infrastructure, and the communities were largely self-sufficient. Except for beans and millet the farmers grew vegetables, both for their own consumption and for trading at the weekly regional markets. However, their main source of income—and their most valuable possession—were the groves of date palms growing in the fertile silt on the river banks. The inhabitants of the region to be flooded were forcibly displaced along a timeline corresponding to their land's proximity to the dam site: the people of Hamadab to Al-Multaga in 2003, the people of Amri to Wadi Muqaddam in 2007, and the Manasir to Al-Mokabrab and Al-Fidah in 2008. At the resettlement sites, farmers received plots of land relative in size to their former possessions, in addition to financial compensation for lost assets—houses and date palms. However, a majority preferred to stay near to their old grounds as possible and have thus built at the shores of the new lake. Many families have defied resettlement and live now on the margins of the lake. Farmers have become fishermen, but their income is less than before. Though government officials claim there are improved living conditions at the resettlement areas, with relatively modern buildings and infrastructure, affected people reject the compensation plans. Their main objections are: The soil at the resettlement areas is sandy, and its quality is extremely poor, compared to the excellent farmland beside the Nile. It would take much effort and a long time—probably decades—until it became fertile enough for growing vegetables and other marketable produce. The government announced that it would provide free water, sand removal and fertilizer during the first two years after the resettlement. After this period, the farmers would have to pay the full price for these services, none of which had to be paid at the old site. Compensation for a date palm amounts to about four years' harvest, while a good palm tree can bear fruit for a hundred years. Compensation for vegetable gardens is very low, and only married men will receive compensation for their houses. About 6,000 people were resettled to the Al-Multaqah site in the Nubian desert during 2003 and 2004. Their villages were the closest to the dam construction site near Hamdab. According to a survey conducted in early 2005, the poverty rate has increased dramatically because the farmers are not able to produce anything saleable in the local markets. Nomads A significant fraction of the