A harmonious summer of festivals ended with a violent clash at Festival Eritrea in Earlscourt Park this Saturday.
Protestors aired grievances with the government of Eritrea: violence, forced conscriptions, and human rights violations.
Nine people were injured, and riot police were called. The festival had its license revoked.
Celebration turned into tragedy.
In Toronto, we don’t expect a festival to be the arena of violent conflict.
But many festivals, although expressions of joy, have a back story of pain and suffering.
Carnival came out of slavery. Toronto’s Rastafest came out of local repression. Salsa was born out of New York’s toughest neighbourhoods.
Although jarring, it’s not so strange to see that pain cut the joy this weekend at Earlscourt Park.
