Border settlements in Egypt Between cross-border cooperation & preserving state sovereignty
Dr. Yehya M. Serag Ain Shams University - Cairo
RSA Annual Conference Pecs – Hungary May 2010
A Case-Oriented Study The research tends to examine the impact of political dispute with
neighboring countries on the state’s sovereignty and cross-border cooperation within Egypt’s border settlements and regions This is done by examining four cases, two on the settlements’ level , and two on the regional level. The cases tackled: - The case of the Western Desert Oases -
The case of Sinai
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The case of the twin cities of Rafah
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The case of the village of Ras Hederba (Halayeb triangle)
1-The case of the Western Desert Oases Because of colonial interventions, and the reconciliation between the British occupying Egypt and the Italians occupying Libya , and the alliance of the two countries within the context of World War one, Ghaboub oasis was annexed formally in 1921. Ghaboub was Taken by the Senousi tribes in Libya. At this point, Egypt had no control on its territories owing to the fact that it was under British occupation and considered a British protectorate, hence no sovereignty.
The annexation went smooth as Ghaboub was at the edge of the Egyptian borders, with low population densities and apart from Siwa with 125 Km away. No other forms of human settlements in that area had a significant existence.
2- Sinai : An exchangeable territory
A lagging pace of development in the first half of the 20th century
While Cairo was growing and developing fast, Sinai was a forgotten land
Because of its depopulated characteristics, it was a battle ground in three wars 1973 – October War
1967– Six days war 1956 – Suez War
Sinai witnessed three successive wars and was lost until its full return in 1982
The New Map Policy Sinai was (and is) still considered the most dangerous region in terms of possible future conflicts. This is because of : The very limited existence of human settlements at the Sinai borders and in its depth, makes it easy to infiltrate and attack from the Eastern neighbor . And even if there is some dispersed population in Sinai, such dispersal with low densities cannot organize any resistance or emergency measures in case of any cross-border attacks.
Sinai was included at the first phase of the New Map Policy (1974) to ensure its rapid development and the introduction of new human settlements to form a tangible population, hence becoming a territorial depth of Egypt.
A Lagging Regional Development
Regional Plan for Sinai 1985
Regional Plan for Sinai 1994
3- The case of the Twin Cities of Rafah
Rafah
From Legal to Illegal Cross-border cooperation
Exchanging Hands over Gaza strip and Rafah
Between 1948-1967 Gaza was under Egyptian control, thus both Rafahs were treated as one unit, This situation continued after the six days war until 1982 when Rafah was split into an Egyptian Rafah and a Palestinian Rafah (under Occupation)
Under the Egyptian Administration 1948-1967 Rafah was one city under the Egyptian administration: The cooperation was not cross-border per-se since its one city, yet the city gained its importance from: - The railway Cairo Express serving between Kantara east and Haifa passed by the city, thus making it a transportation node. - Commerce and trade took place between the Egyptian and Palestinian side in Gaza strip with Rafah included as a trade spot - Daily activities of the local residents in Rafah (SinaiPalestine) took place such as farming and sheep gazing. - The social fabric of the two cities was considered one, since marriages and family ties were firmly established. - The education system in Rafah and the whole Gaza strip was based on the Egyptian education system and school books.
