The Egyptian Western Desert: Water, Agriculture ...
17
This is unlike Siwa Oasis, which is characterized by its origins, as we mentioned
before. The people speak the Amazigh language given the ancient Syllabi integration.
Although young people now speak Arabic language and some foreign languages after
the spread of tourism, they still retain the ancient inherited language of Amazigh.
There are clear differences between the residents of Kharga Oasis and Dakhla
Oasis, for example, in terms of physical features. The population of Kharga Oasis is
characterized by its dark skin and hair, brown eyes, unlike the residents of Dakhla
who are characterized by light skin, blond hair and light-colored eyes. This mainly
dates back to the historical eras (Greek and Roman) and their integration with the
local people during the occupation where marriage was wide-spread among them.
The same happened in two villages in Bahariya Oasis (Mendisha and Al-Qasr).
4 Migration
Egypt’s oases have changed since the 1970s. As a strategy to develop the western
sideline of defense for Egypt, the government opened the New Valley equivalent to
the Nile Valley. From here the government has drilled numerous wells and planned
to reclaim a million and a half acres to provide job opportunities for young people.
Also, it aims at providing agricultural crops rather than importing them. It is worth
mentioning that the new wave of investments is made by Arab investors.
A well-known system in the oases is called Mugaala. It organizes the relations
between the landowner and the person who farms the land. It is still a common custom
in the oases despite the immigration of the people from Delta.
It can be said that internal migration from the oases to Cairo, capital of Egypt, is
essentially a migration of poverty and drought to search for jobs. This was evident
from the early twentieth century until the mid-fifties. When Gamal Abdel Nasser
launched the development of deserts through the Desert Reconstruction Authority,
many oases people returned to their lands.
Now, new forms of internal migration have emerged from the delta areas to the
oases to work on agriculture or for other occupations. The migration made some
of the oases remarkably populous, increasing other economic activities that have
not existed before.
The people of Siwa did not turn to internal migration over time believing that
they are special in ethnicity. Moreover, when young people thought later to work
outside their land, they immigrated to Jaghbub Oasis in Libya because it is located
near to Siwa, about 120 km away, and quite close to Siwan in terms of customs and
traditions. Many of Siwa’s young people work in this oasis in the oil fields, but they
do not stay for more than two years because they do not prefer to stay away from the
family as they are closely linked to their parents.
Nonetheless, they do not tend to migrate to Morocco despite the similarity in
language. Jaghbub Oasis relies on Siwa Oasis who provide the agricultural crops to
them every season. This was revealed during the Libyan revolution in 2011, unifying
17
This is unlike Siwa Oasis, which is characterized by its origins, as we mentioned
before. The people speak the Amazigh language given the ancient Syllabi integration.
Although young people now speak Arabic language and some foreign languages after
the spread of tourism, they still retain the ancient inherited language of Amazigh.
There are clear differences between the residents of Kharga Oasis and Dakhla
Oasis, for example, in terms of physical features. The population of Kharga Oasis is
characterized by its dark skin and hair, brown eyes, unlike the residents of Dakhla
who are characterized by light skin, blond hair and light-colored eyes. This mainly
dates back to the historical eras (Greek and Roman) and their integration with the
local people during the occupation where marriage was wide-spread among them.
The same happened in two villages in Bahariya Oasis (Mendisha and Al-Qasr).
4 Migration
Egypt’s oases have changed since the 1970s. As a strategy to develop the western
sideline of defense for Egypt, the government opened the New Valley equivalent to
the Nile Valley. From here the government has drilled numerous wells and planned
to reclaim a million and a half acres to provide job opportunities for young people.
Also, it aims at providing agricultural crops rather than importing them. It is worth
mentioning that the new wave of investments is made by Arab investors.
A well-known system in the oases is called Mugaala. It organizes the relations
between the landowner and the person who farms the land. It is still a common custom
in the oases despite the immigration of the people from Delta.
It can be said that internal migration from the oases to Cairo, capital of Egypt, is
essentially a migration of poverty and drought to search for jobs. This was evident
from the early twentieth century until the mid-fifties. When Gamal Abdel Nasser
launched the development of deserts through the Desert Reconstruction Authority,
many oases people returned to their lands.
Now, new forms of internal migration have emerged from the delta areas to the
oases to work on agriculture or for other occupations. The migration made some
of the oases remarkably populous, increasing other economic activities that have
not existed before.
The people of Siwa did not turn to internal migration over time believing that
they are special in ethnicity. Moreover, when young people thought later to work
outside their land, they immigrated to Jaghbub Oasis in Libya because it is located
near to Siwa, about 120 km away, and quite close to Siwan in terms of customs and
traditions. Many of Siwa’s young people work in this oasis in the oil fields, but they
do not stay for more than two years because they do not prefer to stay away from the
family as they are closely linked to their parents.
Nonetheless, they do not tend to migrate to Morocco despite the similarity in
language. Jaghbub Oasis relies on Siwa Oasis who provide the agricultural crops to
them every season. This was revealed during the Libyan revolution in 2011, unifying