São Paulo – Two days of celebration fuelled by beer, music and Arab food. That is the Oktoberfest of Taybeh, a city in Ramallah region, in Palestine. The event, based on the traditional German celebration, has taken place since 2005, when it received over 5,000 visitors. In the last edition, last year, the party received over 15,000 participants. This year, the Taybeh Oktoberfest should take place on October 1st and 2nd.
The celebration in Palestine was born after David Khoury was elected mayor of Taybeh, six years ago. His brother, Nadim Khoury, who owns the only brewery in the occupied territories, saw an opportunity to establish an event that would promote his product and also help reduce the rate of unemployment in the region.
“Taybeh Oktoberfest is organized by the city hall and by its civil organisations,” said Maria Khoury, the organizer of the event. “I work on aiding in the collection of funds to bring the bands and cover all other costs of the festival, so that local enterprises and five women’s cooperatives in the city may sell their products and keep 100% of revenues,” said Maria. According to her, 50 people work on the organisation of the party.
Oktoberfest starts at 11:00 am and ends at 10:00 pm. Music is played throughout the event and includes local and international bands, also from Brazil. “The Palestinian people have loved the groups coming from Brazil. Personally, I greatly appreciate the presence of professional Brazilian bands over the last three years. This has been a wonderful way to strengthen the connection between Palestine and Brazil,” said Maria.
She reveals that the ambassador of Brazil to Ramallah, Lígia Maria Scherer, has helped bring the Brazilian musical groups to the event. “This has been an incredible expression of support and solidarity,” she pointed out. In 2009, Oktoberfest received musicians from the Clube do Choro, and in 2010 it was the turn of group Baião A7. This year, the event should receive Trio Rodrigo Lessa. “I believe that in recent years the Brazilian bands at the Oktoberfest were the high point of the programme,” pointed out Maria.
The music of Palestinian groups, in turn, ranges from Dabke to hip hop. Among the other countries that have already sent musicians to the party are Greece, Germany, England and also dancers from Japan and Sri Lanka. Regarding the food served at the event, it is traditionally Arab, with falafel and shawarma. At the opening event of the last edition, the celebration counted on the presence of 25 ambassadors, heads of representation as well as consuls and diplomatic representatives.
Despite being a party, the event in Palestine also has strong political and economic character. “The Taybeh Oktoberfest greatly boosts the economy, helping reduce the city’s 50% unemployment rate, creating jobs during the festival. It is also the only act of non-violence that we may have under the harsh living conditions we have with this brutal [Israeli] occupation,” said Maria. “This festival is part of our efforts to show the world that we aim to promote normal activities that, for other people around the world, are part of daily life,” she added.
*Translated by Mark Ament
