Last Page - Issue 32 - Yemen Times

32 - August 7th thru August 13th 2000, Vol X

Dutch Embassy Gives a Hand to Bani Suwaid Residents

Tawfeek Al-Shara'abi
Yemen Times
Bani Suwaid area consists of a collection of small villages where 11,000 people are living. There are about 37 of them forming part of Dhawran district, Dhamar Governorate. The area is situated between Al-Haimah, Sana'a governorate and Aness, Dhawran district and Wadi Seham. It is considered to be a very remote area. The area is 62km away from the district centre. It is a very beautiful area with natural springs and hot water. The residents' main activities are agriculture and grazing. However, in this area has always been lacking public services. For around 30 years the area has been deprived of schools, water or electricity projects. No sign of a civilized life can be seen in the area.
Taking the initiative, the Embassy of Netherlands was the first to respond positively to pleas for help issued by these people who for over 30 years have been neglected by authorities concerned. The Embassy is planning to establish a-three-class school, medical unit and a water project. The agreement is signed at the headquarters of the Netherlands Embassy and in the presence of Ambassador Martin de la Bey, Dr. Nasser Al-Sanabani, health office manager in Dhamar, Dr. Sanna, consultant of reproductive health in Dhamar, Embassy of Netherlands, sheikh of Bani Suwaid, Hatem Mohammed Ka'ed Omar, and Mr. Mohammed Saleh Ali Jahzar, chairman of the Bani Suwaid Society. A society has also been established called "Bani Suwaid Society" so as to receive any financial assistance from any interested people or organizations.

Dr. Nasser Al-Sanabani talked about how they came to know about the area and said "We came to know about this remote area almost by accident. When we first saw it we felt as if we have discovered it. We visited the area and found the people living in a very simple and primitive life almost ostracized from the outside world. There are no public, no health, educational and water services.
After that we arranged a visit for Mrs. Yoka from the Netherlands Embassy and Dr. Sanna who has been very influential in making this project a success to help the residents."
Mohammed Saleh Ali Jahzar, secretary general of the society, said "Our area is deprived of almost every thing since the revolution took place in 1962. All the authorities have been ignoring the area. Even the roads leading to the area are very difficult to drive on and are paved at the expense of people. We do highly appreciate all the valuable assistance and help of the Embassy to establish these projects.
The Embassy has provided us with YR 10,000,000 to establish the project. The people of the area are going to contribute with 5% of the total cost of these projects. We will also help with providing laborers and technicians."
Dr. Sanna talked about the deprivation of the residents and said "I visited the area and I was amazed to see almost no trace of a civilian life; no schools, no clean water, no health services, almost nothing. Boys and girls work in grazing the whole day. I have been working in Yemen for 13 years. However, in no place could I find such conditions. There is not even a mosque in the area."Hatem Mohammed Ka'ed Omar, society chairman and the sheikh of the area, said "The area is located between three areas: Bani Matar, Haimah and Aness which resulted in the ignorance of area. We have called upon the authorities concerned to do something to help the people. However, we have been beating a dead horse.
We highly appreciate and count on the services provided by the Netherlands government and its Embassy. I on the behalf of the people express my deep gratitude for all their cooperation and help."
His Excellency the Ambassador said "Well, the Netherlands Embassy is very glad that we can do something extra for the people of Bani Suwaid. Normally, the Dutch development assistance is often given to official institutions. However, some times we have to do something extra and I think that the people of Bani Suwaid really deserve this support as they are living in an isolation from the surroundings.
This project consists of the construction of a school and a clinic. We are granting what is equal to $70 thousand. We want this project to be established and then we will continue our support through the health office in Dhamar.

Zamil, and Understanding Tribal Poetry of Yemen

Zamil is a genre of oral literature. It is a tribal poetic tradition. Tribal poetry is thought to be as ancient as the spoken language. The ideal thing in the tribal society is that every man to be able to compose verse, it is part of what is meant to be a tribesman, however, there is no formal instruction in verse composition exists among tribes.
Of course, poets are not specialists, they only do what everyone of the population ought to do, therefore, a tribesman does not compose purely for the sake of art. His sensibility does not separate aesthetic expression from practical life, for every poem is at heart of political and social act. The composition is in response to some actual concrete event that always has practical or spiritual import for the community.
Zamil as a genre of tribal poetry is composed in course of performance. The complete Zamil poem comprises only two lines and it may be recited independently of ritual occasions, oral tradition of this poetry has preserved Zamil poems that are more than a hundred years old. The reciter tells his audience who the poet was if his identity is known and the occasion for which was composed, in addition to other historical information to clarify references in the utterance. The reciter can be anyone who happens to know the poem.
Though one poet is responsible for creating the text, Zamil involves a chorus of men. The Zamil performance may include poetry, instrumental music as well as song and dance, the dance, however, is not an obligatory element of the performance.
The poetic form of the Zamil poem is more interesting musical instructure. The constraint of composition is compression, since the first line of the poem is usually set aside for recognizing the honor of the addressee, there remains only one line in which the poet can address the issue in question. Tenseness of expression is the rule. At its best the Zamil is an aphorism, therefore, it can be said that there is less need for formulas in the composition of the Zamil.
In Zamil, poetry formulas are short, never more than three words and therefore, encompass only a fraction of the entire line.
Zamil has a much greater range of use in social context, being performed at the wedding, religious festivals, the dispute mediations and the ceremonies of atonement. The most important social context, in which Zamil poetry is composed is the dispute mediation, when a serious conflict breaks out between two or more villages, or two different tribal sections, mediators usually arrive chanting zamil poems.
Zamil performance is presupposes tribal bonds of solidarity among its participants, in the dispute mediations, solidarity, means one of steadfastness and resolves of the litigants as well as mediator in the face of conflict. An important dialectic occurs between poetry and social action, for the Zamil both transforms, the social context, through its association with the idea of solidarity and is in turn transformed by it. To compose a Zamil poetry in accordance with the conventions of the poetic tradition is to have a power, to enter into a certain kind of discourse in which honor is created or defended by the poet and persuasion is exercised.