.

(SOUNDBITE OF CAR HORN)

FRAYER: Today, they do a swift business - a dozen customers in a half-an-hour. Burgers cost about $2.

FAIZA BAZAR: (Foreign language spoken).

FRAYER: Customer Faiza Bazar says her daughter came home from school gushing about how all the teenagers eat here. She's got two hungry daughters in tow. Six months after their food truck's debut, Barghouti and al-Bibi are working till midnight seven days a week and recently hired two more workers. The food truck concept seems to have caught on here.

MONTAGNE: And that's Lauren Frayer.