Egypt: Collapse fears provoke fresh evictions in Cairo’s Moqattam

10 years ago | Posted in: World | 576 Views

Nineteen homes were demolished on Al-Razaz street in Dweika on Monday due to fears of a fresh rock collapse, leading to the eviction of 98 families.

 

Some were provided with homes nearby, while others were transported over 60km away to 6 October City.

The demolition order was based on a report by a governorate-appointed engineering committee, which affirmed “the danger of the situation” and the need for the immediate fortification of a giant boulder, which could collapse onto the houses below.

Cairo governor Galal Said said the houses were demolished because they were hindering work on fortifying the boulder.

In the summer of 2008, eight huge boulders fell on Dweika in Moqattam, a slum area in eastern Cairo, killing 100 people.

Suzan Mubarak, the wife of deposed president Hosni Mubarak, was blamed by many for the tragedy.

Lawyers for five state employees, who stood trial for the collapse, said their clients were made scapegoats for the First Lady’s mistakes.

They accused her of ordering the building of housing units in Dweika with inadequate sanitation facilities, forcing residents to dispose of their sewage on Moqattam mountain, which loosened the surrounding rocks.

Monday’s evictions angered some families, who accused the governorate of “manipulating them” by sending them to districts that are far away from their jobs and lacking basic facilities such as water, electricity and transportation.

“Why doesn’t the government just let the poor be,” complained Hussein Hamdy, whose house was demolished on Monday.

“All the governorate has been doing since the 2008 collapse is merely propaganda. It claims to be trying to help the residents but it is just evicting us in different phases,” said local resident Ibrahim Mahmoud. “Most of the time they are unjust evictions.”… see more

source: ahram online

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