Cocktails, Diplomats, Mbira and Books

Friday, October 26 2018

I was invited by my friend and Airbnb host Debbie to attend a cocktail party at the home of the Austrian Consulate to Harare in honour of Austrian National Day.  It was a lovely evening featuring entertainment by the Mbira Centre.  I met Milan Djordjevic , Honorary Consul, who is also a dentist and long term resident of Harare, and many other lovely people.

We were entertained by local gentlemen playing the traditional instrument the Mbira.  I was thrilled to add to my book collection Township Girls – The Crossover Generation for two reasons.  First, because it is published locally by Weaver Press Zimbabwe and I met Irene, publisher.  I hope to stop in and get another book that I missed picking up, leading to buyers remorse 🙂  The second reason is that Debbie is friends with one of the authors so my copy will be signed before I leave!  Weaver Press Zimbabwe

We also got to chat with Walter, owner of the very interesting business card and his charming daughter Anastasia.  She is already a globetrotter, having lived and worked all over the world just recently returning the Harare for however long.

The reason for the evening:

The Austrian National Day is celebrated on October 26 and relates to political developments after WW II.

After the end of the War, Austria was occupied by the four Allied forces (Soviet Union, United States, Great Britain, and France), who divided the country into four zones. The capital Vienna was also divided in four, with the historic central district being jointly administered by the “Allied Control Council”. Although the Austrian parliament was democratically elected, every legislative regulation or political action of the government at first required consent by the Allied Control Council and later on could still be vetoed by it.

The negotiations over a State Treaty putting an end to the occupation could finally be concluded in the spring of 1955: the Austrian State Treaty was signed on May 15, 1955, in Vienna’s Schloss Belvedere and entered into force on July 27, 1955.

On October 26, 1955, the Austrian Parliament passed the constitutional law on permanent neutrality, which has been celebrated as the Austrian National day since 1965.