At the start of April, Sheikh Khazeiri, a 70-old wrinkled-faced Bedouin chief, ordered the members of his tribe to prepare themselves for the summer’s trip to northern Tunisia, as the climate conditions were suitable for the move to their summer location.

They are Tunisia’s nomads, who move from the south to the north in summer, due to sweltering climates, and back to the south in winter, looking for natural conditions that suit their special lifestyle and social activities.

At the start of April, Sheikh Khazeiri, a 70-old wrinkled-faced Bedouin chief, ordered the members of his tribe to prepare themselves for the summer’s trip to northern Tunisia, as the climate conditions were suitable for the move to their summer location.

They are Tunisia’s nomads, who move from the south to the north in summer, due to sweltering climates, and back to the south in winter, looking for natural conditions that suit their special lifestyle and social activities.

They spend winters in their original places in Tunisia’s central and coastal areas and in the summer, they move to the northwest searching for grass and feed for their livestock, which represent their main livelihood. In the summer, they move northward at night with their cattle and luggage.

Khazeiri said the season of moving north started several days ago and he ordered his sons to camp, install water cisterns and build makeshift spaces for cattle using wire fences.

These nomads prepare the place and wait for the other members of women and children to join them after the end of the school year. Khazeiri also said the Bedouin tribes have been leading the same lifestyle for centuries and the modern technology did not tempt them to change their lifestyle. However, he added, terrorism and bandits might force them one day to settle in the cities and end the story of Tunisia’s nomads.

Diverse income

Herding sheep is the tribe’s main activity, yet their livelihoods are diverse and they work in many farming-related activities. They sell sheep’s milk to dairy factories in spring and camel’s milk to people recovering from diabetes and cancer.

“We have customers who come from the Algerian borders just to buy camel’s milk and that they also rent some of their camels to be used in weddings, based on the traditions of the north western areas,” the chieftan’s wife said.

She added that the tribe’s members work with farmers in harvesting the crops using traditional methods in the rugged lands where harvesting cannot be done by machines.

The tribe’s members market their livestock at weekly markets where they live. They are experience in striking deals worth thousands of dinars with butchers and brokers. Khazeiri said his tribe sells 400 sheep every year and that it sells adult and young camels whose prices vary between US $1,100 and $1,400.

Despite the diversity and richness of the Bedouins’ economic activities in Tunisia, the authorities do not have official statistics on the number of tribes living in the mountains, lands and deserts.

Unofficial veterinarians

Being very experienced in keeping livestock, the tribe could be described as veterinarians without certificates. The tribe’s leader and his sons know how to examine livestock and help them deliver their babies in difficult cases. “They can diagnose cases of thrush, the blue tongue and other diseases,” said Khazeiri.

Other keepers of livestock hire them as shepherds for money or a piece of land to graze their own livestock on the harvest remnants. In winter, they resort to other kinds of feed, which are very expensive according to the tribe’s people.

Prey to terrorists

In the winter, the Bedouin tribes sell sheep to collect the money needed to provide for themselves in the coming months. Khazeiri said the tribes now prefer to transfer their sheep via their tracks fearing bandits and terrorists who sneak into the villages looking for food.

Terrorists have already attacked the grazing sheep and attempted to force shepherds to give them food and hide them from the security forces. Khazeiri complained that there are no adequate means to protect them and their livestock; the applicable laws do not allow them to have arms despite the fact that they demanded they are provided with licensed guns to protect themselves.

Khazeiri said that they feel the responsibility they have in light of the difficult security situation in the country, saying he would not hesitate to inform the security forces of any suspicious movement he sees in the area.

The sheikh believes that fighting terrorism is not solely the responsibility of the security forces. The shepherds, he underlined, have an important role to play in exposing the terrorist cells hidden in the mountains provided they are well protected by the security forces. They also face the danger of bandits who steal their livestock.  

In addition, the tribe’s people fear that the fall’s rains would drift the food they have been storing over the summer, making them move quickly with the advent of the fall.