CAIRO: Al Wayly district began demolishing 21 buildings in Abasseya square Sunday to kick-start the construction of Cairo's third underground metro line, amid the stifled objections of angry residents. On Saturday, the district cut off electricity and water from all the buildings, where shop owners and some residents objected to not receiving what they consider to be satisfactory compensation. They estimated the value of land to be LE 2,000 per meter in Abasseya square, which means that I get LE 7,000 for my shop, Mohamed Abd El Baky, the owner of a small kiosk, told The Daily Star Egypt. They gave him the choice between either taking the LE 7,000 or buying another shop in Nahda, an area affiliated to El Salam District, along the road leading to 10 of Ramadan City, an area known for harboring criminals and drug addicts. Even a shop the same size would cost LE 15 to LE 17 in Nahda, and I would have to pay the difference, Abd El Baky said. This shop is the only source of income for three families, Abd El Baky s four children and wife, and his two brothers, their wives and their eight children. We poor people are just extras. May God forgive them, Abd El Baky said. Despite the power and water cut, those who had no alternative place to go decided to stay. Sudaf Sayed Mohamed Khedr, a woman who lives with her husband, two children, her brother and his daughter in a two-room flat, benefits from the small rent of LE 5 a month. It is the small rent that makes us able to live. My husband makes LE 400 pounds a month and my brother earns a LE 300 pension, she told The Daily Star Egypt. Sudfa and her bother Hassan, were offered LE 27,000 and were also given the alternative of moving to Nahda in an apartment worth LE 35,000. They too will have to pay the difference. Leases according to the new renting system don't go for less than LE 200, she complained. Sudfa plans to file a suit objecting to her deceased brother s children receiving their share of the money (LE 18,000) since she and her family, are the ones affected by the demolition, while her dead brother s children already have a place to stay. Maher Saksun, who used to own a fish store, received LE 45,000 in compensation, but he believes his shop was worth LE 200,000. Saksun still pays the four workers who used to work for him a monthly salary, since each has a family to provide for. But he does not know how long he will be able to do that. The photocopy center also used to provide for six families who are now unemployed. According to his brother and the manager of the center, Ayman Mahrus, one of the shop owners got a nervous breakdown when he learnt about the demolition. Abd El Baky, Sudfa, Saksun and Mahrus occupied an area of 13 buildings needed for the metro; the remaining eight buildings would be torn down to make a garden, said Salah El Sayed Mohamed, the owner of a feteer shop whose father died of a heart attack when he heard the news that he will lose the shop he built in 1965. Mohamed refused the compensation of LE 40,000 for a shop that he believes is worth a LE 500,000. On Sunday he sent a telegraph to President Mubarak and the public prosecutor calling for help. Shops in the area are worth LE 12,000 per meter, Mohamed alleged. Musa d Mahmoud, another shop-owner and father of four, will now have to take his children out of school to work. I am 50 years now, where will I get a job? he said. Mohamed, who was very angry, accused the government of being a colonialist government. We pay taxes, insurance, we help the country, we contribute to public interest, give people good services. Just tell one of those people in high places to donate LE 10 for public interest and they'd say no, he said. If they need the place urgently, they should give us our rights. Does public interest mean leaving people on the street? Hesham Sakr, the owner of another cheese shop told The Daily Star Egypt. The owners of 13 shops had filed a lawsuit at the State Council against the General Authority for Tunnels objecting to the demolition order. According to a copy of the minutes of the court session obtained by The Daily Star Egypt, the court had ruled on July 4 that the buildings will not be evacuated before a special committee convenes and the court decides on July 22 whether or not the contested area is necessary for the project. Despite the court ruling, the demolition already began. At time of press the tunnel authority could not be reached for comment. The Daily Star Egypt repeatedly tried to contacted the MP representing Al Wayly district, Shereen Fouad, and the head of Al Wayly district authority, General Hamdy Salem, but they were not available for an interview.
