Monday, Sept. 22, Blaine and I drove down to the Negev Desert to visit a Bedouin school for handicapped children. It is in Tel Sheva, which is outside of Ber Sheva. The school was built by the Israeli government for the Bedouins. The Bedouins rate of handicapped people is 4% of the population, compared to a normal rate of 2%. This is because they marry cousins within their tribes. The school is run by Bedouins under the authority of the Israeli Government. They asked us not to take pictures of the children's faces.
Blaine playing with one of the children
Nap time for the children
The buildings are new, modern, spacious, bright, cheery, and have lots of windows. They need a lot of equipment and furniture.
When Blaine e-mailed them before we went down, they expressed an interest in hygiene kits so we took a load down with us. They were very happy to get them and were impressed with the quality. One of the staff said it may be a first toothbrush for some of them. This was the group that helped carry in the boxes.
The girl (second from the left) was interesting. She is originally from a secular Jewish family in Florida. She first became interested in Judaism in high school and then became religious while she attended Dartmouth College. She moved to Jerusalem and made aliya ( moving from the diaspora to Jerusalem). After living in Israel awhile, she made a Jewish vow to not touch men, except immediate family. When Blaine went to shake her hand, she pulled it away. She contacted a matchmaker and she lined her up. The first match was not a good one so she went back a second time. This time the matchmaker lined her up with another American who had also made aliya. They dated for one month never touching and then married. I asked her if it had worked out. She said she is extremely happy and they have 1 baby. Maybe they have the right idea. It sounds a lot easier than the way we do it.
This is the staff and support team. They are all Bedouins but the two women in the right half of the picture (and Blaine and me).
This man was the physiotherapist and was anxious to practice his English with us.
We then drove to David Ben-Gurion's kibbutz that he lived in the latter part of his life. When he was prime minister, he was visiting troops in the Negev and came upon this kibbutz. He was so impressed with their determination and love of the desert that he decided to join them at S'de Boker
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Near the kibbutz was a canyon and water fall that Blaine hiked. It was hot so I waited for him under a tree. When he got back to the car, he was bleeding. He had tripped and fallen on his face hurrying back so I wouldn't get too hot. What a sweetheart.
This area reminded me alot of Southern Utah.
There were Ibek all over the desert.
This is David and Pauline Ben-Gurion's burial tombs.
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Blaine and Linda looking out over the Negev.
Say "cheese".
We then drove to the oldest kibbutz in the Negev, Kibbutz Revivim. We talked with a resident and she said it is still communally owned. They have meals together and they have day care for the children. The children stay with their parents at night. There was an orchard of trees that were formed in unusual shapes at the kibbutz.
These trees are an example of adaptation and perserverance.
Limbs acting as ladder rungs.
The limbs growing around a wheel rim.
We drove through the neighborhood.
There were apartments and homes in the kibbutz.
A typical home in the kibbutz.
We asked if the bikes were communally owned. The resident said they are individually owned and that is where they park them when they catch a bus. None of the bikes were locked.
There were date palm trees lining the kibbutz.
We took a broken branch with dates on it home.
They ripened to a rich brown on our counter and were delicious to eat.
Bedouin villages are numerous throughout the Negev. There are 8 recognized villages and the rest live in unrecognized villages. "There are about 200,000 Bedouins who mostly live in the Negev desert. They are Muslim, but most consider their culture distinct. They call themselves the People of the Desert or the Original Arabs. An Arabic saying describes the hospitality "A Bedouin will kill his last camel to feed his guests." They have generators to provide electricity for their computers and satellite dishes but spend most of their time in their tents in front of their homes. It's a world of poverty and polygamy, where wives squat on the ground washing clothes in plastic buckets while their shared husband chats on a cell phone. It's not unusual for a man to have four wives and thirty children. They're a third world people trying to live in a high-tech country."
The homes are made from corrugated sheet metal.
Where else will you see a camel crossing road sign?
The contrast between the modern energy plants and the humble Bedouin community is stark.
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The sign says it all.
