More than 200 people from various nationalities and cities in Ireland attended the Zimbabwe’s 30th Indepen-dence Day celebration last Saturday.
The event was organised in Dublin by the newly formed Zimbabwe Heritage Trust, a non-political organisation that aims to preserve the social and cultural values of Zimbabwe in Ireland.
“The issue of identity is so fundamental in our lives, just like millions of Irish natives in the diaspora commemorate St Patrick’s Day just to identify with their Irish roots. Zimbabweans in Ireland also identify themselves with their country on state occasions like Independence and Heroes days,” said Rtd Col Farai Jeyacheya, director of the trust.
Various sporting competitions between Ireland-based Zimbabweans and South Africans were organised to mark the event. Highlights included the Zimbabwe Independence Soccer Trophy, which was won by South Africa, and the Netball Trophy that was lifted by the Zimbabwe team.
Other activities include a fashion show and live music performances by leading immigrant stars, including Zimbabwean artist Kyria Dee, Pamela Chiriseri and the Nigerian comedian Fabu D.
The occasion was also graced by some distinguished guests, among them the South African Ambassador to Ireland Jerry Ndou, Rochestown district chairman Michael Chester and Dun Laoghaire Cllr Devlin Cormac (Fianna Fáil), chairman of the Zimbabwe Community Network Ireland Masimba Emmanuel Mwad-iwa and Eric Yao, director of the Africa Centre.
