CAIRO - The fact on the ground says that some people have been exploiting the post-January 25 Revolution chaos to make serious violations. One of these violations involves constructing large buildings without the necessary licences. Last week, about 20 people were killed when an 11-storey building collapsed in the populous Gomrok district of Alexandria. The owner of the building took advantage of the missing municipality control and security ever since the revolution to tack an extra eight storeys onto an existing three-storey building without getting any licences. The new building soon collapsed on three other buildings nearby. "When I was playing with my neighbour's daughter, Hadeer [ten], on the stairs, we suddenly heard what sounded like a bomb. Moments later, I was buried in rubble," says Adel el-Sayyed (five), one of the survivors of the collapse in Alex. "A door fell on me and protected me from the rubble. I was able to hit the door with my head, making a loud sound, hoping someone might hear me. I must have passed out; the next thing I knew I woke up in hospital and someone told me that Hadeer had died," he says sadly. "I wish I could have saved her," adds a tearful Adel, who also lost his mother in the tragedy, as well as other friends and neighbours. “I loved them all and I can't imagine life without them." Buildings often collapse in Egypt, especially in shantytowns, and poor and rural areas, where many builders seek profit, even if it means breaching the rules – often with fatal consequences, bringing misery to people's lives. According to Hassan Allam, the head of Egypt's Building Inspectorate, in the course of the past few years there have been violations in the construction of about 2 million buildings in Egypt, 180,000 of them in Alexandria. Alexandria Governor Osama el-Fouli says that, since the revolution, about 8,000 buildings have been built there without respect for construction regulations – 29,000 demolition orders have been slapped on them, but none of them has been implemented. Adel and others have survived the collapse in Alexandria, but their lives have been permanently shattered, as they have lost parents, other relatives and friends. Ahmed Mohamed is another survivor; he has lost all his family. "Just ten minutes before the tragedy, my mother had sent me off to the market round the corner to buy some groceries. When I got back, my home was a pile of rubble," says Ahmed (eight). "I couldn't believe it. I wish my mother had never sent me to the market. I wish I'd never left them alone," he repeats again and again, unable to stop the tears. Khaled el-Zahabi, the head of the National Centre for Construction and Housing, says that there should be two integrated courses to solve the problem of construction violations. The first is to demolish all buildings that violate construction codes, while the second is to implement a long-term plan for urban areas, to exercise strict control on construction activities. According to el-Fouli, some of these buildings are 20 storeys high, constructed in very narrow streets in the space of just two months! El-Zahabi stresses the need to have an organisation for planning and maintenance, in order to put an end to random construction and corruption. Mohamed Attiya, the Minister of Local Development, has instructed Osama el-Fouli to pay compensation to the victims and their families, and provide new flats for those who have been made homeless. Hajja Sayyeda Ismail, many of whose friends died in the heartbreaking Alexandrian disaster, says that people aren't just worth money, like something you buy in a supermarket. “This problem isn't about paying blood money to the families of the victims. It's far more serious, as we're talking about innocent souls. "Nothing can compensate someone who's lost his mother or father or vice versa – neither money nor a new place to live," she adds sadly. "I live close to the collapsed building and it could be us next." Fouli told the press that, ever since taking office, he has been pressing for legislation to incriminate the construction of and ensure the demolition of unlicensed buildings. A few days before last week's catastrophic accident, the Alexandria Governor sent President Morsi a 70-page report warning of the consequences of illegal construction in his governorate.
