Since late December 2020, Rabab El-Sharkawy, who lives with her three daughters in the Qaraqes area of Beheira Governorate, has been living through ongoing human suffering, after she, along with hundreds of citizens, was forced to vacate their homes, and alternative homes were refused to them.
Five years ago, Rabab was shocked by the issuing of an order from the Sharnoub council to vacate her housing, in addition to the Earthquake areas and Madinat El-Araes, on the pretext that the buildings were at risk of collapse, giving them a deadline until mid-January 2021. The residents rejected this because no alternative housing had been provided for them, but when the deadline expired, the utilities were cut off from the residents, water, gas and electricity, to force them out. They were not only left in the dark: people stormed the residential buildings and forcibly ripped out the water pipes, flooding the homes with drinking water, and the residents were forced to flee after their furniture was ruined. At that point, local officials sent them the city council’s rubbish collection trucks to move their belongings.
Rabab, a single mother who supports her family and works as a nurse, did not know where to take them amid the winter cold, but she was forced to leave with other families. They were promised at the time that alternative housing would be provided within two years, with a monthly rent allowance of EGP 600. She then rented a small flat consisting of one room, a kitchen and a bathroom for EGP 1,700 a month, and moved her damaged furniture into it. However, the payment of the rent allowance stopped after the first year, leaving the residents living in human suffering, and the complaints the affected residents submitted to the governorate were of no use, as their demands are referred from one council to another without a solution, while the governorate justifies the delay in providing them with alternative housing by the lack of a budget, as Rabab recounts.
She stresses that the residents are living in a state of despair and homelessness, and that their repeated attempts to meet officials have failed, despite submitting official requests and sending documented “faxes” to the governorate and the Ministry of Housing, noting that the residents paid a financial down payment to buy their flats and paid monthly instalments for more than twenty years, and were supposed to own them after a period of 25 years had elapsed, but the eviction took place just one month before the date of ownership transfer.
Rabab tells “Zawia3”: “24 years ago, the government was building housing for those without shelter, through the Sharnoub council, and it was sold to the residents for EGP 5,000, with a monthly rent paid, and the buyers were supposed to own it 25 years after contracting. But its owners sold them through chained contracts, and in 2008 I bought my flat, which was part of the Earthquake housing, for EGP 50,000. I went to the council to settle the dues, and they said I had to pay EGP 100,000, which I paid in instalments. When I asked to receive the final ownership contract, they said I had to wait until all the residents of the building had paid the amounts still owed by them, and when the date of final handover to everyone approached, they threw us out”.
She adds: “We used to pay the council monthly instalments of EGP 56, under the heading of restoration, maintenance and rent. When a decision to restore the housing was issued, they first asked us for EGP 4,000 from each flat for the restoration, then reduced it to EGP 1,500, and we did pay the amount, but they cut off our gas on the pretext of safety during the restoration. Two months later, after the money had been collected, they informed us of the eviction decision”.
El-Sharkawy explains that what was published in the media was limited to only three buildings removed in 2018, while dozens of other buildings were later vacated without any light being shed on them, stressing that hundreds of citizens from the areas of “El-Gababin”, “Ezbet El-Kom” and “El-Zilzal” (the Earthquake area) faced the same fate, without alternative housing. She explains: “We lived in 18 buildings, each building with 24 flats. Some flats were vacant, but the rest were inhabited by hundreds of citizens with their families.
She continues: “We received the amount allocated for alternative housing rent in the first year only, and in the second year it stopped completely. When we go to the governorate to protest, they tell us: “We were giving you aid; this is usufruct land owned by the state””, adding: “I am a divorced woman and I have three daughters, two of them twins and one in the third year of preparatory school, and there are others like me, widows and sick people. When another year passed without us receiving anything, we organised something like demonstrations, coinciding with the election period, and we blocked the road. Then they decided to pay us EGP 500, after it had been 600, and this amount is not paid regularly; rather, every three months we receive EGP 1,500”.
She explains that she and other residents were thrown out in 2021, the following year the rent allowance stopped, in the third year they signed contracts for alternative flats that they have not received until now, and this year the rent allowance was cut off from them, which pushed them to organise a protest in front of the Sharnoub village council and block the road, but they reaped nothing but more promises.
