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Brazil’s greatest metropolis, Sao Paulo, celebrated the nation’s twenty sixth Pageant of Immigration over the weekend on the Immigration Museum. The pageant at one of many nation’s main museums was born out of the will of communities to protect the heritage of immigrants and share their diverse cultures. It offered a second of sharing, coexistence, and studying that brings in its essence the variety and integration of various cultures.
Greater than 50 communities got here collectively for 3 days from 17 to 19 December, together with Palestinians, Syrians, Lebanese and Egyptians. The pageant coincided with Worldwide Migrants Day, which was accredited by the UN Normal Meeting to be held on 18 December yearly.
The 70,000-strong Palestinian neighborhood had a distinguished presence on the pageant. It offered a wealthy alternative to current their meals, music, conventional costumes, dance and handicrafts to a wider viewers. Palestinians have lived in Brazil for the reason that late nineteenth century, and had been in a position to show not solely their fashion of music and dance, but in addition artefacts of the neighborhood’s lengthy historical past within the nation.
INTERVIEW: Documentary movie ‘Brazilian Palestine’ boosts the Palestinian trigger
Palestinian embroidery, seen most regularly on attire on the pageant, has been added to UNESCO’s checklist of Intangible Cultural Heritage. The UN choice was well timed, given Israel’s efforts to acceptable and eradicate Palestinian tradition and id. That’s the reason it was necessary for the Palestinians in Brazil to participate on this explicit pageant; they needed to indicate that their tradition may be very a lot alive and that they preserve their hyperlinks with their homeland, which they hope can be free once more someday.
“The participation of the Palestinian neighborhood this 12 months is necessary and distinguished, and it isn’t new, as they’ve been taking part with us for years,” defined Alessandra Almeida, Government Director of the Immigration Museum. “Palestine ranks in third place as an important refugee neighborhood in Brazil, in accordance with the factors set out by the Ministry of Justice.”
She added that the pageant is a necessary a part of the native calendar within the metropolis of São Paulo, celebrating the significance of immigration to the state specifically, and Brazil typically. “This illustrates the significance of the immigrants who’ve contributed to the development of the mosaic of the Paulista id.”
In response to Bruna Kadletz, founding father of Círculos de Hospitalidade (Circles of Hospitality), a Brazilian NGO that develops social, cultural, and academic initiatives for refugees, “The highly effective bringing collectively of migrants and host societies is a option to confront xenophobia.” Festivals comparable to this one in São Paulo are essential to advertise peaceable coexistence. “We additionally perceive that migrants have an necessary function in contributing to the financial and cultural growth of societies. The Palestinian diaspora in Brazil, as an illustration, has contributed rather a lot to our growth.”
It’s no coincidence that the pageant is organised by the folks for the folks. “Yearly via this pageant,” Almeida informed me, “we attempt to make immigrants really feel that they belong to this society and they can combine and supply extra. For us, we need to present the viewers throughout our nation the good variety of the unique international locations of those immigrants.”
Market stalls [Museu da Imigração/Facebook]
With the occupation of their homeland an ongoing actuality, the Palestinians in Brazil know that they’ve an obligation to protect and share their tradition. The Immigrant Pageant and related initiatives in Brazil permit them to just do that.
The views expressed on this article belong to the writer and don’t essentially mirror the editorial coverage of Center East Monitor.
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