Amin Dirhem to Yemen TimesAssociation activities are focused and devoted to strengthening the Yemeni-German relations [Archives:2005/878/Reportage]

Ismail Al-Ghabiri
The Yemen – German Friendship Association seeks to consolidate cooperation with Yemen and Germany through cultural and literary communication. It endeavors also to spread knowledge of the two cultures.

Among the role the Association is playing and in its activities is a street Festival being performed by troupes from Germany and France. Ismael al-Ghabri from Yemen Times Staff has recently conducted an interview with vice-chairman of the Yemen-German Firendship Association Mr. Amin Dirhem and has come up with the following report.



Q: First of all what is the role the association plays with regard to promoting friendship between the two peoples?

A: At the beginning of this year, the two administrative boards of the Yemen-German Friendship Association and the German-Yemen Friendship Association had agreed to embark on a competition that was announced in both countries with the purpose making these two friendly people in Yemen and Germany knowledgeable about the others country

Here in Yemen the competition took place between 85 students from both sexes and the one who won the competition was the university students Nashwan al-Jamrah from Sana'a. The first prize was a one-week visit to Germany hosted by the German-Yemen friendship association with a flight ticket presented by Lufthansa German Airlines.

In Germany, a 19-year old student Susana Rothmeir captured the first prize which was an invitation of visiting Yemen for ten days to be acquainted with the country. She has written an article titled “Mysterious Yemen” even without her visiting Yemen. The German student was able to convince the panel of the competition judges on her right to win the chance of visiting Yemen. In her article, the German student had covered topics on costumes, perfumes and jewelry the Yemeni woman are accustomed to use, and she talked about the Yemeni women's social and family role, which is very different from that in the German.

The Yemen-German, friendship association also in the beginning of September had organized a reception party that was attended by the German cultural attache of the German Embassy in Sana'a as well as the parents of the German student, Susana and a number of the Yemeni and German members of the two societies, The two societies also presented gifts to the German student and her parents who had expressed their impression on their visit to Yemen.

The German cultural attache had delivered a speech on the occasion and also touched on the German elections scheduled on the 18th of September this year .



Q: What about the idea of the street festival?

A: This idea had emerged and was brought forth by the German and French Embassies in Yemen in corporation with the German house for culture and development.

Some trading firms in Yemen were asked to cooperate in financing part of expenses of this festival . The response was positive on part of Yemeni businessmen, namely the Tihama Trading Company (Thabet brothers), Tihama Tractors & Engineering Co Ltd. Sabafone Company, Yemen Mobile Company, Adhban Company and others.

Street art is in fact composed of acrobatics and musical performances performed by artists from Germany and France and this style of art is considered popular in the streets and do not need a stage. The troupe is now in Yemen and have trained eight Yemeni students in such arts. The festive activities would begin on the 19th of September 2005 starting with a parade form the German House heading towards the French cultural center and later on activities would be performed before live audiences in Al-Tahrir Square in Sana'a. These activities are to continue in other streets of the capital and on the 24th the team would move to Aden.

The joint German and French artists troupe is composed of six members: the German Rudolf Deg; magician, the French Gandalf Goudar, a musician, the German Clements Rudolph, a clown, the German Volker Maria Maier, a player with fire , the French Gohn Cristophe Chapon, a clown and the French Francois Zanini a fire blower.



Q: What are the activities the association does?

A: The association has a monthly program for its activities and all its activity are focused and devoted to strengthening the Yemeni-German relations at the two peoples level. Political and economic relations have their own specialists who are in the best situation for developing it for the better.

This year the association has participated in many cultural and social activities, prominently taking part in the annual meeting of the German-Yemeni Friendship Association held during the period of 28th April to 1st May 2005 in the city of Leipzig. The meeting was attended by around one hundred members from all the German States. From the Yemeni side it was represented by Mr. Mohammed Basallama, the association information official, Engineer Abdulmuti al-Junaid a member of the association and myself.

From the 14th to 30th May of this year, thirty tourist members from the German-Yemeni friendship association came to Yemen , headed by Mr. Peter Helmut, chairman of the association, they had visited most of the tourist sites in Yemen and met social personalities and local sheikhs and civil institutions. The visit was a success and their travel was via the road of Khawlan to Mareb without any guards. The governor of Mareb and his deputy Sheikh Adnan Abu Luhoum welcomed them and they had a good impression and gratitude, they had visited Shabwa, Hadramout Aden, Taiz Ibb and of course Sana'a especially the old city of Sana'a with its alleys and markets. After their return to their country they had a good impression on Yemen and its security and everything beautiful in Yemen. They had published their impressions in the German newspapers. Our association has played a role in facilitating their mission and their reception and their feeling was as if they were at home .



Wedding party of the German friend Yanz Winter ( Yahya )

The association had in July this year given a wedding party for Mr Yahya Winter who had declared his being a Moslem in the mid of this year and had his wedding to a Yemeni girl late in July of this year.

The association had on the 2nd of July this year organized on the occasion a musical gathering at the house of the association's vice chairman attended by a host of friends and family members of the groom. Among the prominent attendees were Mr Khalid al-Roaishan, Dr Abdulaziz al-Maqaleh, the poet Sulaiman al-Issa, Dr Sullan al-Surimi, Mr Ali Abdulah al-Salal, Mr Abdo al-Aoudi Mrs Laila Al Othman a Kuwaiti writer and other poets and intellectuals. Mr Yahya Winter is a student at Sana'a University preparing for his Ph.D. of the Al Soliehi Regime and a teacher for the German language at the Sana'a University and the German House for culture and Development. He had come to Yemen in 1999 to study the Arabic language and during his living with the Yemenis, he liked Yemen and decided to settle in it . He has embraced Islam by his own conviction and that was also concerning his marriage to the Yemeni girl.



Q: What are the most important future projects of the association ?

A: There are many future project of the association, mainly the publishing of the Association Magazine. on the first Thursday of the coming month of Holy Ramadan, the association is scheduled to give a break fasting party, invited are the German friends, in the forefront will be the German Ambassador to Yemen, members of the embassy and other Yemeni German friends. It would also be in celebration of the German national day (the day of German Unity).
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