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Screening in Child Health Care
Report of the Dutch Working Party
on Child Health Care
Micha de Winter
Marielle Balledux
Jose de Mare
Ruud Burgmeijer
First published 1995 by Radcliffe Publishing
This book contains information obtained from authentic and highly regarded sources. While all reasonable efforts
have been made to publish reliable data and information, neither the author[sl nor the publisher can accept any
legal responsibility or liability for any errors or omissions that may be made. The publishers wish to make clear
that any views or opinions expressed in this book by individual editors, authors or contributors are personal to
them and do not necessarily reflect the views/ opinions of the publishers. The information or guidance contained
in this book is intended for use by medical, scientific or health-care professionals and is provided strictly as a
supplement to the medical or other professional's own judgement, their knowledge of the patient's medical
history, relevant manufacturer's instructions and the appropriate best practice guidelines. Because of the rapid
advances in medical science, any information or advice on dosages, procedures or diagnoses should be
independently verified. The reader is strongly urged to consult the relevant national drug formulary and the drug
companies' and device or material manufacturers' printed instructions, and their websites, before administering
or utilizing any of the drugs, devices or materials mentioned in this book. This book does not indicate whether a
particular treatment is appropriate or suitable for a particular individual. Ultimately it is the sole responsibility of
the medical professional to make his or her own professional judgements, so as to advise and treat patients
appropriately. The authors and publishers have also attempted to trace the copyright holders of all material
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A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
2 Immunizations 15
2.5 Conclusions 36
2.6 Recommendations 37
3.10 Conclusions 60
3.10.1 The treatment of PKU 60
3.10.2 The method of screening for CHT 61
3.10.3 False positive results in the screening for CHT 62
3.11 Recommendations 62
4.1 Hearing 66
4.7 Conclusions 73
4.8 Recommendations 73
5.7 Conclusions 90
5.8 Recommendations 91
6 Developmental surveillance 96
6.1 Development 97
vi SCREENING IN CHILD HEALTH CARE
8.3 The British Joint Working Party on Child Health Surveillance 139
Index 193
Introduction
a critical evaluation of Dutch
preventive Child Health Care
Child Health Care for the pre-school age range has in many Western
countries increasingly grown into a subject of scientific, social and political
debate over the last few years. In Britain, the Joint Working Party on Child
Health Surveillance published a report in 1989, in which existing services
were critically examined and recommendations were made for future
practice (Hall et al. 1989). In the Netherlands as well, there were strong
reasons to do this. To put it briefly: Dutch Child Health Care, which for a
long time had enjoyed wide social support and appreciation, found itself
faced with the obligation to legitimize itself under the influence of new
political developments; society demanded a more accurate insight into the
results of its efforts. Within this context, the project called 'Integral
Evaluation of Child Health Care' was initiated. The Board of the National
Association for Community Nursing and Home Carel commissioned the
Centre for Research and Development of Youth Health Care and Youth
Social Work of the University of Utrecht to subject the Dutch Child Health
Care system to a scientific study. In this study special attention had to be
paid to quality, cost effectiveness and general effectiveness, efficiency, and
shortcomings in care. The project was financially supported by the
Ministry of Weifare, Public Health and Cultural Affairs, and the
Foundation for Research and Development of Social Services. Even before
the project was wound up in the middle of 1992, another political
discussion flared up, shaking the sector to its foundations: at the end of
1991 Christian Democrat and Labour MPs proposed a motion to transfer
the responsibility for the Child Health Care system, plus its financing, to
local authorities. The Integral Evaluation Project then took on a somewhat
different aspect. While it was initially meant to provide a better insight into
the effects of the health care system, its results were now expected to play
IFor a long time 'Cross Associations' (Kruisverenigingen) have been active in the
Netherlands in the fields of social and preventive medicine and home nursing on behalf
of their members as well as of the general public. The National Cross Association
(Nationale Kruisvereniging) represented the regional cross associations at national level. In
1990 the National Cross Association merged with the National Council for Home Help
(Centrale Raad voor de Gezinsverzorging) to form the National Association for community
Nursing and Home Care (Landelijke Vereniging voor Thuiszorg), established at Bunnik. In
this book the regional organizations will be referred to as 'Community Health Care'.
X SCREENING IN CHILD HEALTH CARE
1989 (Hall, 1989). Several experts who were involved in the British project
advised the Dutch working party in certain areas.