As Mohamed El-Tantawy, one of those affected by the removal of the Qaraqes housing in Beheira Governorate, stresses, hundreds of families had been living in this housing for about 25 years, some of them earthquake victims and others from the Madinat El-Araes project. He explains that the residents were preparing to receive ownership contracts in January four years ago, but they were surprised by a decision obliging them to vacate the housing without any documents guaranteeing their rights. He states that the Sharnoub village council, to which the project belongs, notified them that the final deadline for eviction was the end of December and that whoever refused would be removed by force, even though the residents had been paying a monthly rent that included fees for restoration and maintenance, yet no maintenance work was carried out throughout their period of residence.
He tells “Zawia3”: “Employees affiliated with the “Tahya Misr” Fund visited the area more than four years ago to collect residents’ data and pay off overdue debts, but they paid the debts of only a limited number of poor families, while the situation of the rest of the residents was not settled. After the eviction, the housing was completely demolished, with promises that the “Haya Karima” initiative would take charge of rebuilding it, which has not happened until now”.
Mohamed, who lost his job as a cook during the coronavirus pandemic and lives with his family in very difficult living conditions, explains that he was forced to rent two separate rooms on two different floors because of financial hardship, stressing that most families have become homeless: some rented temporary housing and others took refuge in their relatives’ homes, while the governorate paid them a monthly rent allowance of EGP 500, but it stops for several months, and EGP 1,500 is paid to them every three months, which is not enough to cover the rent of alternative housing.
El-Tantawy adds: “All the residents held blue ownership contracts and paid monthly purchase instalments within the Madinat El-Araes project, and sales and purchases between us were carried out through official powers of attorney. But the governorate later considered that this housing was only under a usufruct system, and this is a clear injustice, because we had actually paid the price of the flats”.
He explains that the removed housing was in good structural condition, fit for habitation for another twenty years, and that the reinforcing steel extracted during the demolition was new and had not rusted, which shows its solidity. He accuses the Sharnoub council of wasting money after it collected restoration fees without carrying out the restoration, noting that the residents had previously tried to complain to the governorate, but it, according to him, called in the security forces to disperse their gathering in the street, then paid them only three months of their dues and closed the file.
The affected resident stresses that the residents are living in harsh human conditions in the absence of any body defending their rights, calling for a reconsideration of the situation of the affected families and the regular payment of their dues, or the provision of fair alternative housing that guarantees their family and living stability.
The testimony of Rabab and Mohamed intersects with what is recounted by Mostafa Ahmed, one of the residents of Qaraqes village affected by the decision to remove the housing, who explains that the problem began when an earlier decision was issued to restore the buildings, as their condition did not require complete removal, but local officials suddenly decided to demolish them four years ago, with promises to compensate the residents and provide housing alternatives, but these promises have not been implemented to this day, as the residents have received neither an adequate rent allowance nor alternative housing.
He explains to “Zawia3” that the governorate used to pay the residents EGP 600 a month as a rent allowance, then the payments stopped completely before being reduced to EGP 1,500 every three months, noting that many, himself among them, spent more than 13 months without receiving any money, but after repeated visits to the city council and meeting the official, their names were re-included in the lists of those entitled, while they were informed that the previous amounts would not be paid.
Mostafa points out that the residents demanded the return of their flats that were removed, considering them their property under the rent-to-own system, but the official response was that “there are no units currently available”, in reference to the absence of any clear plan to rehouse them.
He stresses that the problem recurs because of the absence of accountability and the passing of responsibility between local bodies, adding that “the village council hands responsibility over to whoever comes after it, and everyone deals through favouritism, while the right of the ordinary citizen is lost in the end”.
Hundreds of families in the Qaraqes area of the city of Damanhour face an acute humanitarian crisis after the removal of their old housing, in which they had lived for more than a quarter of a century, as part of a development plan that has not been completed until now. While the residents were waiting to receive the ownership contracts whose instalments they had paid for years, they were surprised by eviction and demolition decisions without the provision of housing alternatives or fair compensation, which led to their displacement between temporary rentals and staying with relatives. With the payment of the rent allowance halted for long periods and the delay in implementing the “Haya Karima” project for rebuilding, the residents are living in a state of legal and social loss amid a clear absence of accountability and transparency in the management of the development file.
A Restoration Decision Never Implemented and Eviction Without an Alternative
The suffering of the affected residents in Qaraqes, Beheira, did not begin with the eviction and removal of the housing 5 years ago. The village, whose population exceeds 30,000, suffered from severe neglect for years despite its proximity to the city of Damanhour, as it was subjected to continuous flooding with sewage water and a rise in the groundwater level that threatened the houses’ structures with collapse, according to a press report published in 2016. Another report in 2018 stated that about 2,000 citizens had been living in housing units in the Ezbet El-Kom area for a quarter of a century, amid deteriorating utilities and pools and swamps of sewage water, suffered from sewage mixing with drinking water, and paid sums of money, estimated at EGP 500 per unit, under the heading of restoration or connection to sewerage, but the works have not been carried out until now, according to the testimonies of the residents, who complained at the time of the absence of a complete sewerage network, reliance on costly sewage suction trucks and the widespread spread of rubbish, which made movement inside the village difficult and led to the spread of insects and the outbreak of digestive diseases.
