August 06 Newsletter

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When Will Our View of the Bedouin Change?
Ayman Shawki, trans. Sandy Choi

The people of Egypt’s outlying governorates do not feel comfortable when they hear the word “Bedouin.” This is not because the word itself carries any negative connotations, but because it has, for the most part, been tossed about in a context that makes many Egyptians view them as foreign or alien in the homeland, creating a negative feeling among those who describe them by this name. If we were to research the actual reasons for this false image, we would find that in most cases they are due to factors for which the Bedouin are not responsible as much as the state agencies that are involved, and that many of the accusations with which some Bedouin are charged are only natural reactions to a long series of discriminatory practices that emanate from an outdated culture of security that is obsolete in an age of revolutionary changes in telecommunications, satellite communication, intercontinental ballistic missiles and the greater ease in dealing with residents of Egyptian outlying governorates. It is a culture that says the danger lurking in the shadows waiting to ambush us is always hidden within our borders.

This has been reflected in the troublesome degree to which these citizens are committed to their mother country and the primacy of the security apparatus in engaging them, to the extent that it was on the verge of becoming a fixed doctrine for these agencies. It led to  banning residents of these governorates from a number of official positions and important professional posts and  dealing with the Bedouin with such excessive sensitivity towards security – as if they were not Egyptians – without taking into account the serious negative impact of this on the minds of these citizens. Likewise, the agencies have jurisdiction over these governorates that possess plenty of great potential to bring Egypt out the morass of militaristic agencies that have imbued civilian life with a military and security-focused character to the point where they nearly run the affairs of daily life, making the average citizen not feel like he is living under the protection of a fully-fledged civil system like in most other governorates of the republic.

In order for us to correct the distorted picture that has been drawn of the Bedouin, it is necessary to clarify that “Bedouinism” is in and of itself not a nationality or race that can be used to define a group of people. Rather, it is a way and style of life determined by the surrounding environment. We must remember that our tribes in the outlying governorates are Arab tribes whose origin and lineage has been known for hundreds of years and who hold fast to many of the principles and noble values sorely missing in today’s world, though they are not devoid of some of the flaws that are considered no longer compatible with this age in which we live. These tribes took up a major challenge at the start of the twentieth century when they clashed with the process to draw the imaginary political borders between parts of the big Arab nation. They became the first victims to find themselves either confined or divided by these borders, most of which became in effect centers of tension and regions of heated contestation between our Arab sister countries. The price for this was paid mostly by the descendants of the tribes, who found themselves forced to cooperate with this new reality that pushed them to seriously consider the process of settling down and adopting modern governments, for a number of reasons.

But despite devoting decades to this experiment, the result was not what they had hoped for. Bedouin villagers, waiting for the train of development, found impatiently that state institutions had arrived and that they had to deal with rigid bureaucratic agencies that were shackled by the chains of routine and traditions, drowning in corruption, and putting up obstacles and hindrances more often than they were presenting actual opportunities. In the end, these facilities offered by the state to create stability and development failed to meet their needs and even failed to earn the simple respect of the Bedouin citizens.

This was due to the former’s lack of appreciation for the special circumstances and the nature of these communities, which became more and more like islands isolated from reality. Therefore, we are not surprised if we find a number of Bedouin who are still living to this day without birth certificates, without documentation of their possessions and homes, and even without official marriage documents, choosing to remain in the margins by their own will rather than having this strange situation forced upon them. Even after the discovery of enormous wealth in these governorates, the government did not take advantage of this opportunity to open a new page with the Bedouin and correct the imbalance by establishing development plans that take the social dimension into account and ensure opportunities for real stability and incorporation into the fabric of a strong nation. The government’s indiscriminate and selective development, which served the interests of a limited group, showed that it was not interested in anything except reaping a quick profit without concern for the rights of these local residents to these resources. The policy of total disregard for their existence continued, along with the perception of them as a burdensome guest undeserving even of a place in which to settle. Everyone evaded carrying his burden by considering them as nothing more than folklore, taking commemorative photos of them at rest or at celebrations before bequeathing to them a destiny ending in social extinction.