In five working conferences, the Dutch working party investigated the
above-mentioned matters with respect to Child Health Care. By means of
extensive international comparative literature studies, these conferences
were prepared by a project team from the Centre for Research and
Development of Youth Health Care and Youth Social Work of the
University of Utrecht. On the basis of the literature studies, consensus
meetings were held concerning the following subjects: the objectives of the
Child Health Care system, immunizations, phenylketonuria (PKU) and
congenital hypothyroidism (CHT) screenings, hearing examinations, visual
examinations, language/speech examinations, periodic medical examinations,
prevention of psychosocial and educational problems, health education,
activities aimed at influencing social and physical environmental factors,
and, finally, the quality and the organization of the Child Health Care
system. The final version of the report was established on the basis of
repeated discussions by the working party and advice obtained externally.
The Integral Evaluation Project was an effort to provide the best possible
survey of the effectiveness and quality of the Dutch Child Health Care
system. On the basis of its results, a great many recommendations have
been formulated which are aimed at improving quality and effectiveness
where possible. In addition, the project group has initiated a number of
research programmes, with the aid of which further insight will be gained
in the short term into effectiveness data which are not available as yet. In
particular the instrument for the determination of cost-effectiveness ratios
in the Child Health Care system, which will be developed by the Erasmus
University, must be considered an important improvement. The most
remarkable conclusion of the project is that the Dutch Child Health Care
system maybe considered a very solid kind of organized programmed
prevention. The system owes its strength to its thorough national
organization, and its firm establishment at community and district levels.
The great trust this form of preventive care enjoys with the public is an
essential precondition for an invariably high population coverage, which in
its turn is responsible for the high degree of health benefit that is obtained
with the system. The fact that there is room for improvement on many
points does not detract from this conclusion. On the contrary, the
possibility of such critical reflection on its own professional practice in this
sector may serve as an example to many other health care sectors.
Reference
Hall, D.M.B. et al. (ed.) Health for All Children. A programme for Child
Health Surveillance, New York 1989.
Aims, procedures and outcome
measurement in pre-school Child
Health Care
described. Finally the way to chart the effects of these procedures, related to
the objectives, is explained.
These ideas link up with the 'ecological health model', used by the WHO
in realizing its aim 'Health for All by the Year 2000', and which in the
Netherlands served as the basis for the Memorandum 2000 (Nota 2000). In
the model, health is defined as 'a situation of equilibrium determined by the
circumstances in which people are placed and the capacity they possess, or
can acquire with the help of others, to defend themselves against
disturbances' (Ministry of Welfare, Public Health and Cultural Affairs
From this perspective the aim of pre-school Child Health Care can now
be defined as follows: 'The promotion and safeguarding of a healthy
physical, mental and social development of the population of pre-school
children, starting from the parents' personal responsibility, by means of
influencing the relevant health determinants, namely physical factors,
health behaviour and relevant environmental factors, including the system
of care itself'.
This general aim can be translated into four subsidiary objectives that
can be made operational.
2For a long time 'Cross Associations' (Kruisverenigingen) have been active in the
Netherlands in the fields of social and preventive medicine and home nursing on behalf
of their members as well as of the general public. The National Cross Association (National
Kruisvereniging) represented the regional cross associations at national level. In 1990 the
National Cross Association merged with the National Council for Home Help (Centrale
Raad voor de Gezinsverzorging) to form the National Association for Community Nursing
and Home Care (Landelijke Vereniging voor Thuiszorg), established at Bunnik. In this book
the regional organizations will be referred to as 'Community Health Care'.
AIMS, PROCEDURES AND OUTCOME MEASUREMENT 5
3The majority of the remaining children have their hearing screened by other methods. See
Chapter 4, footnote 3.
6 SCREENING IN CHILD HEALTH CARE
4See Chapter 2.
sThis NR V recommendation is partly based on a preliminary report called Organizational
strengthening of prevention in primary care (Organisatiorische versterking van preventie in
de eerstelijnszorg), published by NIPG/TNO, Leiden (Van de Water & Davidse 1992).
AIMS, PROCEDURES AND OUTCOME MEASUREMENT 7
6 Accident Prevention Cards are a tool to promote safety; accidents being the major cause of
death in children. Each card contains safety information aimed at a specific age group. They
are handed out at Child Health Clinics to make parents aware of accident risks at specific
stages of development of the child. This helps parents to take safety measures in time.
7Proposals for the standardized recording of the Periodical Health Examination have in the
meantime been worked out: see Chapter 8 of this report.
