In 2020 Heiner Schmitz catalogued the lives of 16 Bedouin families in the Jordan Valley in his photobook Occupied Lives: Bedouins of the Northern Jordan Valley. He exposed the struggles they are enduring and the persistent repression they face from the apartheid occupation forces.

Since the book was originally published, the families have been re-visited. For many, their living conditions have deteriorated. The updates we have received are as follows:

Abu Khayrie’s family

  • still living and resisting in Al-Faresiya
  • two new Israeli outposts built around the community, which means more control of the land and more pressure through the settlers
  • same living conditions

Jamalat Garwan’s family

  • still living in Fasayil
  • still problems with weak electricity, especially in summer time
  • water can only be accessed on 2-3 days per week
  • new outpost near the village restricts right of movement, controls shepherds when they want to take their sheep to the mountain

Suleiman Rahayla’s family

  • Israeli army destroyed his market two years ago (2020)
  • two new outposts near his village
  • can walk again thanks to his new leg prosthesis which has been funded through this exhibition

Abu Reyed’s family

  • received a demolition order last year, which is a command to remove everything he owns: his house and the animal shelter
  • still has no access to water; not allowed to use pipelines and natural springs

Abu Ahmad’s family

  • still difficult living conditions
  • he lost one of his children due to a disease last year (2021)
  • his house needs renovation and repair -> funding needed

Muhammad Bani Odeh’s family

  • still lives in Al-Hadidiya
  • no water, no electricity, no road
  • no school, so that children have to walk 3-6 kilometers to the road to take the bus which drives 25 km to the next school

Turky family

  • lives in Ibziq village
  • 2021, the Israeli military confiscated the machines, tractors and cars of the whole community
  • when they got them back, the people had to sign a document saying that they are not allowed to use their machines, tractors and cars in the same community again
  • same living conditions: no water, no electricity, no road

Abdelrahman Bsharat’s family

  • lives in Al-Hadidiya, therefore they face the same problems as Muhammad Bani Odeh’s family

Jehad’s family

  • still living in Fasayil
  • new outpost near the village restricts right of movement, controls shepherds when they want to take their sheep to the mountain
  • their house is under risk because they received a demolition order and the case is still in court (since 2016)

Ahmad Aasiy’s family

  • all members of the family have refugee status
  • live near Jericho
  • still not allowed to return to their village of origin
  • his farm in his place of origin is under risk: Israeli army declared the land a security area

Hamdy Ebayat’s family

  • from Fasayil
  • same problems as Jehad’s family and Jamalat Garwan’s family
  • their house is under risk because of a demolition order, the case is still in court (since 2016)

Abu Yussef’s family

  • still living in Al-Auja because they are not allowed to return to their village of origin
  • all family members have refugee status
  • because they have no land to farm on, life is difficult for them in Al-Auja
  • their land in their place of origin is still confiscated

Imu Mohamed’s family

  • they are still resisting in Al-Auja
  • no new problems