Rumman Festival: Iraqi culture and cuisine to be celebrated in Glasgow

A mango pickle-making workshop, film screenings and a traditional Eid breakfast are just some of the events at an inaugural festival in Glasgow showcasing and celebrating Iraqi culture this weekend.

Three friends who founded Two Rivers - a social enterprise aiming to unite the Iraqi diaspora in Scotland as well as challenge the often negative narrative of the war-town country - have organised the Rumman Festival to shine a light on Iraq's rich heritage.

On Saturday and Sunday, as Muslims across the world celebrate Eid al-Adha - a major holiday in the Islamic calendar - films, live music, workshops and talks exploring how Iraqis living in the diaspora are contributing to the regeneration of their homeland, will be hosted at Glasgow's Centre for Contemporary Arts.

The festival will also highlight how young creatives inside Iraq are working to shape its future.

Rasha Kamaliddin, who founded the not-for-profit initiative along with friends Vivian al-Haddad and Riezan al-Haddad, told The New Arab she hoped it would bring together the Iraqi community in Glasgow, many of whom have been recently been displaced by war, while others have been in the UK since the 1980s and 90s.

"The community is really fragmented, particularly the refugees," she said, adding that the language barrier and lack of cultural connections hindered integration.

While London has a huge Iraqi community, buoyed by restaurants, shops and social and charitable events, the relatively limited Middle Eastern influence further north has meant immigrants struggle to find a diaspora identity.

"When we first came here [in the 80s] we didn't really have a lot of cultural references, the community was a lot smaller then. We have gotten older but trying to find our identities in diaspora nowadays is not easy.

"We don't have anything that [Iraqi] people have in London, we're missing that element."

L-R: Rasha, Vivian, Riezan, the trio behind social enterprise Two Rivers

As Iraq throws itself into its national project amid sectarian and civil strife, Rumman Festival has steered clear of religious or political ideas, instead focusing on its arts and lifestyle.

It will screen films such as Letters from Baghdad, a biopic of Gertrude Bell who is credited with the colonial creation of modern-day Iraq, and On The Banks Of The Tigris, a musical odyssey that uncovers the hidden - and almost erased - story of Iraqi music.

Paul MacAlindin, musical director of the National Youth Orchestra of Iraq, will also give a talk on how the group was formed, and the weekend will culminate in an Eid brunch at The Project Cafe.

"Through organising the festival, contacting organisations in Iraq, teaming up with them, we want to showcase what’s going on there, show people a new narrative," Rasha said.

"It's not war, it's not IS [Islamic State], there's a lot of people doing great work but we're just not hearing about it. We want to give people a platform where we can showcase these things for them."

With hopes that the festival will become an annual event, Two Rivers also wants to support the Iraqi community in Glasgow by organising day trips for Iraqis and encouraging them to form social connections outside their families, as well as host exhibitions, concerts and food pop-ups to continue to promote Iraq's heritage.

"London has a lot of these events," Rasha said. "Here, people don't know what Iraqis are. We want to create an effective diaspora, focusing on culture and youth - not just what was in our parents' heyday.​"

For more information on Two Rivers and the Rumman Festival visit www.wearetworivers.com/events