Kokusai Hiroba Café -Around the World- Vol. 66 Sri Lanka & Syria

Date

November , 21^st (SUN) 14：00－15：30

Venue

Online through Zoom

Organizers

Fukuoka International Exchange Foundation

Participation Fee

Free

Audience

To people interested in international exchange

instructors

Ethugal Pedige Berni Ann Thushari (Sri Lanka)
Alhasan M Anas (Syria)

◇ Contents

Opening and introduction of Hiroba Cafe

Introduction of Brazil and Italy by lecturers from each country

 Q&A time and closing of the meeting

(Introduction of each country)

Sri Lanka: Bernie talked about Sri Lanka’s diverse ethnic groups, religions, education, and food.

First, she explained that there are many different ethnic groups living in Sri Lanka, including the Sinhalese (74.9%), who are also Bernie’s ethnic group, and because there are many ethnic groups, there are also many different religions. She explained that the most common religion is Buddhism (70.2%), followed by Hindus (12.6%), Muslims (9.7%), and a small number of Christians (7.4%). She explained that this is why you can see churches, mosques, and other buildings of various religions in the streets of Sri Lanka.

Education in Sri Lanka is free of charge from elementary school to university, and that she was able to come this far because of it. When she came to Japan, it was the first time she had to pay school fees.

  Sri Lanka has an abundance of spices, and they make and eat many kinds of curry in one meal, such as cashew nut curry, dry curry, and potato curry. She also explained that they make more than four kinds of curry in one meal at home. She recommended that we try the cashew nut curry as it was very delicious among the various types of curry. She also explained that tropical fruits are plentiful and cheap in Sri Lanka. There are more than 20 types of mangoes, and the king coconut has a very tasty juice inside, she said to try it when you travel to Sri Lanka.

Syria: Alhassan explained about the civil war and refugee issues in Syria, as well as the history and food.

He explained that the demonstrations that started in 2011 led to the civil war, which is still going on today. The city of Aleppo, where he is from, had a large hotel and a world heritage site destroyed in the civil war. He explained the intensity of the civil war by showing pictures and videos of destroyed buildings. He said that many people had died in the civil war, lost their homes and homelands, and were either going to other countries or becoming refugees. He also explained that due to the civil war, the number of unemployed people has increased, and many children are suffering from poverty because they cannot go to school.

He continued to explain that the original Syria was a very beautiful country with many world heritage sites. He explained that the city of Aleppo has the Aleppo Castle, which was built 5000 years ago and is one of the oldest and largest castles in the world. Explaining that there was a moat around the castle to protect it, and a large wall was built around the town so that when the enemy attacked or invaded, they could go inside the wall to take refuge, thus causing less damage. He also said that Aleppo City has always had a shopping street like the one in Nakasu Kawabata, comparing both photos.

 He explained about the Arabic language. As the common traditional culture between Japan and Syria is calligraphy, he showed pictures and explained the differences in calligraphy tools between Japan and Syria. He also introduced Koichi Honda, a Japanese calligrapher who is active in Arabic calligraphy, and showed us some of his works.

In Syria, yogurt and cheese are often eaten as breakfast. He explained that there are also many other dishes made with rice and meat, among which kippeh is particularly famous. Kippeh is a very tasty dish made of wheat dough with meat and pepper, baked in the oven. He explained that the desserts were also very tasty and very sweet. When he said fed it to her Japanese friend, she said it was too sweet and a little difficult to eat. Finally, he told us that he would like us to visit Syria when the civil war is over.