KENYA: Lamu, a World Heritage Site since 2001 hosts the annual Lamu Cultural Festival

Record ID: 362167

  • Title: KENYA: Lamu, a World Heritage Site since 2001 hosts the annual Lamu Cultural Festival
  • Date: 28th November 2011
  • Summary: VARIOUS OF LOCALS AND TOURISTS WATCHING TRADITIONAL PERFORMANCES
  • Embargoed: 13th December 2011 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Kenya, Kenya
  • Country: Kenya
  • Topics: Crime,Arts
  • Reuters ID: LVAEAKGGY9TH65TK5I8XRL61MBYT
  • Story Text: Rich cultural history and a friendly atmosphere, that is what organisers of the Lamu Festival on Kenya's coast hope an estimated 8,000 visitors will remember about this year's event.
    The festival, held every year on the island, close to Somalia comes after two kidnapping incidents in September and October, and after Kenya sent its military into the war ravaged Horn of Africa nation to hunt members of an al Qaeda linked group, it says were responsible for the seizures.
    But despite very real concerns that the incidents have pushed many tourists away from the once thriving beach resort, the festival which opened on Friday (November 25) went ahead as planned and attracted a sizeable crowd.
    Traditional singing and dancing were at the heart of festivities with a specially constructed stage in Lamu town used for performances from local schools and dance groups and more seasoned singers and musicians.
    At sea, traditional Swahili sailing boats or dhows raced each other through the waves.
    Extra police and security personnel were deployed for the duration of the event, which tourist minister Najib Balala who came from the capital Nairobi to take part, said helped reassure people the area was now safe, though turn-out was still lower than other years, suggesting some still decided to stay away.
    "The Lamu Cultural Festival this year was a very successful one. We had sponsors from most of the embassies, we had visitors particularly from Kenya. It is unfortunate we didn't have the much more visitors we had expected from the foreigners but we had a mix between Kenyans and foreign tourists so to me, I judge it as a successful festival," Balala said.
    In early October, gunmen stormed the private home of 66-year-old, wheelchair-bound Marie Dedieu on the northern coast island of Manda Bay. They carried her to a waiting boat that crossed into Somalia, where al Shabaab were in control of large swathes of the south and centre. Dedieu a recovering cancer patient later died in captivity.
    A month earlier, unidentified gunmen raided the remote Kiwayu Safari Village, shooting dead publishing executive David Tebbutt, 58, and taking hostage his wife Judith, 56, before escaping by boat.
    The two events caused shockwaves at home and abroad prompting several overseas embassies including Britain to adjust their travel advisories for nationals to the region, saying anywhere within 150km of the Somali border (which includes Lamu) should be avoided for all but essential travel.
    But despite the concerns of some, plenty of visitors turned out to celebrate and several said they were not concerned by the incidents earlier in the year.
    "Yeah it's been very good I have been, I was in Lamu yesterday and today and I've noticed quite a lot of an upping of military presence in Lamu which is good but for me it has been exactly the same as it always was there's less tourists around but in terms of community everyone is celebrating which is a good thing," Dutch tourist Richard Vanaardt said.
    "I love the magic of this place, I have seen the beach and the sunset and now I am here for the cultural festival and I feel safe," said Esparanza Castillo, from Italy.
    Highlight of the event was the much anticipated donkey race, held along the sea front and attended by hundreds of excited spectators, cheering from the sidelines.
    The size and pedigree of the participating steeds may not have been a match for less exotic derbies, but for an island that prides itself on having no cars, skills steering the notoriously stubborn animals are likely to come in handy.
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