Waraq Island families between eviction, promises of better life

CAIRO – 22 April 2018: In light of the Cabinet’s decision to assign the development works of Waraq Island to the Urban Communities Authority, questions have been raised about whether the decision will have a negative toll on the families of the island.


The development project will be conducted in cooperation with the Armed Forces Engineering Authority.


Parliamentarians’ reassuring tone:

Several MPs confirmed that the development plan of Waraq Island will not, in any manner, adversely affect the residents and families residing on the island, stressing that no citizen shall be removed or displaced by the project.


The development plan is expected to improve the quality of governmental services and people’s welfare and livelihood.


Due to the fact that the island is populated by nearly 100,000 citizens, MP Saad Bedir, who represents Waraq Island in Parliament, said that the island needs to have its infrastructure and crumbling roads revamped.


He added that he will request the government propose a comprehensive and forward-looking blueprint that encompasses establishing advanced schools, hospitals and other anchor institutions, and he called on the government to find quick and well-suited housing alternatives those affected who are not among the original residents of the island.


“We are keen to hold lengthy meetings with the families of Waraq and all relevant parties, including officials in charge of the development plan, to constantly get informed with the progress of the project and to address any obstacles that may rise up,” MP Mohammed al-Husseini, deputy president of the parliamentary committee of the local administration, said.


Families of Waraq still on edge:

Housing Ministry spokesman Hani Younis told Al-Shorouq that the development is aimed at addressing the needs of citizens on the island, denying any plans or intentions to give the island to Emirati companies for investment purposes.


The local council, which was formed by representatives of families of Waraq, asserted that the option of forcing the families to ditch their original lodgings is not on the table.


In press remarks, councilmember Haj Kamel Abu Sari explained that the council’s goal is to preserve the rights and interests of the people of the island and to ensure that no embattled party is harmed, including the state.


Sari told Tahrir News on Saturday that families will not accept giving up on the lands they inherited through generations over hundreds of years and that the compensations offered by the government would not help families find suitable lodgings.


During his meeting with Waraq families in August, Kamel El Wazer, head of the Armed Forces Engineering Authority, stressed President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi’s keenness to preserve the interests of the island’s people.


He stated that only the lands that originally belong to the state are the ones that will be taken.


He explained that the unlicensed buildings built on the island will be demolished and their owners will be compensated.


Wazer’s meeting came following series of clashes between the citizens of Waraq Island and security forces last July during security forces’ crackdown on land encroachment of state-owned land on the island, which is located in the Nile River in Giza governorate, said the Ministry of Interior in a statement.


The ministry said that a number of squatters gathered together to object the removal of the encroachments. They opened birdshots and threw stones at the forces, who reacted by throwing tear gas to disperse them and regain control over the situation.


This left eight officers injured and 23 policemen with bruises and wounds; they were rushed to the hospital.


In January 2015, the Ministry of Irrigation launched a national campaign titled “Save the Nile” aimed at removing all transgressions placed on the Nile River. Since launching, a total of 26,651 violation cases were seized.


Since 1998, Waraq Island has been a contentious area, as former Prime Minister Atef Ebid declared the island a natural protectorate, which entailed the evictions of the island’s families and put the lands of the island under the state’s control.


The families appealed the decision of Ebid and obtained ownership of 60 percent of the island. Since then, the successive governments have always eyed transforming the island into a tourist hub.