Tal Adler and Naim Garbea
unrecognized
A struggle for recognition
Project promoted by Love Difference
The Negev Desert in Southern Israel comprises more than half of the country’s
area yet houses only 8 percent of its population. Remote from the economic
and cultural center of the country, it is home to the poorest towns and
villages in Israel.
The indigenous people of the Negev, living there since long before the establishment
of the state of Israel, are the Bedouin. Although they
are citizens of the state they do not enjoy equal rights. The most grievous
offences against them concern the use and ownership of land. The Negev,
once the exclusive territory of the Bedouin, is Israel’s greatest
land reserve, and the government wishes to keep it for the future use of
the Jewish population (the Bedouin are Muslims) as well as for military
exercises. Out of 143,000 Bedouins in the Negev, 76,000 live in 45
unrecognized villages. It is illegal to build houses on that land.
The population in these villages ranges between 600 and 4000 inhabitants
each. The residents of these villages do not enjoy basic services such as
running water, sewage, electricity, access roads and public transportation,
health services, communication facilities, education, welfare, municipal
infrastructure, etc. All this while in the very same territory Israel sets
up the so called “individual ranches". These
are large farms given by the government to mostly Jewish individuals or
groups along with subsidized infrastructure and generous institutional support.
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's own private farm in the Negev encompasses
roughly 1,200 Acres.
Ever since the 1950’s Israel has been doggedly trying to hem in the
Bedouin into ever-smaller tracts and eventually into seven government-sponsored
towns in the area. This policy encourages Bedouin living in the unrecognized
villages to trade their lands in exchange for elementary municipal services
in these towns, which were built with no participation of the Bedouin in
the planning process. The systematic erosion of their traditional culture
and physical resources has predictably led to high crime rates and extreme
poverty in the Bedouin towns.
Today we are witnessing the dramatic process of the destruction of the Bedouin
culture and its transformation into a bitter, poor and crime ridden society.
Project Description:
The project wishes to expose the conditions in which the residents of the
unrecognized villages live in, to raise public support in the struggle for
recognition, and to base the agenda that the struggle for recognition is
a Civil struggle. The project is constructed around four main axes:
1. A comprehensive photography exhibition of portraits
and stories from the 45 unrecognized villages.
2. A complementary publication with the photographs and
stories from the exhibition, and additional material such as specially commissioned
articles, maps and correspondences.
3. A dedicated website hosting an online petition campaign.
4. International events featuring open public discussions
between residents of the unrecognized villages, human rights activists and
representatives of the Israeli government.
For information:
www.itemz.org
Download
the printable .PDF file