8 SCREENING IN CHILD HEALTH CARE
on the other hand to consider any gaps in the delivery of care. In the second
place a classification is made with the help of the concepts of standardized
prevention (SP) and prevention to measure (MP)8. Thus the following
overview is arrived at:
8It should be noted with regard to the classification into standardized and individually
targeted parts that this is a broad classification: in practice standardized components are
accompanied by individually targeted elements. A well known example is the extra
individual attention that has to be given to motivate some parents to take part in the
immunization programme.
9 Partly based on the Denver Developmental Scale, the 'Van Wiechen' check-list was
Example I: Nutrition
Target: Promoting and safeguarding a good nutritional condition
Methods: • Physical examination of nutritional condition
• Information on age-linked nutritional needs and nutritional
habits (standardized or individually geared health education)
• Indication of risk factors at population level with regard to
nutrition (PCBs in breast milk for instance)
• Optimizing counselling opportunities (such as by dieticians).
In the course of the project however, the conclusion was reached that a
specific set of instruments should be developed for a permanent and
comprehensive insight into the cost-effectiveness ratios within pre-school
Child Health Care. The Institute for Social Health Care (Instituut voor
Maatschappelijke Gezondheidszorg) of the Erasmus University of
Rotterdam was commissioned to undertake this. In the research project
the outcomes and costs of screening methods will be reviewed first, based
on the following broad definition of the concept of screening: 'when (at
fixed times and according to a fixed protocol) parents are asked questions
and observations are being carried out on children to ascertain whether a
number of defined health disorders (a) are probably present or threaten to
arise and/or (b) further diagnosis and/or therapy is needed, it may be said
that screening takes place for this series of defined disorders' (Van der
Maas 1991). According to Van der Maas, the outcomes of screening fall
into two main groups: bringing forward diagnosis and the health benefits
achieved by this. Once data are available with regard to the effectiveness of
parts of pre-school Child Health Care it is possible, in principle, to start
determining the ratio of cost and effectiveness. The 'cost' of pre-school
Child Health Care should include the collective means employed to
maintain clinics and so on, as well as the outlay for the training and
refresher courses of staff, and the costs incurred in the follow-up work of
pre-school Child Health Care. After all, when a diagnosis is made by
specific Early Detection activities, costs are generated in the diagnostic and
treatment circuit. On the other hand there are a number of savings: some
costs do not arise because other provisions (for instance more expensive
treatment) are not needed as a result of activities within pre-school Child
Health Care. Taking the matter even further, there may also be savings
because disablement, for instance, can be prevented. In this way, cost
profiles can be calculated for each part of pre-school Child Health Care. An
estimate of the ratio of costs and effectiveness of pre-school Child Health
Care thus becomes feasible. The instrument to be developed by Erasmus
12 SCREENING IN CHILD HEALTH CARE
Chapters 8, 9 and 10 deal with elements that so far have wholly or partly
the character of 'prevention to measure'. They are the Periodical Health
Examination (PHE), the prevention of psycho-social and teaching
problems, and health education. Whether certain activities may be suitable
for a more standardized approach is examined.
References
Bos, M.W. & Winter, M. de: Het consultatiebureau is niet van gisteren, in:
Bos, M.W. & Winter, M. de (red.): Jeugdgezondheidszorg in de toekomst,
Lisse: Swets en Zeitlinger, 1989, pp.7-13.
Drewes, J.: Kwaliteitsbewaking in de jeugdgezondheidszorg, in: Bos, M.W. &
Winter, M. de (red.): Jeugdgezondheidszorg in de toekomst, Lisse: Swets en
Zeitlinger, 1989, pp.89-104.
Jonge, G.]. de: Wiegedood in Nederland 1985-1990, Tijdschrift voor
Jeugdgezondheidszorg 24 (1992) 1, 3-6.
