Chapter
9:
Case
studies
in
Ta’izz
9.2
Case
6
-‐
Shararah:
villagers
versus
Persons
92
9.2.1
A:
Context
and
contextual
changes
There
was
an
old
well
in
the
village
at
Shararah
area,
in
Arrahedah,
Demna
District,
that
did
not
have
sufficient
water.
Villagers
say
that
they
have
experienced
drought
over
the
past
few
years
and
the
price
of
truck
water
can
reach
YR7000
(about
$35),
which
is
very
expensive
by
local
standards.
Women
used
to
walk
for
more
than
5
kilometer
to
fetch
water
from
another
water
source,
sometimes
at
nighttime.
The
Member
of
Parliament
(MP)
representing
the
area,
asked
the
Rural
Water
Authority
to
dig
a
new
well.
A
local
businessman
helped
with
the
costs
and
the
project
was
completed.
Since
2010,
the
locals
use
the
groundwater,
for
domestic
purposes
but
not
for
irrigation.
The
well
is
only
35
meters
deep
and,
therefore,
relies
mainly
on
rainwater.
The
Akel
pumps
the
groundwater
to
a
reservoir
before
distributing
10
small
plastic
containers
of
20
liters
each
to
each
house.
People
who
want
more
water
are
able
and
permitted
to
fetch
manually
more
water
manually
from
the
well.
Six
villages
in
the
Shararah
area
also
benefit
from
the
well.
For
surface
water,
the
traditional
rule
is
Supreme
to
the
High.
This
means
that
those
higher
in
the
valley
have
the
right
to
irrigate
first,
followed
by
those
lower
to
them
and
so
on.
For
groundwater,
the
rules
stipulate
that
priority
should
be
given
to
water
use
for
drinking
and
domestic
use,
followed
by
irrigation.
Also
traditional
rules
indicate
that
anyone,
even
those
from
outside
the
area,
have
the
right
to
use
water
for
drinking
and
domestic
use.
9.2.2
B:
Conflict
description
Approximately
eigth
months
ago,
the
sons
of
Abduljabar
from
the
village
up
the
stream
saw
that
there
is
plenty
of
water
in
the
well
so
they
started
to
dig
a
well
that
is
50
meters
upstream.
Villagers
say
that
Abduljabbar’s
sons
are
digging
the
new
well
in
order
to
irrigate
their
qat
farms.
Fearing
that
this
will
cut
supply
and
feeding
to
their
well,
the
locals
of
Shrarah
reported
that
to
the
security.
Security
threw
some
of
Abduljabbar’s
sons
in
jail
for
two
days.
According
to
the
villagers,
they
paid
security
a
bribe
and
were
released.
Then
they
continued
to
dig
their
well.
The
locals
reported
the
issue
to
NWRA
Ta’izz.
The
NWRA
sent
an
enforcement
officer,
who
filed
a
report
to
the
Prosecution
indicating
the
well
digging
as
a
“criminal
activity”.
However,
the
prosecution
office
was
closed
due
to
a
judicial
strike.
The
villagers
issued
two
letters
to
the
governor
and
deputy
governor,
yet
the
digging
continued.
When
the
researchers
arrived
on
site,
coincidenly
some
security
soldiers
came
to
arrest
someone
from
Abduljabbar’s
men
who
happened
to
be
supervising
the
digging
of
the
new
well
at
that
moment.
The
researcher
tried
to
talk
to
him
and
he
said
that
they
needed
the
water
to
drink,
but
then
it
became
difficult
to
talk
to
him
as
he
was
arrested.
9.2.3
C:
Dispute
regulation
mechanisms
People
mostly
go
to
Akels
to
resolve
their
problems.
There
are
no
major
conflicts
or
disputes
in
the
area.
Most
of
the
disputes
are
about
children
fighting,
marital
problems
etc.
The
sheikh
is
The Political Economy in Yemen of Water Management: Conflict Analysis and Recommendations
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