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| Israel-Palestine-Jordan |
| Conservative social code saps the spirit of Gaza's Nawar performers |
| 2006-10-29 |
| GAZA CITY: Seated on her doorstep in Gaza City, Narem puffs discontentedly on a cigarette, then sighs: "We used to be dancers and singers. Now we are nothing." In Europe, they are called Gypsies or Roma. In Gaza, they are called the Nawar, a people with an ancestral tradition of song and dance who have been scattered for centuries throughout the Middle East. But here, the rise of Islamist doctrine that accompanied the start of the second Palestinian uprising six years ago has sounded the death knoll for the Nawar way of life, pushed them into begging and rendered them second-class citizens in a society regulated more and more by rigid rules. "Our life was among the best. We wore the most beautiful dresses, we ate the best dishes. We sang Umm Kalthum, Abdel-Halim Hafez during marriages and celebrations. We were free," says Narem, 35, quickly throwing a scarf to cover her dark, flowing hair whenever a car passes. "We didn't learn in schools, but in the home. With us, you begin to sing and dance while still a child," she says. "My mother danced, my grandmother before her and my great-grandmother also." For decades, the Nawar wandered from city to town in the Gaza Strip and the wider Middle East, showing off their singing and dancing. But the eruption of the second Palestinian uprising in September 2000, led by Hamas, changed all that. "The extremists burned and closed all the clubs. They said it was haram, forbidden that girls dance and sing," Abu Mohammed says, dressed in his worn, faded long robe. "Our ancient life has vanished into thin air and it will not come back." After the start of the second intifada, cinemas in Gaza were shut or burned down, sale of alcohol banned, bathing suits replaced by long-sleeved shirts and pants, and Nawar performances no longer welcomed. "What can we do now, fly away? No, so we beg in the bazaars," says Narem, saddened by the happy memories. Despite the difficulties, the Nawar do not want to leave. They have been on this land for centuries and consider it their home. ... then they came for the Gypsies, so I posted this article at Rantburg ... |
| Posted by:mrp |
| #8 Gypsies, Tramps, and Thieves, we hear it from the mullahs in the town, |
| Posted by: Cher 2006-10-29 21:08 |
| #7 The Arabs are starting to be very frightening of the Iranian Janissaries, aka Hamas. Those in power are making noises to point out how drab and unpleasant life can be if Hamas/Iran takes over, trying to prepare the locals for some political manueverings in the future. |
| Posted by: Shieldwolf 2006-10-29 18:32 |
| #6 Their chance of surviving after a critical article quoting them got any publicity is ... I did a google search on "Nawar Gaza", and the article has been picked up by several publications, including the Gulf Times. According to this article, there are about 1000 Nawar in Gaza. The scattered Roma tribes in the ME tend to adopt the religion of their locals, at least nominally. Interestingly, at least before the 2nd intifada, Gaza Nawar would travel to Israel to beg. The fact that the article appears in the Gulf Times as well as the Daily Star is a curious thing. The theme appears to be: before Hamas took over, we had parties, singing, and belly dancing, now that Hamas is calling the shots (more or less), the kill-joys (controlled by Tehran) are in charge. In the greater scheme of things, this piece seems more anti-Hamas, and by extension, more anti-Iran than it is pro-Gypsy. |
| Posted by: mrp 2006-10-29 16:30 |
| #5 The Roma are not muslim, including this tiny group. They are a tiny minority with long-ago roots in India who have not exactly been welcomed in most of the places where they've travelled since then. Spain, Italy, Germany, the eastern European countries, for example. The Nazis sent them to the death camps. The Communists did the equivalent. These are small family groupings. Their chance of surviving after a critical article quoting them got any publicity is ... now where did I put that magnifying glass?? |
| Posted by: lotp 2006-10-29 16:06 |
| #4 "For decades, the Nawar wandered from city to town in the Gaza Strip and the wider Middle East, showing off their singing and dancing. "Our ancient life has vanished into thin air and it will not come back." So, Miss Narem, if I understand you correctly, you're saying all this islamist shit is not really as tolerant as the Masters of Taqiyya would like for those of us in the West to believe? Yet, you don't have the courage to do anything about it except to sit there and feel sorry for yourself. I'd like to watch you dance. I'd like to hear you sing. Allow me to suggest the Nawar get off their collective asses and make some positive changes in your society. Start by telling anyone who will listen (which excludes the BBC, Rueters, UPI, and AP, NYT, WaPo, and LAT) the unvarnished truth. Start telling the world the oppression/repression, poverty and sickness in the Gaza Strip (and West Bank) does not come from Tel Aviv and Washington. It comes from islam and the apologists for islam in the EU and UN. The peoples of the West Bank and Gaza Strip are a wrecked people not because of the jews and Great Satan, but because you (?) and your neighbors are muslim. When are you going to admist the truth? |
| Posted by: Mark Z 2006-10-29 16:01 |
| #3 the death knoll What? They imported it from Dallas? dawgs with outboard motors Makes any dog into a water dog and more fun than a barrel of monkeys! |
| Posted by: Zenster 2006-10-29 13:44 |
| #2 Within a week of Hamas' electoral victory, there was talk of imposing jizya on non-Muslims living in Gaza and the West Bank. Meanwhile, in Iraq and the Palestiniaa-controlled territories, Arab Christians are voting with their feet, leaving their homelands for more tolerant countries. |
| Posted by: mrp 2006-10-29 12:07 |
| #1 "We used to be dancers and singers. Now we are nothing." Yeah, I've seen 40 in the rearview mirror myself. Still the old standbys work. Women, dawgs, chillrens, ducks, acid, outboard motors, acid, dawgs with outboard motors, cameras, high explosives, etc. |
| Posted by: 6 2006-10-29 11:54 |