The Ministry of Housing, Utilities and Urban Communities had announced, in June 2015, the approval of the urban boundary of Qaraqes village in the Sharnoub local unit, in Damanhour district of Beheira Governorate, within the framework of the work of the standing committee formed by Decree No. (36) of 1993, responsible for reviewing and approving the urban boundaries of the Republic’s cities and villages, as amended by Ministerial Decree No. (58) of 2002, to study and review the proposed cordons for the Republic’s cities.
In February 2018, a number of units in the village (59 units in 3 buildings) suffered partial collapses of ceilings and walls, and Eng. Nadia Abdo, then governor of Beheira, decided to provide alternative housing within a week, rented at the governorate’s expense in the city of Damanhour, for a renewable period of one year until alternative housing could be arranged for the residents of 59 housing units in 3 public housing buildings in Qaraqes village, Damanhour district, that were at risk of collapse, or to hand over ready alternative flats in Badr district to those of them who wished. Later, a demolition decision was issued for those buildings by the committee for buildings at risk of collapse, and alternative units were offered to their residents in Badr district.
In September 2021, Hisham Amna, the former governor of Beheira, approved financial allocations to upgrade and maintain 20 residential buildings comprising 380 housing units and 20 shops in Qaraqes village, Damanhour district, based on technical reports stating that these structures were “at risk of collapse”. The maintenance works approved by the governor at the time included installing a sewerage network and connecting the units to it, treating the columns, beams and ceilings, raising the building entrances and the ground floor, and completing the internal supply connections. However, the governor’s instructions were not implemented, and the housing was vacated and removed, according to the residents’ testimonies.
A request submitted by some of the affected flat owners to the citizens’ service office in the Beheira Governorate building, bearing request number 1978 on 28 July 2022, which Zawia3 has seen, states that on 15 January 2021 the residents were expelled by force from their homes, located at the far end of Ezbet El-Kom in Damanhour district of Beheira Governorate. They were intimidated by thugs, their electricity, water and all their utilities were cut off, and the thugs stole from some flats in which no one lived. Then the Sharnoub city council agreed with them to hand over alternative units in place of the housing that had been demolished, and some people’s furniture was moved on the council’s rubbish trucks, in exchange for issuing orders for other housing units. The period was two years, and during the two years a sum would be paid every month for temporary alternative rent; a Visa card was made for everyone to collect each month, the amount was EGP 500, and the payment lasted a full year. After that, this sum was cut off for a full year, and then the Sharnoub council asked them to carry out surveys and submit them to the council, and after that a sum of EGP 500 was paid to only 68 individuals and no more.
The request added that they went to the Shubrakhit city council to speak with the head of the city council, Ahmed Farghaly, and they promised that alternative flats would be received as soon as possible, and this was signed in February 2022. A sum of EGP 500 was paid for three months together, equivalent to EGP 1,500, then once for a full year, and after that they went to the council again, and the applicants did not receive any response. They went to the governorate building to meet any official and present this problem to him, but they were only allowed to sit with the governorate secretary, who did not give them any response. They went to the Damanhour city council and were referred to the Sharnoub city council, and the reply came that your problem lies with the Damanhour city council and there is no solution with us. Then they went to the Damanhour city council once again and we asked to meet the head of the council, Ahmed Bassiouny, and the reply was that he was not present and was travelling outside the governorate, to be present after 15 days, while Kamel Abdallah, the financial affairs representative, asked them for a 15-day grace period to present this problem to officials.
The Minimum for Adequate Housing
For his part, urban expert Ibrahim Ezz El-Din, policy director at Diwan Al-Omran and its founder, believes that urban development policies in Egypt lack clarity, as the implementing bodies do not answer the basic questions related to the planning process, foremost among them: “Who are we planning for?”. He notes that urban development or the replacement of dilapidated buildings is not a problem in itself, but the absence of announced plans and decision-making criteria creates recurring crises, stressing that evicting residents without providing immediate housing alternatives or involving them in the decision is one of the recurring features of current development policies.
