Oktoberfest in Lomé, Togo  · Global Voices
Lova Rakotomalala

Beer Fest in Togo in Lomé, Togo via Togo actualités
The month of October is most often associated with Beer fest in Germany. Yet it seems that it is also slowly becoming a tradition in Togo. LoveJoyce Amavi, a blogger in Lomé, The capital city of Togo, denounces the absurdity of such a fest in his city. He writes in “L‘âge de la bière” (the age of beer) [fr]:
Si en Allemagne, pays inventeur, ou tout au moins, grand producteur de bière, la fête de la bière (die Oktoberfest), est cette rencontre coutumière, conviviale, cordiale, chez nous, l’excès suprême d’alcool, et les débordements nuisibles, sont le lot de chaque année [..] D’imaginer près de 100.000 jeunes, à la fête de la bière, et à peine 300, au forum de l’emploi des jeunes, est une blessure profonde.
In Germany, a major producer of fine hops, Oktoberfest is a traditional gathering where people have good, harmless fun. But here every year, the open access to alcohol is an opportunity for drunken obnoxious behaviors [..] To see 100,000 youngsters come to Beer Festival and then merely 300 show up at job fairs saddens me a great deal.