The Egyptian government Al-Ahram Weekly recently published an article about the demolition of homes in Al-Boa'irat, on the West Bank of the Nile in Luxor, Egypt. The following are excerpts from the article: [1]
Government Demolition Forces Tear Down Houses Without Prior Notice
"A few days after the demolition forces knocked down a number of houses in the Al-Boa'irat area in the West Bank of Luxor, George Abadir sat surrounded by torn down fences, worrying over the fate of his own two-story building. Abadir is one of the people whose house may soon be demolished though he has lived there for years…
"… Abadir pulled out the documents resulting from [court] hearings. His papers seem to have provided him with no defense, however. 'I was out when the demolition forces arrived, so I thought it would be best if I stay at home until I figure out whether there are plans to demolish my house too,' Abadir told Al-Ahram Weekly.
"Arguing that he has been paying for electricity consumption for the past year, for him this signifies that the government acknowledges his ownership of the house.
"A small demonstration was organized last Sunday by the local and foreign residents who share the land and businesses of the West Bank. The protest managed, however momentarily, to put a stop to the bulldozers destroying the houses, according to Jim Scout, a British citizen who owns and lives in a house in Al-Boa'irat. He told the Weekly that 'all the people who bought land or houses here know it is a land owned by the government. But it has become an established village with houses, supermarkets, a mosque, two hotels and a number of restaurants. I bought the house a year ago when it was only a one-story building, and I then built two other floors.'
"Scout contends that in fact the government implicitly gave its consent for the construction to take place. 'The present situation was allowed to happen, and it has been going on for years now – since the 1980s,' he said. 'Besides, it has attracted many foreigners to invest their money and come and live here by the Nile.'"
'We Inherited This House and Land From Our Ancestors But Now I Have Nowhere to Live'
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"Further into the West Bank stand the remnants of one of the houses demolished last week. The residents have been sitting in front of their destroyed house since then. 'It was made of mud bricks; then we started rebuilding it with bricks,' said Hussein Tayie. 'We inherited this house and the land from our ancestors but now I have nowhere to live.'
"Many other residents in the West Bank fear a similar fate to Tayie's. 'If they had wanted to forbid the construction, why didn't they do it from the beginning? Besides they provided us with water and electricity and we pay the administrative fees every year,' said resident Abd Al-Hagag Omar…
"Voicing feelings of dismay and defiance was Shahenaz, a British woman married to an Egyptian, who lives in a big house by the Nile. 'I have all the legal papers that prove my ownership of the house, and I won't let them demolish it. I have invested a lot of money in my house,' she told the Weekly…"
The Government Has Pushed To Remove All (Illegally Constructed) Houses on the West Bank
"While many of the residents are unsure about the fate of their buildings, the authorities apparently have the law on their side. As the head of Ancient Egyptian Antiquities at the Supreme Council of Antiquities, Sabry Abd Al-Aziz, told the Weekly, in 1981 Presidential Decree Number 267 pronounced the area of the West Bank in Luxor an archeological protectorate… 'There are a lot of violations in the area of the West Bank of the Nile, and due to the complex situation, Minister of Culture Farouk Hosni has asked the head of Luxor City Council to quickly eradicate all these violations,' he said…"
Foreigners: 'We Have the Right to Know What the Government is Planning to Do'
"The loss of investments in the area is not a problem that the locals face alone, for foreigners also share part of the problem. Frederiek Wendsefelder, a partner in a small hotel, believes that the money she has invested in the business cannot be compensated. 'I brought all my money to invest in this area, and when we were building the hotel no one complained, so we just went ahead,' she told the Weekly. With an angry tone, she demanded that the city council provide her with prior notification as to 'which houses are going to be demolished. We have the right to know what the government is planning to do.'
"Similarly, Joanna Tidy, a British national married to an Egyptian, came to Luxor and invested with her husband in a two-story building located on a side road in the West Bank. 'When I first came, all the lawyers we consulted told us that there is a nonverbal agreement that allows people to build in this area, and since the city provided us with electricity and water, we assumed that there was no problem,' Tidy said…
"For Arnfinn Sorensen, who came all the way from Norway to settle in Luxor, leaving the West Bank is no longer an option. 'I am diabetic and I have a heart problem, and the dry climate of Luxor is the most suitable for my poor health,' said Sorensen. With shaking hands, he pointed to the nearby houses. 'We should all have been all notified…'"
Government Response: 'They All Know Their Housing … Is Illegal in the First Place'
"Said Farag, a member of the Luxor local council, proposed that people pay fines for their violations in order to avoid the demolition of their homes. He also submitted requests to the city council demanding the halt of all demolitions and at the same time asked it to halt any new construction in the area. However, in response to such requests, El-Banna replied that 'the law has to be executed.' Further, although many residents have been pushing for their right to know whether their homes will be demolished, El-Banna said that all the houses were all illegally built so the owners need not know which ones will be demolished. 'They don't have that right as they all know their housing in the West Bank is illegal in the first place…'
"El-Banna did, however, admit that it is contradictory that the residents should have had to pay an administrative fee to the government despite their housing being illegal. ' The Central Auditing Agency contradicts us and demands the collection of the administrative fees for all those using public property whether legally or illegally,' he added…"
[1] Al-Ahram (Egypt), February 26 - March 3, 2004.