After this, their lives became even more primitive, knowing nothing of things called “human rights” or the right to citizenship. The Bedouin citizen found himself in an unenviable situation. He still lives in a tent on the ground, sheltered by the sky, and he struggles alone to survive waves of drought and desertification while searching for a drop of water in the country of the Nile. Under his feet, rivers of petroleum gush forth night and day, and in front of his eyes lay the grandiose vacation resorts from which he derives no benefit to speak of. This added insult to injury, as if the state of dispossession and suffering in which he lives were not enough, and thus he became the first at whom fingers of accusation point when anything goes wrong.

The deteriorating situation of the Bedouin is further aggravated by the overall decline of the political and economic situation with the state of the country, and the continued moral collapse of society that seeps into a Bedouin community that has wanted to be connected to urban life with all its distinguishing features and luxuries. Bedouin society has absorbed all these urban weaknesses and diseases that they have traditionally considered degeneracy or apostasy.

The younger generation of educated youth among the Bedouin descendants, considered the elite, have paid dearly as a result. They had hoped to revive their society without abandoning its principals and identity, like those who are like their peers in the Arab Gulf states, who succeeded in realizing this great renaissance for their society.

If we look at Bedouin society today, we find that tribalism did not simply provide social protection for all, but also became the first and only authority in determining the fate of its descendants. It is the strongest link in the society in the absence of any alternative civil links. This erroneous situation had a negative effect on the political, economic and cultural life of the Bedouin people, and you can imagine how bad things would be if this tribal authority of chiefs and sheikhs, who enjoyed satisfaction and respect in accordance with accepted standards of Bedouin society, was imposed upon and the appointment of chiefs and sheikhs fell into the hands of the security agencies alone.
 
The first and most important standard would become their approval of these leaders to the extent that the security agencies can deal with them as if they were merely employees under its authority and not public figures with stature and prestige.

 The Bedouin community has been deprived of something most precious: trust, which is the foundation of all Bedouin culture. The Arab tribes in our outlying governorates wound up finding themselves under the continued pressure of the negative gaze of others, which massed them all together in a tight corner and did not grant them to move to correct this flawed image.

 Day after day, it is transforming the big prison that began with the demarcation process into a place that is so cramped it nearly chokes them. By nature this issue has attained a great deal of importance, especially in the grave situation in which the world around us and our dear country, Egypt, live. The Bedouin are known to be one of the first targets in this region, especially with the re-emergence of the specter of Colonialism, towering over us with its overt plans for partition through a series of wars and conspiracies that befell us and then our African brothers.

Therefore, we hope that all the faithful of this country will bear full responsibility and act with integrity towards their homeland by endeavoring fully to restore the lost confidence of the Bedouin resulting from the long accumulation of wrongful practices, and by abstaining from tampering with patriotism at this important stage as to not contribute unintentionally to crumbling the solid rock of the nation and transforming it into a pile of dust. With an outlook towards diversity, we consider the Bedouin as people who enrich the life of our country.

 They are equivalent to the outer skin that defends the nation and represents it by bearing pain and danger. They are the natural and powerful link between Egypt and its Arabic and Islamic surroundings.

The welfare of the nation demands that we maintain the nourishment and health of this outer skin, and thus the creation of enduring development and justice for these regions without resorting to the use of sedatives or temporary methods that overdose on emotional excitement only to disappear with the passage of time and the forgetfulness of innovation. We want to be careful not to allow the steam locked inside closed containers to build up while enemies of the state wait for the appropriate moment to raise the lid off it in order to achieve their own purposes.

The time has come for us to do justice to all of the tribes in Egypt’s outlying governorates. History, past and present, can attest to their patriotism and nobility in difficult times, although it unfortunately did not love them and sing their praises because they did not boast of their temperament and performance of duty.

 It does not make sense for the Bedouins to always pay the price of wars and border tensions onlyto be denied the fruits of peace and stability.