An election visit in an unrecognized village near Nevatim

A visit to Muhammed Abu Kvaidar in the unrecognized Arab village near Nevatim

We arrived at the village and headed to the home of Mahmoud Abu Qwider, who lives with his three wives, all his sons and some of his daughters and grandchildren. We were greeted by a coffee prepared in the best tradition over glowing coals. There are about five hundred people  in the village, all of whom are Abu Qwider clans.

We were greeted by one of the Abu Qwider family carrying his son, a sick toddler and sick son. He began to talk about the difficulties he has about one of his wives who is originally from Gaza. The authorities refuse to give his wife and ID, so she lacks any civil rights even though she lives in the village and raises her children there. This situation is very problematic because the mother finds it difficult to get minimal services for herself and her children. In the beginning of the meeting, our host, the father of the family, had to leave and take his son to the emergency room of Soroka Hospital in Be'er Sheva, since the child had a fever and was vomiting.

The people initially gathered in separate circles of men and women. The home meeting started with a conversation between the women and the activists of We stand together : Jadir, Michal and Daphne. The main speaker was the wife of the head of the village Mahmoud Abu Qwider, who later arrived and also settled near the women.

The circle widened, as the men joined the circle, but they still sat separately.

We, too, the activists of We stand together : Yankele, Emanuel, Rafi, Muhammad Abu Quider sat with the men. In addition, several other local men joined the circle. One large circle was formed but the conversation was mostly conducted separately.

Mahmoud Abu Qwider, the grandfather and the head of the family said he was born in Israel about seventy years ago but the state does not treat him and his family well. He spoke with great despair and utter disbelief in Israeli democracy, government and politicians in general. He said their village still exists from the Turkish times, however, the State of Israel treats them as if they were transparent and does not give them the most basic services. There is utter lack of water in the place because the authorities are not ready to connect them to a water sources or to electricity like any other citizen nor to sewerage infrastructure

Jadir said that in the current situation the villagers can do nothing because they are alone in the struggle and therefore must take part in the elections. Yankele added that only if there were political representatives in the Knesset would they be represented. When Mahmoud repeated that he did not believe any politician and their promises, Yankale responded, saying that even parties in the opposition can have an impact on the issues on the agenda. He gave as an example, the possibility that the head of the opposition has the right to bring heads of state and senior representatives who come from European countries to visit the unrecognized villages and also to this village. He said every visitor from abroad had to meet with the head of the opposition. Netanyahu is scared of the Arab vote, because imagine that Ayman Odeh will bring guests to see your situation.

Asked if he knew our movement, he answered in the negative and repeated: "Nothing will help us . We have no water nor place for our children to live and if we build a house due to the housing shortage it is immediately destroyed. We have no rights in the State of Israel. Nobody did anything for us. What did former Knesset Member Taleb Abu Arar do for us? Nothing. Talking, talking, talking. Let's say that Meretz will come to power, what will it help us? They too will forget us after the election."

In response, Yankale replied that the parties on the left have not been in power for over 30 years, but when Rabin was a prime minister was different. Mahmoud reacted positively to this for the first time. Rabin was a good man. But immediately he returned to a tone of despair and pessimism and added skeptically "I don't know if Amir Peretz had been prime minister, it would have been better. Everyone who sits on the chair forgets everything he said.

“Even installing a roof for the house is forbidden. The village has collaborators working with the police. Bibi has now declared that if he succeeds he will annex Jordan as well" (Jordan Valley)." We understood that he was referring to the statement made about this. "The state wants the land without the Bedouin and without their having rights like any citizen.

"Tell me why me Social Security gives 400 NIS for a Jewish child and for a Bedouin only 100 NIS

I told him that I and the other people of the movement, had come to him as neighbors and would be with him too and not just at this moment before the election. I again asked him why we would not work together, it would strengthen us all.

Later Mahmoud told of his family and the hardships of life in the village. "I have 28 children from three women, all the boys lived. Six of the boys are married. The older son is already 50 years old. We live in very crowded quarters and this does not allow for privacy.

Because at that point he was the main speaker who addressed himself to our request that everyone go to vote it was important for him to emphasize his loss of authority over his sons "I can't tell my son to vote in the elections." (We had the feeling that he also did not feel motivated to do so, never mind his authority.)

Another problem that Mahmoud raised is related to the voting process in polling stations located in the Aroer area and in Beer Sheva. Mahmoud raised the difficulties of the women's voting process. The young men crowded at the doors of the polling stations so as to stare at the women who came to vote and this was very disturbing to them and makes them avoid going into the ballot box. He said when he contacted a police officer at the scene, he did nothing to remove the young people from the entrance to the polling station

Summary

The local people, women as men, have many allegations against the state and they convey great despair and pessimism. They have bitter experience with the state authorities and with the leadership and representatives of the people in the Knesset. Their rage to a large extent also refers to representatives of Arab and Bedouin society, who say they have done nothing to improve their condition. They have no faith in the central institutions that run the state and say elections will not improve matters never mind who wins them because all parties are the same.

There was also the problem of the Gaza women who are married to Bedouins, citizens of Israel, married them but the women do not receive Israeli citizenship and are without any status or rights in Israel. Because these women are the main caregivers of the children in everyday life, the children also suffer from this. There is a very bad feeling that they are transparent and no one cares what happens to them. According to them, we are the first to have shown interest in them and this before the elections.

There is no doubt that what we have heard and seen in this unrecognized village exists in many other villages as well. It was important that we did not come from any party and did not tell them who in our opinion they should vote except to the right-wing parties of the current coalition who treat them racially and discriminate against them. For, these parties, we told them, do not vote.