14 SCREENING IN CHILD HEALTH CARE
Further reading
Each year, the Minister for Welfare, Public Health and Cultural Affairs
(WVC) lays down the R VP for that year on the recommendations of the
National Health Council (N ationale Raad voor de Volksgezondheid NR V),
The initial impetus for the R VP was the polio epidemic in 1956 which
claimed 2206 victims. A diphtheria-pertussis-tetanus vaccine (DPT) had
been available in the Netherlands since 1952, and was extensively used in
the child health clinics, so that 70% of the children had been immunized
with DPT by the time (1957) the RVP was introduced (Hannik 1963). At an
even earlier stage, children in the Netherlands were being immunized
against smallpox and diphtheria. With the introduction of the R VP in 1957,
inactivated triple polio vaccine (Salk vaccine) was used, initially as a
separate polio vaccine and from 1962 onwards as a combined diphtheria-
tetanus-pertussis-polio vaccine. This has continued to the present day. The
use of the Salk vaccine makes the Netherlands fairly exceptional because in
most other countries live oral polio vaccine (Sabin vaccine) is used. The
latter is only used in the Netherlands in cases of polio outbreaks. The
situation in the Netherlands differs from that in other countries
(geographically, demographically, logistically and financially) and because
of this the advantages and disadvantages of using the two vaccines are
weighed up differently in this country than elsewhere (Dutch National
Health Council; see: Gezondheidsraad 1982b).
The Arabs.
The Arabs in Tunisia are, like those in Algeria, nearly all nomads.
They reside chiefly in the southern and central portions of the
Regency.
They are recognisable by their tall, slender figures, their lean,
muscular build, and by their dignified nobility of carriage.
The Arab cast of countenance is narrow, the nose curved, the lips
thin and graced by a delicate black beard, the black eyes are lively,
but the expression crafty.
The Arab woman is endowed with a pretty, well-formed figure, but
she is of small stature. She is, on the whole, attractive, but fades
early, being old and ugly through hard work by the time she attains
her twentieth year. Unlike the Berber woman, she is usually obliged
to go abroad veiled.
As the Bey was too weak to collect his own taxes, he united the
various groups of nomad Arabs to form his auxiliary troops. These
tribes were thence designated “Mahzen,” were almost exempt from
taxation, or only paid in kind, such as oil, dates, etc. In return they
bound themselves to fight the robber bands (Jish) who frequently
harassed the country. Were they victorious, all spoils were theirs.
Their ostensible duty was to assist the Bey’s own soldiers to recover
the taxes. This collection resolved itself into sheer plunder. The least
of their perquisites was the right to “diffa” and “alfa,” which means
hospitality for themselves and their horses; of this they took
advantage to the greatest extent, often pillaging wherever they
appeared.
For instance, the holy city of Kairwan was often compelled to raise
forced contributions under this pretext.
Their morals, as a rule, are very lax. The abduction of married
women and girls is common, and adultery a matter of course.
The upbringing that an Arab woman receives in a tent is not
exactly calculated to ensure in any way a moral tone. A young girl is
from the very outset of her innocent life apt to see and learn much
that to us appears offensive.
Whereas the man has every possible right of control over his wife,
she has only the “justice of God” (el hak Allah), meaning that he
must fulfil his obligations towards her as her husband, failing which
she can demand a divorce, not an infrequent occurrence.
After the enactment of the law emancipating slaves, the men in
some tribes married their negresses, with a view to thus evading the
law. But it befell that the former went into court and complained that
they were defrauded of their rights as wives.
Although the Arabs, as aliens, have always been in a minority in
the land of the Berbers, yet they were the masters until the arrival of
the French. They had steadily spread themselves over all the open
plains and lower tablelands, moving ever from east to west. Thus
each tribe continually changed its territory, one tribe ever pressing
another before it farther westward.
Long before Mohammed’s day this immigration had already
begun, but it was not until after his time that it made any real
headway, and the conquest of the country and its conversion to
Mohammedanism took place.
Not until much later, in the middle of the eleventh century, was the
great migration accomplished, in which both Mongols and Egyptians
were included. Such great waves, however, always cause a counter
wave. When the tribes reached the shores of the Atlantic on the
most distant coasts of Morocco, the tide turned. Thus the tribe that
claims to be the chief of all the tribes, namely, the Shorfa, or
“Followers of the Prophet,” is precisely that which, having been to
Morocco, returned eastwards.
Yet another receding wave brought back the “Arabs” who had
conquered Spain, and who were afterwards driven forth again.
These Spanish “Arabs” were for the most part Berbers who had
been carried westward by the tide, and who returned, after a long
sojourn on the Iberian peninsula, blended with other races—
Ligurians, Iberians, Celts, and Western Goths.
The greater proportion of these refugees, who are known in
Barbary as “Andaluz,” established themselves in the towns, where
they introduced a new strain into the already mixed race of Moors.
These Spanish Moors are more especially represented in Tunis.
It is quite natural that, in a country so often invaded and peopled
by foreigners who to this day have never really amalgamated, there
should be an entire lack of patriotism such as is found in Europe. It is
as Mussulmans that these races have united to make war against
the Christian. Amongst themselves they are often at enmity.