Ezz El-Din explains that the Informal Settlements Development Fund adopted, from 2008, a clear methodology for determining a removal decision based on the “degree of danger” and not on localised cracks or the collapse of part of a ceiling, noting that the fund classified areas into: areas of imminent danger, structural danger to housing, health danger and security danger, since the appearance of limited cracks or a localised collapse in a building does not justify demolishing an entire area, but is subject to a separate engineering assessment, and a decision may be taken to restore or to remove only partially.
He tells “Zawia3”: “Demolishing habitable housing for the purpose of development without providing immediate and sufficient compensation or a suitable housing alternative is a form of forced eviction prohibited internationally under General Comment No. 7 of the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. Urban development is not an exception to these rules, and the absence of adequate compensation puts the state in clear violation of international standards”.
The policy director at Diwan Al-Omran considers that paying an irregular rent allowance of a meagre value such as EGP 500 a month constitutes a clear breach of the rights of those affected, because this amount does not reflect the reality of current rent prices and does not allow families to obtain safe housing, explaining that this policy reflects the absence of serious guarantees of reparation, whether through providing suitable alternative housing or financial support equivalent to the real cost of living.
The urban expert stresses that the standards of “adequate housing” rest on seven elements set out in international charters, most notably: legal security of tenure, affordability, availability of basic services, structural safety, social suitability, accessibility and suitable location, noting that the situation of the Qaraqes residents does not meet these standards, given that they did not participate in drafting the development plan and do not have the basic guarantees of the right to housing.
Ezz El-Din points out that the “Haya Karima” initiative operates within the framework of the state’s general policies aimed at re-offering poor areas at a higher value to investors. He adds that the delay of projects in a number of sites reflects the absence of a clear timetable that includes economic feasibility and funding sources.
He continues that “the most important alternative is applying the law and adhering to the international treaties that criminalise forced eviction, with the necessity of genuine consultation with residents and granting them the right to participate in determining the future of their areas, instead of resorting to comprehensive demolition. Involving residents begins with prior and transparent consultation on development plans and housing options, and providing clear information about the rights of each family”.
The urban expert stresses the importance of involving representatives of residents in local committees and documenting official minutes of agreement guaranteeing the right of return or ownership after the development is completed, along with providing adequate temporary housing alternatives, considering that these mechanisms consolidate trust and ensure that development is for the benefit of the community and not at its expense.
Official Silence and Continued Suffering
Over four years, the residents of Qaraqes have kept going round in a vicious circle of postponed promises, contradictory official statements and the absence of any clear vision for their future. While “development” and “the public interest” were used as justifications for the eviction and demolition decisions, hundreds of families suddenly found themselves outside their homes, without alternative housing, without fair compensation and without a legal framework guaranteeing their right to return, despite years of payments, initial ownership contracts, and maintenance and restoration fees paid over decades.
The testimonies of Rabab, Mohamed, Mostafa and others reveal a wide gap in social urban policies in Egypt, where development plans turn from an opportunity to improve the quality of life into a source of new suffering when they are implemented without transparency, without involving residents, or without providing suitable alternatives that protect families from displacement, which raises questions about the absence of procedural justice and the extent of accountability among local bodies.
Out of our concern for the right of reply, “Zawia3” contacted by phone Mohamed Massoud, head of Damanhour district and city in Beheira, to ask him about the details of the crisis of the affected residents, but he denied any knowledge of the matter, as he had taken up his post on 29 October last by decision of Dr. Jacqueline Azer, governor of Beheira, who assigned him to act as head of the local unit of Damanhour district and city.
“Zawia3” repeatedly tried to contact Dr. Jacqueline Azer, governor of Beheira, and MP Sanaa Barghash, the representative for Damanhour city and district and a member of the Mostaqbal Watan Party, but neither of them answered any of our calls. It also contacted by phone Major General Hassan Mowafi, secretary general of Beheira Governorate, to ask him about the subject and the complaint submitted by the affected citizens among the residents of Ezbet El-Kom in Qaraqes village, but he refused to comment on the matter and asked us to contact the governorate’s media centre, which showed no knowledge of the developments of the crisis when we called it. The official explained that the governorate had been paying these residents a monthly rent allowance until alternative housing was provided for them, but he thought the crisis had ended, pledging to get back to the officials.
Today, those affected in Qaraqes stand on the edge of despair, burdened with rent debts and threatened with losing family stability, while their demolished homes remain a witness to promises not implemented, initiatives not completed and a development project whose fate has yet to be determined. With this vacuum continuing, the question remains open: who will restore to these families their right to housing, their dignity that was squandered, and a small homeland they lost on the threshold of decisions without an alternative?
