CAIRO — Residents of a
Nile island in greater Cairo woke up in recent weeks to find officials taking
measurements of their houses — a final step before enforcing demolition orders.
اضافة اعلان
Since then,
people from Warraq — some of whom have been on the working-class, agricultural
island for generations — have renewed efforts to oppose a mega development
project that would see the island’s character and their homes erased.
“Just give us a
part of the island, even if it is behind a wall,” one resident in his thirties
told AFP, requesting anonymity due to security concerns.
“We will not
leave,” he added, insisting he has all the proper documentation for his house.
With its green
fields, red-brick buildings, irrigation canals, and livestock farming, Warraq —
located in
Giza governorate and home to around 100,000 people — is just a ferry
ride away from Cairo’s traffic-choked streets.
The government
in late July evoked images of Manhattan as it unveiled an almost billion-dollar
plan for the 6sq.km. island’s redevelopment, featuring glittering skyscrapers,
helipads, and marinas.
Minister of
Housing Assem Al-Gazzar has labelled those who oppose the redevelopment as
“divisive forces of evil”, calling the old buildings “dilapidated”.
But residents
like the man in his thirties remain defiant.
“We pay our
taxes, our water and power bills, why can’t we benefit from the development of
our island?” he said.
‘Ridiculous’
Authorities “gave some residents four days to leave their homes” in
late July, a resident in his fifties told AFP, also requesting anonymity for
security reasons.
The move
triggered demonstrations, clashes, and arrests the following month as the
years-long fight against the project kicked off again.
The government
has been promising massive returns on the redevelopment of Warraq since the
administration of longtime president Hosni Mubarak, who was deposed in 2011.
The project for
the capital’s largest island was reactivated under current
President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, whose other “mega projects” include a sparkling new capital
rising from the sands 50km east of Cairo.
The
general-turned-president has entrusted military engineers with the Warraq
project — dubbed “Horus City” after the ancient Egyptian sky god.
In 2017,
authorities moved to demolish “illegal” buildings on Warraq as part of a
campaign aimed at restoring state-owned land.
At least one
person was killed after the operation triggered clashes between residents and
security forces.
Anti-eviction
advocates defended residents’ legal rights to the land, with lawyer Khaled Ali
sharing copies of residents’ property deeds on social media, as well as the
birth certificate of one islander born there “100 years ago”.
But two years
later, a committee of experts found the evictions to be “in the public
interest”.
The Warraq resident
in his fifties, who works in the agriculture sector, said he was not against
relocating but demanded fair compensation, calling a recent government offer
“ridiculous”.
“They proposed
1,400 Egyptian pounds ($73) per square meter,” he said. “You can’t buy anything
off the island with that.”
‘Gentrification’
Residents of other islands fear the Warraq project is just the
beginning.
This year, 17
Nile islands including Warraq were handed over to the army and subsequently
lost their nature reserve status.
Opposing urban
development projects can come at a cost.
Warraq activist
Ramy Kamel spent more than two years in pre-trial detention on “terrorism”
charges before being released in January.
“Kamel was one
of the most committed activists in tracking state violations against Coptic
displacement due to security concerns or urban development initiatives,”
historian Amy Fallas told AFP, referring to Egypt’s main Christian minority.
While state bulldozers
have recently targeted more affluent neighborhoods, urban planner Ahmed Zaazaa
said low socio-economic districts were the first to be razed.
“It’s a
gentrification process — the city center is being emptied of poverty to make
way for investment,” he told AFP.
One-third of
Egypt’s 103 million people live in poverty, according to World Bank figures,
with another third vulnerable to becoming destitute.
Zaazaa says the
Cairo redevelopments aim to prepare the city “to accommodate the new capital”.
“Historic and
traditional districts of Cairo are being destroyed” so workers can reach the
new area, he said.
Some residents
have been relocated to “mega public housing projects on the periphery”, but
most find “other informal areas a better solution”, he added.
Using official
statements, media reports and satellite imagery, Zaazaa has estimated that
“15,000 buildings have been demolished” in Cairo since Sisi took power in 2013.
Residents of Warraq
fear displacement will irrevocably rupture their tight-knit community, which is
already feeling the pressure as development plans progress.
“Non-residents
are not allowed on the island,” said the resident in his thirties.
“One of the
ferries was recently closed,” he said, and the remaining two “are monitored by
security services around the clock”.
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