Today we had the unique opportunity to visit an unrecognized Bedouin village in the Negev. In this village lived 4,000 people of the Abu-Kweyeder family. We toured the house of our guide’s mother. It was a very nice, concrete, permanent home, and it even had some modern furniture. However, being an unrecognized village, there was no electricity, water, or building permits given to the village by the government. If authorities even found out that they were building concrete houses, the village would most likely be demolished completely. Without government aid, the village ran solely on solar power and manual labor.
In addition to the children and people, we saw horses, goats, sheep, camels, and puppies. Strange enough, however, there were not any stray cats there…. (Those of you who have been to Israel will know what I’m talking about).
The enormous Abu-Kweyeder family (our guide alone had 9 siblings and 11 step-siblings!) does everything together. All of the children, girls included, attend school together in the village. School is yet another necessity that is not provided by they government to the unrecognized villages. The children learn Arabic starting in kindergarten and Hebrew starting in third grade. Some then go on to become teachers, doctors, or students of other professions in the university. Serving in the IDF is optional for all Bedouins.
This experience was incredibly interesting and educational. We were welcomed into the village with open arms, served drinks, and invited to wedding festivities. That’s right, we happened to visit on one of the first four days of a wedding celebration (weddings last 7 days in Bedouin society). The women from the village were gathered in a tent dancing together, and we had the opportunity to dance with them! Family dynamic in this village was surprising because women seemed to be more included than in other stereotypical Bedouin villages. All women attend school and are treated more fairly in terms of “being their own person”.
Bedouin society has definitely evolved from mobile, tent-based living and male dominance. There are still many differences between the lifestyle and values of Bedouins and Israelis, but Bedouin culture remains alive and well in the Israeli Negev.