希望の象徴「バビロン国際フェス」、２０年ぶり復活　イラク

【ヒッラＡＦＰ＝時事】イラクで２０年ぶりに、伝統舞踊や音楽、芸術の祭典「バビロン国際フェスティバル」が復活した。（写真はイラク・バビロンで開催されたバビロン国際フェスティバルの開幕式でパフォーマンスを披露するアーティスト）
　会場となった首都バグダッド南方のバビロンの古代遺跡を娘２人と訪れたシャイマさん（４５）は、「とてもうれしい。こうしたイベントは何年も見ていない」と話した。
　バビロン国際フェスティバルが最後に開催されたのは２００２年。翌年には米国主導の有志連合がイラクに侵攻し、長年独裁を敷いたサダム・フセイン政権は崩壊した。
　イラクはその後、米国との戦争や反政府組織、部族間、イスラム過激派組織「イスラム国（ＩＳ）」との戦闘が続いた。数万人が亡くなり、国土の大半と豊かな文化遺産はがれきの山と化した。
　ＩＳによる攻撃が散発し、政治的緊張が続いているものの、現在国内の状況は比較的安定しており、国民は未来に期待を持ち始めている。１日まで５日間にわたり開催されたバビロン国際フェスティバルは、希望を象徴するものの一つとなった。
　国内はもとより、ヨルダンやセルビア、ロシアなどのアーティストの作品が、古代メソポタミアを支配したバビロニアの首都だったバビロンに展示された。
　シャイマさんは「私たちが経験した厳しい試練を考えると、根本的な変化が起こった」と語る。
　フェスティバルは１９８７年に初開催された。会場となっているバビロンは、国連連教育科学文化機関（ユネスコ）の世界遺産に登録されている。
　パフォーマンスのメイン会場は、アレクサンダー大王が紀元前３１１年ごろに建設した劇場だ。
　会場のわずか数百メートル先には、フセイン元大統領が建てた宮殿の一つが残っている。
　石油資源が豊富なイラクでは、数百万人が貧困状態で暮らしている。汚職が横行し、インフラは破壊されたままのところが多く、文化事業は今でも後回しにされている。
　バビロン国際フェスティバルの責任者モハメド・ルバーイー氏は、私財を投じ開催にこぎ着けたと語った。
　会場近くの宗教学校からの苦情を受け、フェスティバルの開催直前にバビロン県知事が中止を要請するなどの問題もあった。しかし、フェスティバルは開催された。
　バビロンの南に位置するディーワーニーヤから訪れたアリ・サレーさんは「歌いたければ自由に歌える」と語った。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2021/11/04-12:49）

Showcasing traditional dance, music and arts, Iraq's Babylon International Festival has attracted thousands of fans for the first time in two war-scarred decades.
It's a great joy. We haven't seen a festival like this for years, said Shaima, 45, visiting the event at the ancient archeological site with her two daughters.
The last edition of the festival was held in 2002, the year before the US-led invasion that toppled the veteran dictator Saddam Hussein.
In the years after, Iraq saw war between US troops and insurgents, sectarian clashes and the battle against the Islamic State group. Tens of thousands died and much of the country and its rich cultural heritage were reduced to rubble.
Today there is relative stability, though marred by periodic IS attacks and political tensions, and Iraqis are looking to the future. The five-day festival, which ended Monday, is one of the symbols of this new hope.
The arts showcase, staged in what was the capital of the ancient Mesopotamian state of Babylonia, this year drew artists from dozens of countries including Jordan, Serbia and Russia as well as homegrown talent.
It's a fundamental change compared with the terrible ordeals that we suffered, Shaima said.
- Rooted in history -
The festival, first launched in 1987, was staged at the majestic UNESCO World Heritage site of Babylon, south of Baghdad.
Most performances were held in the Babylon theatre which Alexander the Great built around 311 BC.
Because history, both ancient and modern, is never far away in Iraq, one of the palaces Saddam built still stands just a few hundred metres (yards) from the Babylonian ruins.
In the shadow of a replica of Ishtar Gate, built originally by Nebuchadnezzar II around 575 BC, Iraqi photographer Haider al-Masalmawi was showing his work to visitors.
He voiced hope that the festival would relaunch art, culture and even the economy of Iraq. It's a showcase.
Egyptian performer Mohammed Fathy said he was happy to be back in Iraq, as melodies from his Al-Ahram group played in the background.
I came here as a dancer in the 1990s and returned today as stage manager, he said.
A Serbian folklore group along with Jordanian and Palestinian practitioners of dabkeh, a Middle Eastern line dance, were rehearsing their show.
Yasser al-Ardawi, head of the Jordanian troupe, while arranging his red and white keffiyeh head covering voiced confidence that the festival's return means that security and stability have returned to Iraq.
- 'Free to sing' -
Funding for culture is still often an after-thought in Iraq, a corruption-plagued country with crumbling infrastructure where millions live in poverty despite the nation's vast oil wealth.
The festival was financed privately, said its executive director Mohamed al-Rubaie, adding that the event also faced other challenges.
Babylon is located close to the Muslim Shiite shrine cities of Karbala and Najaf, both socially conservative centres of religious study.
Two days before the festival's opening, the governor of Babylon province, Hassan Mendil, demanded the cancellation of concerts at the festival in response to calls from religious students.
But the song and dance shows went ahead.
It's a joyous festival that reflects Iraqi culture, Rubaie said. Of course there are some fears and we take into account the opinion of others.
Those fears were brushed off by festival visitor Ali Saleh from Diwaniyah, south of Babylon.
If I want to sing, I am free to do so, he said.