Editorial
Eritrea Festivals, Measure For National Cultural Awakening
By Staff
Aug 13, 2005, 16:55

Historical experience demonstrated amply that the foundation and basis for an advanced society and a developed economy depends on possessing a developed culture. This established truth well demonstrates, from early times, that there are no people who have achieved progress and development without developing in the first place an advanced culture that might enable them to do so.

Achieving victory in the national liberation struggle, for instance, necessitated the existence of a culture that assisted the revolution to attain its objectives. Similarly, the national reconstruction process requires a culture that enhances such a comprehensive endeavor. For example Eritrea's realization of its present accomplishments has been the outcome of developing revolutionary culture and traditions during the liberation struggle period by taking what is best of the diversified Eritrean culture. Therefore the culture that Eritrea develops plays a crucial role in the all-round national reconstruction process being launched since independence. 

In some countries one finds the phenomenon of the admiration of the colonizers' culture and disregard for national cultures. And this is a sad matter because the colonizers who had worked intentionally for assimilating or at least obliterating some aspects of the cultures of the colonized peoples, we should not take them as an ideal in anyway. In addition, the colonizing powers worked meticulously with ill-intention to make sure that the oppressed peoples take no pride in their cultures and national legacy. No doubt the west committed blunders in distorting the cultures of many countries thus disrupting their characteristic entities. However, these states after gaining their independence did not work for the rebirth of their national cultures, but they followed the path of their oppressors' culture and the bondage of alienation. The outcome of this is breeding cultural poverty and backwardness. To the contrary of this some people who liberated themselves from the shacklesof colonialism were keen on effecting the regeneration and rebirth as well as the protection and development of their cultural legacy while at the same time making use of the international culture. In this manner they were able to build developed and advanced societies thus leading cultural rebirth along a successful and constructive path. Loyalty to one's culture does not mean shutting oneself off in the circles of localism and hostility to other international cultures. It is a reciprocated and continued process in taking what benefits and enriches our national culture without violating and negating our original cultural values. Globalization does not mean alienation and assimilation. The Eritrean people are immunized from the virus of cultural invasion because the armed struggle experience is qualified enough to confront all such forms of invasion. If it is possible to enumerate and summarize the values that had been developed during the armed struggle period, it can be said that they are concentrated on exploiting culture for the sake of developing and promoting the society in different fields. It remains to stress in this context the importance of the festivals, which encompass the country at this time every year. Not only here but also many countries where there are Eritrean communities witnessed the organization of festivals as an expression of national unity, brotherhood integration and sense of togetherness and common understanding. Accordingly these festivals inside and outside homeland have become to Eritreans an opportunity for acquaintance, interaction and consultation on the national issues on one hand, and an important station for the rebirth of our national culture and its promotion as well as the consolidation of national concepts for the reconstruction of a prosperous and developed homeland.