They come from southern Tunisia and Zaghouan, Siliana, Sidi Bouzid and Ahwaz and head for the northwest lands rich in pastures and water. They travel with their newborns and elders and set up their tents near valleys, springs and dams. They are shepherds, nomads, or as locally called, ‘Ghannama’.
Inside their tents, they sleep on nylon and carton mats or thin mattress made of rags. Tents lack food stocks and their daily meal may be limited to bread.
They come from southern Tunisia and Zaghouan, Siliana, Sidi Bouzid and Ahwaz and head for the northwest lands rich in pastures and water. They travel with their newborns and elders and set up their tents near valleys, springs and dams. They are shepherds, nomads, or as locally called, ‘Ghannama’.
Inside their tents, they sleep on nylon and carton mats or thin mattress made of rags. Tents lack food stocks and their daily meal may be limited to bread.
The tents are woven from plastic pieces and some worn clothing, fixed by wooden poles and riveted in the ground by thick pegs and iron rods. Large stones are placed between these rods to stabilize them.
The rich ones are able to set the original tent of the Bedouins or what is expressed in their language as ‘hair house’ (made of camel hair).
In hot temperatures, they sleep in sheep stables, unconcerned with reptiles and insects that bite their bodies. They live outside of time and civilization; the common denominator among most of them is their lack of identity papers.
A few of them participated in the elections of October 2011 but did not know for whom they voted. Some do not have any relation with such important events in the history of Tunisia.
“I’m the only one in my family who has identity card, Rida said, “therefore, I am the only one who participated in the last elections. One of my friends, a better-off shepherd, convinced me of the importance of participation and told me that whomever participated in elections would be entitled to claim state aid. He directed me in the voting process. But I do not know for whom I voted,” Rida said.
Dreams of settling
Ahmed, 39 years old, is better off than Rida. He does not need aid from anyone as he owns about 100 sheep. He inherited this profession from his father who had also inherited it from his ancestors. Ahmed is originally from Zaghouan State, 57 kilometres north of Tunis. This summer, he settled in the city of Beja near the Sidi Salem Dam, the largest and richest Tunisian dam.
His pasture journey begins at dawn and he is accompanied by a number of dogs who protect his herd. As the sun rises and the herd becomes sated, Ahmed relaxes under a bush to sleep a bit before the temperature increases.
He didn’t get married because he is afraid of this engagement, afraid for future children, he said. He believes that the fate of his children would be early or slow death. There are two options: they will be either crippled patients or illiterates who know nothing but grazing, with a language of limited terminology and usage.
All what Ahmed hopes is that the state grants him a piece of the abandoned land, which was the arena of Mafia families during the reign of the fugitive president. Then, he could settle down and get married, like other young men, and produce children. He does not want sons to learn this hard profession, he says.
Abandoning the nomadic life
Nabeela, 22 years old, has left this hard life and studies economics at the university in Tunis. “My father has bought me an apartment in an affluent suburb in the capital. I live there with my brother and my parents visit me from time to time and bring us what we need by car.”
Nabeela believes that the new generation, which has the opportunity to live in the city abandons the Ghannama life. “My brother has the chance to work in a marble factory. He only accepts to live in the wild on a temporary basis,” she says. “As for me, I return on holidays to help my mother in grazing and tent affairs. I like the prairie life despite its harshness.”
No life for children
Shukri is 32 years old and married. His fifth newborn escaped the death caused by instability, movement and the accompanying consequences.
Behind his tent, there are dozens of sheep but he does not in fact own them. Shukri is one of the few remaining ‘Khammaseh’ or share farmers; his annual share of hard labour is 24 sheep. He intends to collect a certain number of sheep to become a ‘Ghannam’, a sheep owner.
Shukri explains that responsibility makes him more afraid for his employer’s herd, especially at night. Thus, he depends on a number of guard dogs. He admits that he treats his dogs as he does his babies.
At a corner of the tent sits his 24 year-old wife, Samia who got married at 17. “I am satisfied with this life despite its harshness,” she says. “I stick together with my sick husband who can’t have dangerous professions, such as construction.”
Samia tries to protect her baby from flies and to moderate the heat so he can sleep quietly, even if only for a few minutes. She does not, however, wish this life for the future of her son. She hopes that he will study and escape from this difficult life.
Several of meters away, Hmayed, 48 years old, sits in front of the tent where he has lived since his youth. He says that the happiest period in his life was when his family settled near a city for three years, where he was able to send his two sons to school. Once he moved to another place, however, his sons had to drop out of school and join him to practice grazing.
His colleagues consider him the best ‘Ghannam’ in this region because he has a TV that is run by a small battery, on which he and his neighbors watch some programs.
Mubaraka is a mother of three sons. She does not know her age and also does not have identity papers. She has multiple roles: a doctor who heals with herbs whenever a member of her family gets sick; a mother who cooks food, cleans the tent and sprays water to cool it; and sometimes a shepherd to compensate for her husband’s sickness. She knows nothing about make-up or its tools. Her husband admires her for her ability to work and help him.
Arab nomads get married and breed in traditional ways. They live a tough life. Some still stick to this lifestyle as the trust of the ancestor; while others have refused it after experiencing the aspects of civil life. Between this and that, settlement remains a common requirement of most of nomads.
