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Al-Ahram Weekly 13 - 19 May 1999 Issue No. 429 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 13 - 19 May 1999 Issue No. 429
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Profile Features Books Travel Living Sports People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters Defining the public interest
By Mariz TadrosThere were no signs of celebration in a shantytown called Mansheyet Al-Salam Al-Gedeeda, east of the southern suburb of Helwan, although inhabitants certainly had reason to celebrate. Last week, the Supreme Administrative Court annulled a decision by the Cairo Governorate to evict 250 families, altogether some 1,000 persons, inhabiting 150 houses. Judge Gawdat El-Malat ruled that public interest takes priority over the interests of a minority -- an allusion to a society that claims to be the landlord.
The ruling is unusual. It is rare for the inhabitants of a shantytown to win a lawsuit against the state. Stories of eviction involving immediate bulldozer visits have not been scarce.
Back at Mansheyet Al-Salam Al-Gedeeda, the reaction was disbelief. "No eviction? Really? How come?" said a bewildered mother. Calling on one house after the other, it became clear that nobody knew about the court's decision. "This is not the first time a court hands down a ruling in our favour; things would remain quiet for a while, and then the problems would start all over again. Someone from the governorate would come and tell us we have to go," said Khaled, a male nurse.
Mansheyet Al-Salam Al-Gedeeda is a densely populated, haphazardly- built, settlement housing a diverse community. Some are migrants from Upper Egypt, others came from other shantytowns looking for work in one of the Helwan factories and many are junior civil servants who had nowhere else to settle.
"How can it be that we have won the lawsuit while our electricity remains cut off?" asked Umm Sayed suspiciously. Fresh requests for the restoration of the power supply have been denied.
The houses were all built by the inhabitants themselves. The majority are multi-room hut-like dwellings, each room inhabited by one family. Since its status had been declared illegal a long time ago, the shantytown has no infrastructure, except the little the inhabitants built themselves. "We pooled our money together to build some sort of a sewage system," said Hagg Mubarak, who has been living at the settlement since 1975. "Now, it's time for the government to give us papers acknowledging our legal status, so that nobody harasses us again."
But isn't he relieved that he does not have to go? "We wouldn't have left anyway. They would have had to bulldoze us along with our homes," Hagg Mubarak said defiantly.
While the court deemed it in the public interest that the people of Mansheyet Al-Salam Al-Gedeeda stay put, another court condemned for eviction the residents of a high-rise in the posh district of Agouza.
After spending several years abroad, Nader, a university lecturer, came back to Egypt eager to settle down. He put his life savings into an apartment in building No 9, Abul-Mahassen Square. Shortly afterwards, he fell in love and the wedding was scheduled for 28 July. But the flat, as Nader concedes, may long be gone before that date. The entire building is scheduled to be pulled down on 15 May and the 30 families living in it evicted.
Ahmed Sherif, an engineer, said he bought an apartment on the fourth floor following his marriage in 1980 for $23,000. The papers forwarded by the owner, Mohamed Rabei Gedeir, were all in perfect order, all carrying the state stamp. Seventeen years later, the residents were informed that the man who sold them the apartments was a fraud. The true owners, Zaki Fahmi Abdel-Malek and Wagnat Barsoum Doss, had filed a lawsuit and won LE5.5 million in compensation from Gedeir. The man never paid the money and a court later ruled that the true owners have the right to evict the residents and pull the building down.
"We sympathise with the owners; after all, this is their land, but we, too, have been done an injustice. Is this our fault? We had no way of knowing that this man is a fraud. He should be punished, but why punish us?" said Sherif.
The residents of No 9 sought the assistance of many officials, beginning with the socialist prosecutor-general, the municipal district council, the Cairo governor, a cabinet minister and the list goes on. They even staged sit-in strikes outside the cabinet offices. "We were sent from one official to another, each telling us that the matter is not in his hands," Sherif said.
Sayed Gohar, from the municipal council, told Al-Ahram Weekly that there was nothing he could do. "It is a final court decision and no one can contest it. The issue is finished, the ruling passed. What we are suggesting is for the government to provide alternative housing for them since it is not their fault they were the victims of a thief. We can only make a humanitarian plea," Gohar said.
For Gohar, evictions are a common fact of life. "You are concerned about one building in Agouza, while there are 770 houses that will be demolished in the low-income district of Meit Okba to make way for the 26 July route," he said.
But the residents of No 9 have vowed to stay put. "No one is going to leave his apartment. They will have to pull the building down with us in it," said Nader. Attempts to postpone the eviction date until August, to allow children to complete the school year, have failed.
"One of the officials told us that a grace period will be given, but this was not in writing. We don't trust anyone anymore; our rights have been violated and we may end up on the streets through no fault of our own," he said.
