Egypt's Berber Speakers Still Cling to Language

Ibrahim Mohamed at his workshop in Siwa - AFP
Ibrahim Mohamed at his workshop in Siwa - AFP
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Egypt's Berber Speakers Still Cling to Language

Ibrahim Mohamed at his workshop in Siwa - AFP
Ibrahim Mohamed at his workshop in Siwa - AFP

Youssef Diab drives his truck through the Egyptian oasis of Siwa, singing catchy songs in a local Berber dialect that clings to life despite the dominance of Arabic.

The UN has classified Siwi, the easternmost dialect of the Tamazight language spoken across North Africa as far as Morocco, as "endangered".

But few adults in the oasis speak Arabic as their main language, and the children playing at the foot of the ancient local fortress talk and shout in Siwi.

Diab, a 25-year-old tourist guide with a colorful Berber flag in his back window, is convinced that the tongue will survive.

"Everyone uses it here," he said.

The Berbers of Siwa are one of the main linguistic minorities in Egypt, the most populous Arabic-speaking country with some 100 million inhabitants and long the flag-bearer of Arab nationalism.

Located some 560 kilometres (350 miles) from Cairo, their oasis only came under state control when it was occupied by Mohammad Ali, the founder of modern Egypt, in 1820.

Its isolation "allowed Siwa and its inhabitants to keep their specific traditions and a language that sets them apart from mainstream Egyptian culture", said sociolinguist Valentina Serreli, who wrote her PhD thesis on the language in the oasis, AFP reported.

It wasn't until the 1980s that Arabic became more common, due in large part to "tourism, mass media and mobility for higher education or for working purposes".

The UN in 2008 estimated that 15,000 people in the oasis, half the population, speak Siwi.

But Serreli estimates that the real figure is around 20,000.

"UNESCO considers the language 'definitely endangered' because 'children no longer learn the language as mother tongue in the home'", she said.

But "as far as I can tell, this is not true".

"The language is dominant in... conversations, even between young peers."

Ibrahim Mohamed, an elder of one of the region's 11 tribes and a respected figure in Siwa, said Siwi was central to the "Amazigh identity" of the oasis.

And despite an influx of tourists in the last few decades, the oasis remains relatively isolated, accessible by a single road from the Mediterranean coast.

"Siwa is to the Siwis what water is to fish -- they wouldn't leave it for anything in the world," said Mehdi al-Howeiti, the head of the local tourism office.

A son of the oasis, he studied elsewhere, but returned to Siwa to live.

Despite that devotion to their roots, Siwa residents face several challenges in protecting their language, including the cultural dominance of Arabic and the fact the tongue is only transmitted within families.

"In the past, our parents only spoke Siwi, which had nothing in common with Arabic," said tribal elder Mohamed, who wore a black Libyan-style skullcap on his head.

"Today, the language is becoming closer and closer to Arabic."

And while Egyptian curricula feature foreign languages, neither of the country's main minority languages -- Siwi and Nubian -- is taught at schools.

"The language should be formally taught so it doesn't disappear," Mohamed said.

The local organization "Children of Siwa" has led efforts to preserve the language.

Working with Moroccan and Italian partners, in 2012 it published a collection of songs, poems and proverbs in both Siwi and Arabic.

It was the product of two years work with 60 young local people and elders.

But despite those efforts, the book is now out of print and there isn't enough money for another edition, said the association's vice-president Yahya Qenaoui.

"We need to do more to preserve our heritage," he said.

"We can't do 10 percent of what we'd like to do... the association doesn't get any funding."

But Diab remains hopeful that the dialect will survive.

"At school, my son Ibrahim learns Arabic, he reads and writes it," he said.

"But at home, he needs to speak Siwi."



Fans Bid Farewell to 4 Giant Pandas at Japan Zoo Before their Return to China

Giant panda Saihin, one among the four pandas on loan to Japan which will soon be heading back to China sits inside an enclosure at Adventure World in Shirahama, Wakayama Prefecture, Japan, Friday, June 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Ayaka McGill)
Giant panda Saihin, one among the four pandas on loan to Japan which will soon be heading back to China sits inside an enclosure at Adventure World in Shirahama, Wakayama Prefecture, Japan, Friday, June 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Ayaka McGill)
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Fans Bid Farewell to 4 Giant Pandas at Japan Zoo Before their Return to China

Giant panda Saihin, one among the four pandas on loan to Japan which will soon be heading back to China sits inside an enclosure at Adventure World in Shirahama, Wakayama Prefecture, Japan, Friday, June 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Ayaka McGill)
Giant panda Saihin, one among the four pandas on loan to Japan which will soon be heading back to China sits inside an enclosure at Adventure World in Shirahama, Wakayama Prefecture, Japan, Friday, June 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Ayaka McGill)

Thousands of fans bid a teary farewell Friday to a family of four giant pandas at a zoo in Japan’s coastal town of Shirahama as the animals made their last public appearance before their return to China.

Around 3,000 visitors flocked to the Adventure World theme park to get a last glimpse of the beloved animals. Many rushed straight to the panda exhibit zone, calling out the names of their favorites, The Associated Press reported.

Although the 24-year-old mother Rauhin and her three daughters — Yuihin, Saihin and Fuhin — were all born and raised at the park, they remain on loan from China and must now be returned.

Once they return to China, Xiao Xiao and Lei Lei at Tokyo’s Ueno Zoo will be the only pandas left in Japan.

More than 1,000 people, many wearing panda-themed attire, queued outside the entrance of the theme park hours before it opened while some camped outside the night before.

Some people wiped off tears while viewing throwback images of the pandas when they were cubs.

Yoshihiko Fukuzumi recalls the arrival of the first two pandas at the park 30 years ago and has watch their family grow. Since retiring three years ago, he and his wife have visited them nearly everyweek. “To us, they are like our grandchildren."

Giant pandas are native to southwestern China and serve as an unofficial national mascot. Beijing lends them to other countries as a sign of goodwill but maintains ownership over them and any cubs they produce.

Born in 2000, Rauhin had seven other cubs with Eimei, a male panda sent from China in 1994. Eimei returned home two years ago and has since died.

Despite strained political ties between Japan and China, giant pandas are hugely popular in Japan.

“We feel comforted just by looking at pandas,” said zoo director Koji Imazu.

Imazu said the departure of the four pandas marks the end of the zoo's 30-year joint project with China. He thanked Chinese specialists for sharing their expertise with the Japanese staff and said the zoo will be ready for a new arrival at any time.

“Of course we all miss them, but I hope you could send them off with a cheerful wave and wish them well in China,” Imazu said.

In Beijing, China's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said giant pandas are “friendly ambassadors" conveying the goodwill of the Chinese people.

Guo said that China and Japan have collaborated on panda conservation and research since 2000, and that China is ready to further strengthen international cooperation, including with Japan.

Rauhin and her daughters will be flown to China on Saturday where they will join other pandas at a facility in Sichuan province near their original habitat. There, the three young ones will find partners.

“I still can't believe they're all leaving,” said Junko Ikeda, a Fuhin fan from neighboring Nara prefecture who spent Thursday night in her camper van for the send-off. "I hope she finds a partner, becomes a mother and lives a happy life.”