Aboud in West Bank, Palestine
Aboud is a village in the Ramallah and al-Bireh Governorate in the central West Bank, about 22 kilometres northwest of Ramallah and 30 kilometres north of Jerusalem. It is one of the larger villages with significant Christian population in the West Bank. The village has a population of approximately 1970 of which 870 are Christians. The unemployment rate is high; and among those lucky enough to have employment, many are underemployed. Only a small percentage of the people have full-time, regular paid employment. Residents are educated and literate, many of them have finished their school but still the majority of Aboud citizens are unskilled. Employment opportunities for non-educated people can be summarized as the following:
- The agricultural sector, primarily at planting and harvest times.
- Raising animals and building farms, barns could be found everywhere.
- Work in sewing factories.
- Running stores either in town or along the main road.
- Craftsmen in various skills
On the other hand educated people are to be found working in skilled professions such as doctors, engineers, nurses, teachers…etc. Aboud is easily classified as a poor village. Further, the economy is becoming even worse. Government employees (like teachers, doctors, nurses, even retired pensioners) do not receive their salaries sometimes. Their jobs are at risk and some people cannot afford paying for their children’s tuition, for food and for basic needs. In the last couple of years, some families have left Aboud to seek a better future elsewhere. Basically, the local economy is slowly being strangled.
