Bedouins in Egypt retreat to more traditional way of life to face COVID-19
Since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, the Bedouin community in Egypt, mainly in southern Sinai, that heavily relied on tourism to make ends meet, is retreating deep into the mountains and the desert to live a more traditional life.
Salem Ramadan Musa, a 33-year-old Bedouin from the Jebeliya tribe, used to make a living for years working as a mountain guide for hikers who came to the town of Saint Catherine, in the southern Sinai Peninsula, an area renowned for its trekking routes.
Then, the coronavirus pandemic made a rather intrusive entrance into his world.
With tourists staying away from Egypt and given the economic distress that was put on Musa and his family due to the lack of hiking trips, they decided in mid-May to move to an ancient orchard that belonged to his father in a valley deep into the high mountains of southern Sinai. When they arrived, they fixed the wall surrounding the site and an old well, built a hut to settle and dug a second well. And by taking advantage of the favorable weather and the large amount of water available in the region this year, they started to grow green beans, tomatoes, peppers, aubergines, arugula and corn in order to sustain themselves during this crisis.
“I am happy because I went back to the old lifestyle,” Musa told Al-Monitor.
