"Welcome to the Bay" (by Kero One)

For Kero One, the Bay means San Francisco, but this Bay is the other side of Pacific Ocean, Yokohama.

I'm back, and so is African Festa, with 34 African embassies, 60 NGOs, sponsored by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Yokohama City.


One can get a free poster, buy African accessories or enjoy a live music concert

and street music performances here

and there,

Or get an African drum lesson.

But, wherever I am, can't start a day without a Starbucks coffee!! Here's one at Chinatown. (Oh, and Ethiopian embassy was selling its coffee, too.)

and Chinese supper. (I did have African cuisine too!!)

T.I.A. (cont'd)

AFRICAN FESTA 2009

When : Sat, May 16 (12:00 - 17:00) & Sun, May 17 (11:00 - 17:00)
Where : Red Brick Warehouse, Yokohama

Here's the link to the official homepage, but what a shame. No English (or French) hompage again!!
http://www.africanfesta2009.com/

FYI, here're links to the pieces I posted last year.
African Festa 2008
African Festa: to be continued (to next year)

"T.I.A." (by K'naan)

This is something new but also old.

K'naan has been just added to my favorite playlist. The album "Troubadour" is a mix of HipHop, Reggae, Rock and genuine African music. The songs remind me of those of Black Eyed Peas and of "classic" Fugees. But, the music also has a sense of traditional African music, a spice of Arabic and a smell of dust. His backgrounds draw my attention as well. Born in Mogadishu, Somalia, he spent his childhood during the civil war, and fled the country to seek asylum in North America.

Yes, This Is Africa!! T.I.A.!!



By the way, African Festa 2009 will be held in Yokohama again on May 16 and 17.
This weekend's African Festival in Yokohama is a bit different in its programs and sponsors...

Fugees

It was three college courses (and HipHop music) that had drawn my attention to Africa and refugee.

One is an an introductory African literature!! Strangely enough, my college had various Africa-related classes. "Things Fall Apart" (by Chinua Achebe) was one of the required readings. Later, I bought the Roots' "Things Fall Apart". This HipHop group tend to name its album after inspiring books. But, I started to have my interest in refugee after having bought "the Score", the Fugees' (Refugee Camp) 1996 smash hit album.

classic

Another class is intermediate international relations class that focused on civil wars and genocides in 1990s. Tragedies happened mostly in Africa.

Lastly, during one-month United Nations summer seminar, I met and interviewed ambassadors/diplomats from all over the world, UN bureaucrats, and NGO representatives in New York. Partly inspired by Ms. Ogata, then High Commissioner of UNHCR, I picked refugee for the theme of my report.

However, it was several years later when refugee became from a mere academic theme to the reality to me. I met a number of refugees who setteled in Maine, USA, from Somalia, Rwanda, Congo and Iraq. Their families were torn apart, and some of family members were killed. Some were lucky to have had their first family reunion in 5 years or so.

not quite an asylum in Portland, Maine

Today, June 20, is the World Refugee Day. There are, according to the UN refugee agency, 67 million refugees and internally displaced persons in total.

African Festa: to be continued (to next year)

For those who missed the event, here're some photos from the event. Don't miss next year's!!

Not a "strait gate".

Drumstruck, an interactive musical from South Africa, is coming back to Japan in mid-Aug. The show will be at the Galaxy Theatre (天王州銀河劇場).

African Festa 2008

So, here comes the African Festa again!! (But, surprisingly no English website again. Ridiculous...)

For those not familiar with this event, it's a huge annual festival held in Tokyo (but this year in Yokohama). No admission fee. It will have 36 African embassies and 59 NGOs selling the variety of African foods, accessories and more. Or make some goodwill donations.

Where: Aka-renga Soko (Red Brick Warehouse), Yokohama
When: Sat, May 17, 12:00 - 17:00 / Sun, May 18, 11:00 - 17:00

For more details, check this out:
http://www.africanfesta2008.com/

Looking forward to seeing YOU!! You will find many foreign (non-Japanese) people and "strange" Japanese there : )

African Festa

If you live in Tokyo, experience Africa once a year!
African Festa is held at the Hibiya Park, sponsored by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and supported by the African embassies. There are many embassy and NGO booths. You can not only buy some African accessories and foods, but also meet African people (and some strange Japanese) living around Tokyo.

If you missed last weekend's, then see you next year!

http://www.africanfesta.com/
(Sorry, it's only in Japanese. I wonder why this website has no English pages.)