Mohammedanism.
Though it is an undoubted fact that the various races of Berbers
and Arabs have preserved much of their identity, it is also noticeable
that, to a stranger arriving in the country for the first time, the
inhabitants appear, as it were, to be fused into one race. This fusion
is the result of their creed, for Mohammedanism has been drawn like
a veil over the whole country.
Mohammed, through the Koran, gave to even daily labour the
stamp of religion, and in a marvellous way moulded all the various
races, who thus became “the faithful,” into one mode of thought and
life, which gradually shaped them all to one pattern, although
hereditary inclinations and customs contended, and are still
contending, against such constraint.
The features which appear most strongly marked in these various
races who have become Mussulmans, are their individual absorption
in their religion and their family organisation.
The stubborn influence of Islamism on the community is entirely
expressed in the phrase “Mektub” (it is written). Fatalism has
destroyed all initiative, all progress. How men may act is immaterial.
“It is written.”
To the Mussulmans, authority is of divine origin. Their creed
ordains that everyone must bow to authority. This has given rise to
the most complete absolutism, alike from the Bey, whose title is “The
chosen of God and the owner of the kingdom of Tunisia,” down to
the lowest of officials.
But yet the yoke may prove too heavy—then the oppressed revolt,
as has so often happened.
The influence of religion is manifest in the treatment of the insane,
whose utterances are held as sacred. The number of real and
pretended lunatics is consequently very great. Hospitality is not
exactly gladly offered to such afflicted persons, but they are
permitted to take whatever they please from a house, a liberty often
very widely interpreted. Latterly a madman in Tunis declared several
houses to be under a ban. All the inmates at once fled, and could not
be persuaded to return. This individual was also inspired with the
sublime idea of erecting a barricade in one of the most populous
streets, by means of doors which he lifted from their hinges.
The Prophet organised the family on the lines best adapted to the
nomad tribes, who were destined to be great conquerors. He
ordained the absorption of the vanquished into the family; while the
males were killed or, if fortunate, made slaves, the women were
allowed to enter the family.
This was the foundation of the rapid conquest of North Africa by
Islam.
To ensure unity in the family, composed of so many and varied
elements, the man is invested with the most absolute authority. He
does not marry but he buys his wife, who becomes his property. He
is unquestionably her lord and master, he can maltreat her, kill her if
she is untrue to him, without risking injury to a hair of his own head.
All that he owes her is the “hak Allah.”
Crimes against women are more rare now through fear of the
French; but as there is no legal census, many murders may be
committed which are never brought to light.
Religious influence first and foremost, also life in common under
equal conditions of many generations of different extraction, have
obliterated many of the characteristics of the natives of Tunisia.
Many Berber tribes have been entirely transformed into Arabs, and,
on the other hand, many Arab tribes have been Berberised. Indeed,
there are tribes forming a subdivision, of which it is well known some
are Berbers, some Arabs.
Of the religious brotherhoods, so numerous elsewhere under
Islam, there are comparatively few in Tunisia. We find the
“Tidyanya,” “Medaniya,” and the “Aissaua,” and, besides these,
many scattered “Shorfa.”
In the towns there is more fanaticism than in the country. In this
respect “those who can read and write are the worst.”
Yet many customs and reminiscences may be found of a former
age before Mohammedanism was forced on the Tunisians.
For instance, the people hang bits of rag all over sacred trees;
many fear the “evil eye,” or honour five as a peculiarly lucky number.
For this reason they set the mark of their own five fingers on their
houses to protect the latter. Indeed, it is not uncommon for a man
who has more than five children, if questioned as to their number, to
reply that he has five, rather than be obliged to name an unlucky
number.
If rain is long delayed, they take refuge in exorcism, and will on
occasion even dip their kaid in a fountain so that his beard may be
wetted—that surely brings rain.
The Moors.
Nowhere has all origin of race been so entirely effaced as in the
towns. There have sprung up the Moors—quite a new race of town
dwellers, which may be said to have absorbed all others.
Whereas the population of the interior of the country to a great
extent escaped intermixture with the new elements, up to the time of
the arrival of the Arabs, it has been quite otherwise in the towns,
where foreign traders settled and intermingled with the native
inhabitants.
