Divisions, home and abroad

I have been going to tons of cultural festivals lately due to my consulting gig doing outreach for a non profit English school called The English Center. I'm getting my money and eating awesome food that I never knew existed, so I'm happy.

Thus past weekend I attended an Eritrean festival in Oakland. Some people have asked me "what is an Eritrean?" So to clarify, Eritrea is a country in East Africa that borders Sudan and Ethiopia, and lie across the Red Sea from Saudi Arabia. See map here.

Back to this particular festival. I was excited because a.) I knew close to nothing about Eritrea and got to learn loads from my highly energetic Eritrean intern and b.) FOOD! So there I was rubbing shoulders with members of the Eritrean community, taking some cool pictures, drinking honey wine and passing out flyers in Tigrinya (one of the language of Eritrea) when a riot breaks out.

Ok maybe not a full on riot, but pretty close.

Protestors marching through

As I'm sitting down, drinking spiced coffee under a tent while discussing community with an elderly Eritrean man, I suddenly hear shouting and loud noises, as if something is being struck. A protest had come into the festival grounds. People were shouting and holding up giant protest signs, and were using sticks to bang on the signs. The signs stated things like "Egypt, Tunisia, Eritrea" and "Human Rights for Eritrea". People from the festival began to clash with the protestors. There was pushing and shoving and cameras were knocked out of people hands, Everyone was shouting, in Tigrinya. I sat back in shock and had a sudden desire to shoot pictures, but then again, I didn't feel like getting my SLR knocked out of my hand. I also didn't want to be disrespectful to the sensitive situation, particularly because I was an outsider.

Let's backtrack, why was there a riot? Between Eritreans in Oakland? This wasn't downtown Asmara, this was Broadway and 42nd.

President/dictator, depends on whom you ask

For many of you that don't know, many Eritreans are divided between pro government and anti government factions. Pro government factions support the Eritrean leader Isaias Afewerki, a man who helped Eritrea get its independence. Government supporters exalt Afewerki for the part he played in independence, while those who oppose the government point out the abysmal human rights record that Eritrea holds and the gross violation of the rights of free speech (Eritrea is the only African country with no privately owned news media) and the troubling imprisonment of journalists as problematic, and are calling for freedom and change. This is the cliff notes version of the conflict, for more in depth information, read local Bay Area reporter Matt O'Briens article, which I coincidentally read right before the festival.

Dancing and celebrating to counter the protest

I watched as Government supporters blasted Eritrean music and began dancing jubilantly while waving the Eritrean flag. I saw one woman get on a chair and kiss a picture of the president's face on a T-shirt.  It was as if the dancing, the flag waving and celebrating would hush up the protestors who stood together as a wall, holding banners and megaphones.


I got out of there soon after that. Good timing, because that was approximately when half of the Oakland Police force showed up (a bit excessive maybe?). As I walked away, I realized that this was my second time witnessing an almost riot/political clash. The first such event I witnessed was in Haiti, where I was subsequently tear gassed by UN (I'm sure it was unintentional...I think), but you can read about that on my old school Xanga site.

When I think of what occurred at this festival, I wonder about what immigrants figuratively bring with them when they migrate to the United States. Customs are brought of course, but so are politics. Though political situations may reside miles and seemingly worlds away, they still play such a big role in the psyche of many immigrants. Often, these situations are the cause of the immigration in the first place. The distance from homelands many not seem so great to many who are here.


In the article that Matt wrote, he referred to people who left Eritrean churches and even instances of family division in Oakland due to these political issues. It's complex and sad, but not unusual. Many groups in the United States, even after years of being in this country, deeply feel such divisions. From Iranians who left during the Islamic Revolution in the late 70's to the Isreal/Palestinian issues that fan further separations between Muslim and Jewish Americans to the continued animosities that people from Indian and Pakistani backgrounds feel in the USA, many divisions have been 'imported' with their populations. 

But Arabs and Israelis both love hummus and have a penchant for facial hair...stop the hate and eat hummus!

I wonder what children from different cultures and new generations will choose for themselves when it comes to issues such as these. How deep will these political events - these histories - play in their lives as they grow? Will they hold the same zeal as their parents or will these elements fade the further they are in distance and time from from the lands of their parents and ancestors.

Though these aspects may depends on families and individuals - not everyone is political or divided of course - this past weekend brought up questions regarding generations and the continuation of  cultural, religious and political animosities. I have seen many of these divisions in my life, even amongst people like myself, who are children of second generation immigrants. There is a line between assimilating and holding on to cultural roots, but are holding on to the conflicts of our forefathers and current situations in the homelands of our parents also a part of our collective future? Only time will tell.

Eritrean girl on an iphone while the protest continues on in the background

 Or maybe they will be too busy on iphones, facebook and twitter...there's hope after all ;-).