“Now, we’re trying to build our economy back. Syria’s economy minister, Mohammad al-Khalil, was there to open the pavilion and Alshamaa, is encouraging tourists to return the country. The pavilion was financed by the Emirati government and Syrian businesspeople, according to designer and director Khaled Alshamaa. A historical timeline of Syria makes no mention of that conflict. His portrait hangs among 1,500 Syrian-made wooden paintings meant to collectively represent the country’s national unity – despite it being torn apart by a decade of civil war. In the Syrian pavilion, there is no doubt that President Bashar al-Assad, accused of using chemical weapons on his own people, is in control. (Photo by Hoshang HASHIMI / AFP) (Photo by HOSHANG HASHIMI/AFP via Getty Images) Hoshang Hashimi/AFP/Getty Imagesīlast targeting Kabul mosque leaves 'a number of civilians dead,' Taliban spokesman says Private sponsorship is also a major source of funding, but individual governments are ultimately supposed to be in charge.Īfghan medical staff members stand at the entrance of a hospital as they wait to receive the victims of an explosion in Kabul on October 3, 2021. Many of the country pavilions at Expo 2020 are built with funding from the Emirati government, though organizers declined to detail cost-sharing arrangements. For me, my people are what’s important,” he told CNN. “Any regime comes to Afghanistan, then five years, four years later, the next regime comes. Rahimy said his goal was to showcase Afghanistan’s rich cultural history, and promote investment and buyers for the country’s exports, like saffron, which is on sale in small vials at the pavilion. Rahimy takes great pains to make clear that he is non-partisan – in fact, he says he has curated items for the Afghan pavilion on behalf of several regimes since the 1970s at more than a dozen expos – and said he only wants peace for his country, no matter who is in charge. Indeed, there is no sign of Afghanistan’s turmoil in the displays of colorful traditional clothing, ornate antique jewelry and elegant brassware, including a mortar and pestle from the 12th century. Rahimy told CNN that he represents neither the previous government nor the Taliban, and has taken up the task for the Afghan people. Now, an Afghan antiquities collector from Austria, Mohammed Omer Rahimy, has opened the pavilion after being called in by the Expo’s organizers and struggling with customs delays. Afghanistan’s pavilion stood empty for days at the start of the Expo on October 1, after the Taliban takeover of the country left a vacuum in its management. Myanmar’s pavilion is not the only one to be caught up in a government overthrow. Technically, they’re now in charge of the pavilion too.Īfghanistan's pavilion sat empty at the start of the Expo, but has now opened. “Deputy” was added to Thang’s title after Myanmar’s military took control of the country in February, arrested Suu Kyi and cracked down on nationwide protests. Levi Sap Nei Thang, the pavilion’s deputy director, says she was appointed by the previous, democratically elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi. Tucked away off the main pedestrian walkway, the modest Myanmar pavilion is filled with photos, clothing and cultural items native to the South Asian nation – in an attempt to represent the regional and religious diversity of the majority Buddhist country. But, for many nations, it’s all a façade.Ī record 192 countries are represented at this year’s postponed Expo – up from 139 at the previous World Expo in Milan – among them, of course, the world’s most poverty-stricken, war-torn and unstable.Īided by funding from the Emirati government, all of them are using Expo 2020 to present a polished image that might attract investment or tourists, but the strife from back home lurks just under the surface. ![]() Spend a few hours wandering the manicured walkways of the Expo 2020 grounds and the world – or at least this sanitized version in the Dubai desert – feels at peace and in harmony.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |