In the city of Wadi al Naam, Israel, the indigenous Bedouin Arabs are being treated like aliens to their own land. There are an estimated 60,000 Bedouins living in the region of Negev (about 170,000 in Israel total) in communities that are unrecognized by the government. This means that the government is not providing them with education, electricity, water, garbage collection, roads, clinics, and even the homes they have built are not legal on the land. It is not uncommon for these communities to be demolished without notice, and with no compensation for the Bedouin's loss. These communities are often surrounded by factories that produce the resources they are not granted access too. Power facilities, military bases, and waste plants surround them, polluting the air and land with no concern.
Bedouin tribes have inhabited the land of Israel before it was even established as a country. They are Israeli, however they choose to live an indigenous life instead an urban one. The Bedouin are a nomadic people, but since Israel's urbanization, they have been forced to become more sedentary and do not rely on their traditional ways to survive. This causes a problem in a country where the government does not recognize them as citizens, and are not provided with the basic rights of a citizen. There are many positive things about urbanization, but it is hard focus on them when a more important matter are the inequalities and harsh standard of living it has created for so many people. The Bedouin being a prime example. Efforts have been made by the Israeli government to help the Bedouin, but they do not concern the needs of the Bedouin and have only been very small efforts. Two schools have been built for the some 170,000 Bedouins, no services provided, and the Israeli government urges the Bedouins living near cities to migrate to territory occupied by enemy tribes (clearly that will not work). Bedouins are not concerned with material gain, nor the nationalistic pride that there country is focused on. Instead of forcing the Bedouin tribes to conform, they should embrace their culture, for it is the true Israel culture.
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/nation/bal-te.israel16sep16,0,3533286.story
1 comment:
this brings to mind the close-to-home worries about things such as "imminent domain". while it is understandable that these people want their land, how much is personal possession prized in the face of the many "gains" that would come with urbanization of the area. Thought provoking, i enjoyed this!
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