By Yeela Raanan

Last week there were strong winds, rain and cold weather all over Israel, and in the Negev. On Wednesday on my way to work I received a call from Sumaya el Atrash, from the village of Saaweh - it is terrible here - come and see if you can help...

The unrecognized villages are not officially recognized as existing by the Government of Israel, therefore there is no way to obtain building permits. Therefore by default, all homes built are "illegal" and under the threat of demolition. If a family from the unrecognized villages builds a home they must take into account that they may have to build it again... and again...

Sumaya's tin home was built 20 years ago. She since then has become widowed. She is the sole caretaker of a 10-year-old grandson. They live together in a 4x4 meter tin room. The tin is rusted, and there are large holes between the ground and the rust-eaten walls. The roof too has been corroded. Sumaya put some plywood over these holes. But the rain brought down some of these pieces too. We sat in her home - there was wind outside - and inside her "home". There are no windowpanes, only shutters, which were closed to stop the wind from coming in. Sumaya kept the door open a little to let some light in. she was "lucky" she had a broken-down gas heater donated to her, so at least some heat was possible - in a radius of 5 inches from the heater. The gas balloon was also inside the room.

Sumaya's conditions are prevalent in all the unrecognized villages. With no building permits - there are few who take the risk to build real homes, with no roads and no right to build roads - access to the homes is hard on a good day - and last week because of the mud most could not commute out of (or into) their homes. With no electricity - the only fuel available is wood and coal - open fires. Most of the residents of the unrecognized villages cuddled around open fires last Wednesday and Thursday.

When thousands of Israelis last week enjoyed looking at snow from their warm homes and closed windows, thousand other Israelis worked hard to keep themselves, their children and old parents from freezing to death, praying that their home won't be blown away in the winds. The Bedouins in the unrecognized villages live in these conditions, while being citizens of a Western, First World country. It is governmental policies that force them to suffer this way.

For more information: Dr. Yeela Raanan, RCUV.
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