salma, 5

O, de birds ar’ sweetly singin’, / ’Weh down Souf, / An’ de banjer is a-ringin’, / ’Weh down Souf; / An’ my heart it is a-sighin’, / Whil’ de moments am a-flyin’, / Fur my hom’ I am a-cryin’, / ’Weh down Souf.
Daniel Webster Davis, ’Weh Down Souf

How do you earn a living wandering the slopes of the mountain? You hike down to the biggest town downstairs – Al Hamra – and sell the occasional goat for RO25-80, depending on its size. But that obviously is as unconvincing a reality as it sounds. In truth, the government now pays them an allowance every month, and it is with this handout that they survive, buying whatever they need when they head down the mountain once every couple of weeks. Being single, Amir gets RO30 a month, while Rashid, with his wife and seven children, gets RO70. The government also installed the water tank just below them, and supplies the water from one further up. While desperate for a road, though, the chance that the higher powers will build one over mountain slopes for ten people seems far-fetched.

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