RAMY SALAMA

DOHA THE Indonesian embassy hosted the country’s National Day celebration function on Friday.

Indonesian community members and families turned out in large number at the event to enjoy assorted Indonesian cuisine and watch the cultural shows, including rendition of traditional songs, dance, as well as contemporary Indonesian pop music performances.

Muhammad al Aula, the embassy’s third secretary, spoke to Qatar Tribune about the event which he said was organised independently by the community, and hosted by the embassy.

It is intended to be a platform to bring together Indonesians in Qatar and to provide a space for them to interact. It offers a great opportunity for the embassy to share information with the community, and also served to improve Qatar-Indonesia relations through showcasing of our culture to the public,” Aula said.

The event was primarily coordinated and advertised through social media such as Facebook, a social network site, as well as through e-mail. Mahe, who attended the function, said he found out about the event through Facebook.

He was there to meet friends and enjoy Indonesian dishes such as bakso urat, pempek palembang, batagor, soto mie and sate padang, all of which were available in the event’s bazaar area.

The Indonesian community in Qatar numbers about 35,000. The Indonesian National Day was in August. But the celebration was deferred this year because of the Holy Month of Ramadan which ran through the same period.