Asmara Eritrea - May 22 2008

 

Different administrations and institutions have been building colorful performance at the community carnival show this afternoon and evening. Representatives of Asmara’s 13 administrative areas, the military, cultural troupes and religious institutions participate in today’s carnival, each with their own work of art.

The participants of the cultural troupes with their traditional costumes reflect the cultural and ethnic diversity of Eritrea. They show their respective traditional dances and habits. Although not everyone is happy when I point the camera at them, most of the participants have no problems, and even are proud that I choose to picture them.

A large part of the parade is a historical sequence that narrates Eritrean history, starting from the regime of Haile Selassie, the struggle for independence, and the recent Ethiopian and United States attempts to reverse Eritrea's independence.

Unfortunately I have forgotten to ask the meaning of some of the creations in the parade, but most of them speak for themselves. Again Ethiopia's Prime Minister Meles Zenawi and US president George Bush are a source of inspiration, as they play an important (negative) role in Eritrea's recent social and economic development *).

 

Representatives of Eritrean cultures - Community Parade Asmara.

Representatives of Eritrean cultures - Community Parade Asmara.

Representatives of Eritrean cultures - Community Parade Asmara.

Representatives of Eritrean cultures - Community Parade Asmara.

Representatives of Eritrean cultures - Community Parade Asmara.

Representatives of Eritrean cultures - Community Parade Asmara.

Representatives of Eritrean cultures - Community Parade Asmara.

Representatives of Eritrean cultures - Community Parade Asmara.

Children of the Paradizo administration - Community Parade Asmara.

Contribution of the Paradizo administration - Community Parade Asmara.

Independence Day carnival - Community Parade Asmara.

Representatives of Eritrean cultures - Community Parade Asmara.

Representatives of Eritrean cultures - Community Parade Asmara.

Representatives of the Orthodox Church - Community Parade Asmara.

Eritrea and its regions - Community Parade Asmara.

Representatives of Eritrean cultures - Community Parade Asmara.

Independence Day carnival - Community Parade Asmara.

Ethiopia's Prime Minister Meles Zenawi - Community Parade Asmara.

Army boot representing US foreign policy - Community Parade Asmara.

Victims of the US war on terrorism - Community Parade Asmara.

 

*) Six years ago, the Eritrea-Ethiopia Boundary Commission (International Court of Arbitration in The Hague) issued a ruling on the border delimitation, but still the verdict has not been implemented on the ground due to Ethiopia's non-compliance, backed by the United States administration.