Beating my head against the wall, primarily. Human rights work is essentially a whole lot of struggle for little to no change, and I'm getting the distinct impression that this will be one of those “no change” projects. Essentially, the background is as follows: when Israel was formed, in 1948, a lot of Arab Bedouins were removed from the Negev (the southern part of Israel, desert land that forms about 60% of the current boundaries of the state) and concentrated in a small area called the “Siyag,” for what the state claimed was a six month period necessitated by security reasons. Of course, six months turned into a few years, which extended into a few more, and the displaced Bedouins were forced to build shanty-towns in which to live, find means of subsistence aside from their traditional shepherding and agriculture (because they didn't have access to enough land), and otherwise wait for the day they were allowed to return home. In the 1960s, military rule in the Siyag finally ended – by that time, the Bedouin population had exploded and tensions between the Jews and Bedouins were running pretty high. For many different reasons, most Bedouins remained in their current locations while filing land claims with the government to get their ownership of the land officially acknowledged. The government froze the claims process, refused to grant ownership to pretty much all Bedouins, and began its process of creating a permanent underclass. As it stands today, there are some 80,000 Bedouins living in shacks without any municipal services (water, electricity, etc.), and another 100,000 living in townships planned by the state to concentrate the largest number of Bedouins onto the smallest amount of land. These townships were planned without any respect for the Bedouin tradition or way of life – not only are they planned over land some Bedouin claim (which means other Bedouin cannot enter the land, because it doesn't belong to them), they are lacking in the necessary divisions between the male and female spheres that accord women some freedom, and have no public areas, places of meeting, or other basic social necessities. Recently, the government has “recognized” nine of the formerly unrecognized villages (shanty-towns), but this recognition has resulted in very little improvement, in large part because the underlying land claims are still unresolved.
Recently, a government order composed a new committee to study and resolve the land-claim issue. The Bedouin community is skeptical – there have been tens of committees through the years, and nothing has been accomplished – but the government seems to think this is the silver bullet the situation needs. Our task is basically to gather a bunch of information, make some recommendations, and submit our report to the committee (which is open to public participation) in the hopes that they will, at the least, make an informed decision (it will still be bad, but at least they can't claim ignorance). To that end, the team in October interviewed a bunch of Bedouins, and we have spent the last week interviewing mainly academics and government officials. I have to say, as graciously as their time was (usually) offered, these government people are incredibly racist and biased in their policy-making. The obvious goal is the Jewish state, which would ideally have no Arabs. As that isn't the case, the second-best strategy is concentration into tiny towns, while Jewish settlers are granted hundred-plus acre farms with little struggle. The state refuses to acknowledge any Bedouin right to these lands, and takes the position that the Bedouins are essentially invaders. In one meeting with an official from the Ministry of Housing, we were told, “What if the Mexicans came into America and settled where they wanted, in Arizona or New Mexico? That wouldn't be allowed, right?” I'm not sure the comparison is apt.
Over the past few years, the plight of the Bedouin has been gaining more international attention, which is why the government is so urgently trying to resolve the “situation.” I would urge all of you to read up on the issue and share the story with others – the best way to fight cases of injustice is to force people to face the issue head-on.
(If you don't feel like reading, http://www.theunrecognized.com.)
No comments:
Post a Comment