A Special Visit from the Afar Community

“This to me is heaven and the best day I’ve had since arriving in Australia”.

“The camels are such an important part of our culture and my life. Being here is bitter-sweet and reminds me of home”.

“I love the camels. What a gift these beautiful animals are”.

We recently had a very special visit from members of the Afar Community, organised by a lovely lady Jessica who had previously visited our farm with her family.

Jessica tells us that for many of the older generation, seeing the camels was a big deal. They had not seen camels since they arrived as refugees in Australia. For the younger generation, it was something new and hopefully they now have a greater awareness of how important the camel is within the Afar culture.

Members of the group are mostly from the Eritrea Region who now live in the Ipswich and Goodna areas.  They were amazed that there is a Camel Farm so close to where they now live.

When the group arrived we took them on a private tour of the farm.  They had many questions about Australian Camels and what we do at Summer Land Camels.   As with most of our visitors, Nari the baby orphan camel was a big hit.

For something special, our cameleer Toni hooshed one of our very quiet Camels Evie, and they were able to pat her and take photos.

Our staff felt privileged to be able to watch some of the elders singing a traditional song to the Camels, which is known as Gali Sare.  These songs focus on praising camels and they reflect the psychological, social, cultural and religious importance of the camel in their culture.

Watch the video to hear Mohammed tell us in his own words about the significance of camels to their community and what they thought about their visit to Summer Land Camels.  Watch the end to see "Gali Sare" traditional Camel songs.