CAIRO - A group of men, dressed in white galabiyas, were playing dufouf (tambourines), singing and swaying to the tunes. They were enacting a Nubian zaffa (wedding party procession), one of the highlights in 'Nubia – In the Heart of the Home', an event organised by some Nubian NGOs and held last Thursday in the Tahrir Lounge, Goethe Institute, downtown Cairo. "We want to say that Egypt has many cultures and traditions. We are happy with our rich Nubian traditions," said Mona Shahein, the director of the Tahrir Lounge. "It's a good opportunity for people to get to know each other. To be aware of each other's traditions and how to maintain them is very important," she told The Egyptian Gazette. The event also witnessed the screening of a documentary film about the Nubian crisis, which started with the construction of the Aswan High Dam in 1960s. The Government displaced the Nubian Egyptians from their land in order to build the Dam, but three successive regimes failed to adequately compensate them. In the 1960s, the Nubians were promised new land on the shores of Lake Nasser, to make up for land on the banks of the Nile that was used for the High Dam. They have not been given suitable financial compensation, while successive governments have done nothing to improve their living conditions in their new villages, far from the Nile. At the five-hour event, Nubians also displayed their accessories, clothes and drinks. The attendees, both Egyptians and foreigners, were treated to Nubian dancing and songs, as well as a fashion show of traditional and modern Nubian clothes. "I'm really impressed. I wish all my friends in Cairo had come along too, in order to find out more about Nubia. Maybe next time," said Weam Ahmed, 24, a Nubian. Weam, who lives in Cairo and only goes home for the feasts, added that, because of her dark skin, people sometimes think that she must hail from Sudan or Somalia. To some extent, she feels alienated. "When I tell them that I'm Egyptian like them, they raise their eyebrows as if they've forgotten that there are Nubians or Aswani people in Upper Egypt," she told this newspaper. Weam hopes the media would focus much more on Nubia to raise people's awareness. She regrets that, in Egyptian soap operas, Nubians always play the roles of waiters or servants. "Why can't they play other roles like businessmen and doctors, so viewers realise that Nubians are part of society? I hope to live to see the day when we have a Nubian MP."
