TEHRAN - Iran has always had nomads and they still represent a small percentage of Iran's population.

Various phenomena affect their lives. The main characteristic of their way of life is their constant migration in search of pastures and fresh water for their herds.

Over the past seven centuries, nomads have almost established governments themselves. Before the Islamic Revolution of Iran, nomadic governments claimed sovereignty over their nomadic areas.

However, since the establishment of the Islamic Republic of Iran, nomads are no longer so independent.

Nomads represent the third and smallest section of Iran's population, after the urban and rural communities. They have difficult lives, depending on animal husbandry for their livelihood.

Despite the fact that the Islamic Republic of Iran has done more for them than previous governments, they feel that the government should pay more attention to them and provide more support to them.

One wonders if governors, officials, advisors, and policymakers are paying sufficient attention to this stratum of society.

Speaking about the nomads when he was president, the Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei, said, "This stratum of our society, as I mentioned previously, is the most deprived stratum. As I have dealt with some of them in the past, I know what a grave responsibility these people bear, and what great financial difficulties they are dealing with. Everything, which is essential in the everyday lives of people, they get by chance. It is fortunate if they find water, shelter, bread, employment, and daily and nightly peace and security."

Ayatollah Khamenei went on to say that nomads are noble people who have the same rights as everyone else and that we should see them as they are. He said that policymakers should not neglect them in their decisions. He added that we should do our best to provide them with the best facilities for intellectual development, like people in other parts of the country.

He concluded by saying that the government should spend more on nomad issues, since it allocates funds for urban and rural issues annually.

This stratum of society protects the country's borders naturally and ideologically. All this should make the country's officials and politicians pay more attention to them than before.

As for the nomads of Tehran Province and the Hadavand tribe, becoming more familiar with their problems can help us understand them better. Qasem Norouzi, a member of the Hadavand tribe from the Siri clan, said that migration and the availability of pasturelands are the most essential factors for producing beef and mutton, but, unfortunately, nomads were not permitted to use natural resources for various reasons including grassland protection.

Ali Akbari, the director of the Nomads Affairs Organization, said that unfortunately, during the past five years, only 3.5 percent of the facilities promised to nomads have been provided to them. He added that all organizations, the Environmental Protection Organization in particular, are working within the framework of their appointed duties to assist the nomads. He concluded by saying, "Different organizations' wrong activities have created a social crisis for nomads."