Under the Israeli Occupation 1967-1982 o During the 1967 Six-Day War ,Israel captured Rafah with the Sinai Peninsula and Gaza Strip. o Israel made some spatial changes in the area to create patrol routes for its troops, thus leading in some cases to the displacement of certain segments of the population. o However, both cities remained treated as one unit under the occupation. To ensure the new status quo settlements were built by Israel across the border to materialize the occupation such as Yamit : 2500 inhabitants in 1982 – Planned for 250000 inhabitants in 2000
The Partition of Rafah - 1982 -According to the 1979 Camp David Peace accords, the city was divided according to the new border settings between Egypt and Israel - The Palestinian Rafah now has a population of 120,000 people - A high population density is a main characteristic of the Palestinian Rafah - The Palestinian city remained annexed to Israel until 2005
Palestinian Rafah
Egyptian Rafah
Becoming two entities
The international border delineated by the Camp David peace treaty bisected the town between Egypt and the Gaza Strip, leaving families separated and houses within meters of the border
Informal cross-border cooperation
To cope with the division of the town ,tunnels are made under the border, (hence a spatial intervention) connecting the two parts and permitting the smuggling of goods and people
Informal cross-border cooperation
Goods and commodities
Maintaining social relationships
The tunnels are considered one method of maintaining cross-border cooperation, though illegal, People , goods and food are supplied from the Egyptian Rafah residents to their counterparts in the Palestinian side as an act of: -Solidarity and aid - Trade
Illegal cross-border cooperation Cross-border cooperation is of two types in the case of Rafah: - Cooperation stemming from solidarity and aid for the people in Rafah in response to the blockade. - Claims of arms smuggling which in that case affected the political image of Egypt and led to a further action from the Egyptian side by building a deep steel wall to cut the routes of the tunnels Over running the borders, could happen again as it took place in 2008 because of the blockade and despair.
The situation goes in a vicious circle
State spatial intervention
Cross-Border Relations and Sovereignty 4- The Case of Ras Hederba in the Halayeb Triangle
The Triangle and its settlements
An under populated area with about 15 to 20 thousand inhabitants Shalateen
Fishing Trade
Camels Abu Ramad Halayeb
Sheep gazing Hedrba
Bedouins
Forms of Informal cross-border relationships
Caravans pass regularly in the area with camel markets in most settlements in the south
Family ties expand crossing the borders with marriages among the tribes of the area
Smuggling goods and drugs takes place in the area, because of the depopulated nature of the area
A Problem from Colonial times - The origin of the problem goes back to 1899 when Britain (ruling both Egypt and Sudan) defined the borders above the 22N lateral. - Bedouin tribes lived around the borders but were then to be separated by the borders - To ease the situation Egypt granted Sudan the administration over 10 villages in the area to maintain the social fabric, yet acknowledging that this land is Egyptian. Disputes between the two countries evolved several times over the sovereignty of the triangle especially after the dissolving of the Kingdom of Egypt and Sudan Claims were made by Sudan that the area belongs to it and started excavating for oil in the area
Maintaining Sovereignty through Human Settlements and Regional Planning Initial Actions taken : -Improving the quality of life and the provision of basic services to the current population - Enlarging and populating the human settlements in the area - Establishing new settlements to settle down the Bedouin population in specific places
Settling the Bedouins down
Providing basic services (e.g. education)
New extension for some settlements (shalateen)
Early intervention was not enough in terms of quality and some how quantity, further action was needed!
Maintaining Sovereignty through Human Settlements and Regional Planning Further actions : -Improving the quality of life and the provision of basic services to the current population - Attention to the Bedouin population and upgrading their villages The idea is to populate the area not only by the existing population but also by inducing migration to the area based on the incentives provided by the regional development initiatives
Planning of a new settlement according to the regional development scheme
New Settlement in Hederba
Maintaining Sovereignty through Human Settlements and Regional Planning Further Actions taken : Inducing regional development for segments of the triangle.
A proposal for regional development in the sub-region.
Maintaining Sovereignty cross border cooperation - Maintaining sovereignty does not mean ending the cooperation - Forms of informal cooperation should be maintained and further developed into formal ones - Of course while eliminating the illegal smuggling activities
To conclude… In the first two cases, the low population densities as well as the scarcity of human settlements in these regions made it an easy target for occupation by Egypt’s neighbors. The importance of tangible population densities rises from their capability to show the presence on the ground, as well as establishing an early defensive front in case of foreign incursions. In both cases these aspects were not present. Accordingly the need to induce development in such areas as well as attracting tangible population to peripheral region is imminent to sustain the concept of state’s sovereignty.
In the second two cases, the border settlements played important roles in cross-border cooperation. However, such cooperation had different forms from formal to informal and illegal cooperation. In both cases drastic measures were taken to maintain the state’s sovereignty. Accordingly, border settlements should be looked both as being critical in terms of state’s sovereignty and as a possible potential for development cooperation across borders