by Marina Klimchuk
Searching for Eritrean asylum-seekers in Wittenberg feels somewhat like a detective movie. Following uncertain traces of half-true information provided by residents living in the town, aimlessly cruising around in the outskirts of Wittenberg and finally getting one step closer. The second we meet Mohammed on a lonely park bench, the deal is sealed.
Almost. One week later, a festive Eritrean party with coffee, dancing and live music on the Krar, a five- or six-stringed bowl-shaped lyre from Eritrea and Ethiopia takes place.
CoFFEE GLOCAL
The coffee ceremony is an essential part of Eritrean culture that can only be performed by women. The coffee is brewed by first roasting the green coffee beans over hot coals. This is followed by the grinding of the beans. The coffee grounds are then put into a special vessel, called a jebena, and boiled. A jebena is usually made of clay. When the coffee boils up through the neck it is repeatedly poured into and out of another container to cool it down, and then is put back into the jebena once again.
The hosts pour the coffee for all participants by moving the tilted jebena over a tray with small, handleless cups (finjal), without stopping, until each cup is full. The grounds are brewed three times.
TEL AVIV_PALAST ON TOUR
The arrival of people seeking asylum is a global phenomenon that manifests locally. And while the differences between Tel Aviv and Wittenberg could not be greater, the cultural elements brought into those two places by their Eritrean communities are surprisingly similar.
For one afternoon, the TEL AVIV_PALAST was turned into a symbol for this transnational connection. Positioned next to the location of the coffee ceremony, its presence in the urban space created a triangle between Tel Aviv, Eritrean culture and Wittenberg. To underline their new sense of belonging, some members of the Eritrean community hung up two flags inside the GLASPALAST: one Eritrean and one German.
