Opening Ceremony Festival Eritrea Holland 2008

The 2008 Festival Eritrea Holland was officially opened on July 5 2008 by his Excellency Abdellah Jabir, Head of Organisational Affairs of the Peoples Front for Democracy and Justice (PFDJ). This three-day festival is being held at the usual venue of the Maresca Party and Congres Centrum in the city of Utrecht. The occasion was witnessed by His Excellency Mohamed Suleiman, Eritrea’s Ambassador in Netherlands, and His Excellency Girma Asmerom, Eritrea’s Ambassador in Brussels and European Union.

In keeping with its now firmly established tradition, the three-day festival is packed with program activities to meet for every taste and interest.

Earlier Mr.Solomon Mehari, Consulate general of the Eritrean Embassy in the Netherlands welcomed all those who came to partake. In his speech Mr. Solomon stated that the 7th Festival Eritrea Holland is being held at a time during which we can take stock with satisfaction of the positive and commendable progress made during the past 17 years of the country’s history. In this regard he highlighted the underpinning and everlasting significance of this national event in respect of the strengthening of our community’s unity and its role in the socioeconomic transformation efforts and the motherland. He further took the occasion to thank all those who have worked hard to make this occasion a success and urged community members to contribute to the Warsay Yekealo development campaign as they have usually have been doing. Finally he expressed his best wishes to every partaker to have a good time and enjoy the three-day festival packed with activities program activities made to meet for every taste and interest.

On our part we members of the organising committee also find it essential to clearly explain that our festivals are not only about fun and relaxation, although we strongly also pursue such niceties of life. Our festivals are much more than the mere transient physical or emotional gratification. The whole of our festival is greater than its program contents.

Every year Eritrean national festivals are celebrated in all corners of the globe wherever an Eritrean community is to be found. In truth this reality may be uniquely and exclusively Eritrean and this is for a good reason. Eritrean national festivals are distinguishable from other national festivals in one fundamentally important way. They are not festivals organised to celebrate a particular historical happening; nor are they only cultural events of music and entertainment. Our festivals are encompassing national undertakings. While the perpetuation and celebration of Eritrean cultural heritage and national identity were central, Diaspora Eritreans have equally and successfully employed festivals as a strategic forum to promote the cause of the struggle for the liberation of the country of their origin. In short what renders our national festivals to be persistently enduring is their front-line position in the historical emergence of our nationhood. Perhaps this may be unparalleled in the history of people.

And today as in the past and to the disappointment of enemies but to the delight of friends, we have been able to apply this national resource to our present socioeconomic development challenges. Our communities worldwide come together during such events to renew their commitment and dedication in support of their country and government. What we at this festival would like to reiterate is therefore to say loudly and unequivocally that we emphatically are behind the government of the State of Eritrea’s socioeconomic policies and the measures taken to ensure national security. We particularly support the policy of ‘’Rese Murgosa’’ carried out by Warsay Yekealo in nation building. Eritrea has rightly rejected the discredited culture of aid dependency. It has opted for self reliance and partnership instead. Clearly this has brought her in collision course with the proponents of the status quo and those who advance the interests and values of the existing skewed global policies. Undoubtedly the current centres of world power are astounded and displeased even with harmless small countries such Eritrea that aspire only to be empowered in order to be able to manage their own affairs. These powers are used to expect every single country to be subservient to their policy prescription which is often ill thought and has proved detrimental to the world at large. Eritrea, a peace loving but confident country, has refused to kneel down!

 Let it be stated that Rese Murgosa is what the people and government of Eritrea are doing every day. It is nothing more than a strategic policy factorised from decades of tested experience in the field. Those who care should first read into how the country’s
Liberation was achieved. Then they should look into what and with which resource is today being done in the sphere of the provision of basic social services including health, education, and infrastructural development. But even more fundamental is to ask who is benefiting from such efforts? If policies aiming at equitable access to the, notwithstanding limited, resources obtaining in a country, is not a fundamental legitimisation of democracy, then what is?

At home the Eritrean youth are writing their own history through their sweat and blood and ultimately, the Eritrean people will be the beneficiaries. We humbly acknowledge and are keenly aware of the hardships and sacrifices our people have experience and endure.  As patriotic individuals our obligation at this point in time is to do our share in support of this noble cause. The practicality and doability of the Eritrean government’s development action plan gives cause for doubling our efforts and hope for bright future. We strongly believe in our governments’ clear vision and the call for hard work. Indeed Warsay Yekealo development program with its origins in the mountains of Sahel, is the precursor of Obama’s ‘’Yes We Can Believe’’ campaign message. This has been and continues to be the clear message of our festivals.

Glory to our Martyrs
Victory to the Eritrean people!

Organising Committee Festival Eritrea Holland 2008