Colonial Capitalism and Rural Class Formation (ص 145)

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Colonial Capitalism and Rural Class Formation (ص 145)

المحتوى

tax load. In a communique sent in 1930 by the government of Syria, the
following was reported about the conditions of merchants in Jaffa:
The people of Jaffa alone have lost P.L. 300,000
in the orange industry and 100,000 in cereal.
Poverty and misery in Palestine is more intense
than in Syria and Lebanon.. The Banks are so strict
that they force the merchants to declare
bankruptcy..In spite of the fact that the value of
the immovable property of the debtors is twice the
value of their debts, yet the Banks do not trust
the debtors and are afraid of losing their credits.
(54)
The only govermental source of credit avatlable to the rural
population was Barclays Bank. However, since loans could be issued
only if security on back payments, such as the presence of immovable
property, was available, the Bank was useless to the majority of the
rural population. Both the merchants and the peasants themselves were
well aware of the government's failure to provide them with a source
of credit. In one instance they state: "In the circumstances the
Government shows no concern whether debtors are ruined or not..". (55)
For the majority of small-scale producers, such as those in the
grain and olive production, taxation ultimately led to their ruin
through the loss of their only means of subsistence. The following is
an account of how a peasant might lose his land:
Wherever you go in Palestine, the Fallah tells you:
I sell my land and property because the Government
compells me to pay taxes and tithes at a time when
I do not possess the necessary means of subsistance
for my self and my family. In the circumstance I am
forced to appeal to a rich person for a loan which
I undertake to refund together with an interest of
50 percent after a month or two. When payment falls
due,J find that I am still penniless and eventually
compelled to renew the bill, double the amount and
refund it after amonth or two. And so I keep
renewing the bill and doubling the debt until after
a year or two the loan, I took from that rich
man, amounts to ten times more, i.e., if I take a
loan of P.L. 10, two years later, the debt will
amount to P.L.100, which forcibly leads me to sell
131
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Colonial Capitalism and Rural Class Formation

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المنشئ

Nahla Abdo-Zubi

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