Displacement can sometimes be caused by lack of access to water, as was the case for many who fled the Dkaika Bedouin community region in Hebron. Thanks to projects in the region bringing water points closer to people's homes, and the support of the European Commission's Humanitarian Aid an Civil Protection department (ECHO), many families are now able to return. Gruppo di Volontariato Civile (GVC) Palestine's Fadi Arouri tells the inspiring story of water as a means for life back at home.
Four years ago, Suliman Al-Najadah, 70, decided to move with his family from Dkaika Bedouin community in the southern hills of Yatta in Hebron, fleeing from drought and water scarcity.
Suliman and his family, consisting of 25 members, joined the Al-Maleh Bedouin Community in the northern Jordan Valley, where water is more plentiful compared to Dkaika, and where pastoral areas are more spacious.
"In Dkaika we had no water, neither for us nor for our goats and sheep", Suliman said.
About eight weeks ago, Suliman decided to return to Dkaika, after the implementation of the project “Improving access to services, lands and assets to the most vulnerable communities in area C” funded by ECHO.
The project, which was implemented by GVC in partnership with Palestinian hydrology group (PHG), provided Dkaika with a water filling point and an internal water network. Furthermore, the project rehabilitated the community road, which links them to the nearby village of Al-Najadah.
Before the completion of the project, Dkaika residents used to pay the transportation costs of water collected in mobile tanks from nearby filling points from Al-Najadah and Hmeidah villages, which are located about five kilometres away. The cost of the transportation of the water was €10 for each cubic meter, according to Khalil Alkaabana, a representative of the community.
“The completion of the project is a quantum leap for the Dkaika community, which over the past years had to pay the transport of water from the neighbouring villages using rugged roads”, Alkaabana said.
“The provision of a water filling point is therefore a solution to one of the main problems in the community, because it supplies the region with water on a weekly basis and free of charge”. Alkaabana continued saying that “the rehabilitation of the road dramatically reduced the time needed to reach the neighbouring communities by half. Providing Dkaika with water opens the door for a number of people to return to the area”.
Suliman said that many reasons have led his family to return to Dkaika, but the availability of water is considered the greatest motivation for their return. “After we knew about the new services in Dkaika, we decided to return and will not leave the community. Now there is a reason to settle. We rely on herding livestock. Without water we would not survive. Now our community is connected with water, and we are also able to move more easily after the road rehabilitation”, he explained.
“Approximately 90 percent of the community depends on herding livestock as a main source of livelihood”, added Alkaabana.
Aref Daraghmeh, head of Al-Maleh Council, said that there are no sources of drinkable water available in Al-Maleh. This situation forces people to buy water through mobile tanks either from Bardala, Ein Al-Bida, ten kilometres away from the community at the rate of €5 per cubic metre, or from Tammoun village, 40 kilometres away from Al-Maleh, at the rate of €8. Daraghmeh added that Palestinians are taking risks by delivering water through mobile tanks as they are forced to drive on roads controlled by Israeli police that prevent Palestinians from transporting water.
Alkaabana confirms that several families from the surrounding areas, which used to move around in search of water and grazing areas, decided to settle and live closely to Dkaika during herding season after the completion of the project.