Amongst the Moors in the towns are found, as has been said, the
so-called “Andaluz,” who were driven out of Spain. Several of these
distinguished families have carefully preserved the records of their
genealogy, and some of them still possess the keys of their houses
in Seville and Granada. They have certainly intermarried with other
families of different origin, but still cling to their traditions, and retain
and exercise to a certain extent the handicrafts and occupations of
their forefathers in Spain. The gardeners of “Teburka,” for instance,
are descendants of the gardeners of the Guadalquivir, and the
forefathers of the potters near Nebel were potters at Malaga.
The blood of slaves of all nationalities has also been introduced
into the people known as Moors.
The complexion of the Moor is fair, or, more rarely, olive; it
resembles that of the Southern Italian or Spaniard. The shape of the
head is oval the nose long, and they have thick eyebrows and very
black beards. Of medium height, they are well built, and their
carriage is easy and graceful. They are considered more honourable
than either Jews or Christians, and were noted formerly for their kind
treatment of their slaves. Though clever workmen and well educated,
their moral tone is not high. In old days the town of Tunis was the
great market frequented by the people of the Sudan; nothing was
considered worth having that had not been made by a Tunisian.
The Turkish element, as represented by the Bey and his
surroundings, has long since ceased to have any influence on the
Moorish race in Tunisia. No real Turks are now to be found in the
country. In the towns, however, are a few descendants of Turkish
soldiers and Tunisian women; they are called “Kurughis,” and are
lazy, vain, and ignorant, and consequently not much respected.
The Moors, or the town dwellers, on the whole, are, however, not
so vigorous and energetic as the nomads and the mountaineers;
their manners are more effeminate, and they are lazier.
Crimes against the person, such as assault or murder, are rare in
the towns, but drunkenness on the sly is common, and immorality is
prevalent.
The Jews.
The ancient conquerors of the country, the Carthaginians and
Romans, who covered it with towns, forts, and monuments, have left
no impress of themselves on the appearance of the present
inhabitants, nor do there survive amongst the tribes any traditions
concerning them.
No more remains to recall the Vandals and Goths, yet the latest
researches prove the existence in early days of other Semitic
peoples besides the Arab.
The earliest importation to the country of Semitic blood was
doubtless the Phœnician. To this is due the fact that many of the
types portrayed on Chaldaic and Assyrian ruins are now found
scattered throughout Tunisia.
At the same time as the Phœnicians may be mentioned the Jews,
the earliest of whom probably came to Barbary at the same time as
the former, but their number was largely added to later, after the
conquest of Jerusalem by Titus. Moreover, it is known that many
Berber tribes were converted to Judaism and remained Jews, even
after the Arab conquest. The classic type of European Jew is
therefore rarely met with in Tunisia.
After the Mohammedans the Jews are, numerically, most strongly
represented in Barbary. They form somewhat important
communities, not only in the town of Tunis, but also in all other
towns, even in the island of Jerba. Possibly with theirs has mingled
the blood of the ancient Carthaginians.
There are also a great number of Jews whose ancestors were
ejected from Spain and Portugal; these are called “Grana,” from their
former most important trading city in Spain.
These “Grana” were under the protection of the foreign consuls,
and therefore have had nothing to complain of; but the old Jews
were in a disastrous condition in former days, and suffered much, so
much that some isolated families abjured Judaism and became
Mohammedans; such they are still, but they always associate with
their former co-religionists. Other Jews—those of Jerba, for instance
—have modified their religious forms, pray to Mohammedan saints,
and hold their Marabouts in honour.
A peculiar head-dress distinguishes those Jews who are under no
protection, from those who are protected by the consuls. It is an
irony of fate that many Jews have placed themselves under Spanish
protection, because they knew that Spain was their home in old
days. Now they are protected by the country that formerly drove
them forth. Somewhat similar is the case of the Algerian Jews in
Tunis who seek French protection.
All the Jews of Tunis retain the ancient Spanish ritual. They are
peaceful and well behaved, and not so grasping as others of their
faith, but they are clever at taking advantage of a good opportunity
when there is a prospect of making money, or when their trade may
be extended. Commerce is therefore in great measure in their
hands.
In the whole Regency of Tunisia there are over fifty thousand
Jews, and their numbers increase rapidly. In the town of Tunis there
is a “ghetto,” the quarter formerly devoted to them, and where they
were compelled to dwell. It has long since become too small, and the
Jews have now spread over all the other quarters, and in the
bazaars have wrested from the Moors many of their shops.
This Jewish community is an interesting study, and one is
astonished to find how in many respects they so little resemble their
co-religionists in other countries.
COSTUMES
Berbers)