News & Articles
What Expatriates Had To Say
By Meron Abraha
Aug 14, 2008, 4:06am

“Custom is the great guide of human life,” Scottish philosopher David Hume was quoted as saying. Knowing the customs of a country is, in effect, a guide to understanding the soul of that country and its people.

I recalled this paragraph after hearing to what an expatriate visitor had to say about this year’s festival.

Joseph Lorje, a Cuban medical professional who has been in Eritrea for the last week while in transit, who remained totally absorbed by the different exhibitions he saw at the Expo grounds.

A friend of mine who works here in Asmara had told me a lot of good things about Eritrea and its people but I would have never thought it had such interesting cultural traditions,” Joseph said.

He was talking about the diverse cultural activities that have been talking place for the entire week at Expo.

Joseph was particularly impressed by the exposition of the different lifestyles of Eritrea’s nine ethnic groups.

In fact, not only had they their respective music and dance groups, but each region had replicas of their houses, complete with backyards and animals, in addition to the detailed utensils of a typical household.

Saying that one doesn’t really need to go all over the countries to know about the people or how the live, Joseph said that a two or three day visit to Eritrea’s annual festival would suffice.

Alex Hermann, a German tourist, concurs.

“The distinct ways of dancing of some of the ethnic groups really kept me engrossed,” he said.

Alex was also amazed at how every evening, the public in general, and youngsters in particular, danced to various local songs by cultural troupes in open air stages across the Expo grounds.

“It’s not normal to hear loud music from tow stages in close proximities, and yet see people dancing in each place to every music in its own rhythm,” he added.

Eritrean born Italian Alfredo Manoli on his part said that the festival is one way of ensuring that Eritrea’s cultural heritage doesn’t get lost to foreign cultural invasions.

“I remember during the days of the struggle when Eritreans ha their festivals in Bologna, Italy. Not only they enabled Eritreans to stay in touch with their culture, but also reinvigorated their sense of patriotism, all feelings that I can still notice today,” Alfredo went on saying.

I think Alfredo’s point of view reflects what Eritreans should actually do as regards their rich cultural heritage: not blindly overrule all other cultures, but adopt selective features while maintaining your own.

Raji N. Rao, an Indian teacher new to Eritrea, said that he used to think it was some sort of propaganda that a multiethnic country like Eritrea could possibly have no interethnic conflicts whatsoever.

“Now I have witnessed that there is indeed harmony in be it in the ethnic or religious aspect,” he noted.

Indeed, in a world characterized by religious intolerance and interethnic conflicts, Eritrean religions and ethnic groups have managed, like always, to coexist in peace and harmony.

That’s why every year this time Eritreans come together in festivals, held not only in Eritrea but in different corners of the world, to ensure their unity. After all it has been said: one heart, one people.

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