Villages hope life will remain unchanged

Emirati families living in the tiny fishing village of Sharm have said they are worried that development along the east coast might one day mean they will have to leave their ancestral homes.

Mohammed prepares his boat for fishing at Sharm. Pawan Singh / The National

Encroaching development is threatening the idyllic calm of a tiny Fujairah fishing village and dividing its residents, young and old. But very few of them would opt to leave.

SHARM // Emirati families living in the tiny fishing village of Sharm are worried that development along the east coast might one day force them to leave their ancestral homes.

With the village’s proximity to a proposed villa project, residents have watched as hotels and tourism projects were built up and down the Indian Ocean coastline over the years.

Their views on the changes vary, but almost all are against relocating elsewhere.

For lifelong resident Umm Mohammed, being uprooted from the community would be painful.

“I was born here, on the seaside right over there,” said the Emirati, who puts her age at about 80. “My dad lived here before.”

Sharm consists of a few dozen concrete homes built by the Government about 30 years ago. Before that, the residents’ existence was much simpler.

“Just palm tree huts, that’s how we lived. We thrived from the sea, that was our life,” said Umm Mohammed.

“The Government, of course, made our life easier.”

Her son, Mohammed, said these days most villagers worked for the Government.

Fishing, once a source of income, was now more of a hobby.

“Our livelihood doesn’t depend on the sea, not anymore, and this is prime real estate. Just the other day someone offered me Dh1 million to buy my land, it’s beautiful,” said the 42-year-old.

“Most of the residents here fish as a hobby, a legacy and for extra income but most of us work for the Government. I live here but if we move then the Government is who we listen to. For my mum, of course, it will be more difficult.”

Another resident, Ahmed, said that the stunning natural scenery of sandy beaches and mountains makes the village a special place for the older generation to live. The younger people, he noted, were less interested.

“These days, in modern societies, we don’t look at the times as our parents did. We don’t care about where we lived and grew up or where we will give birth to our children. We have transport and communication to compensate for that,” he said.

“Our family values have degraded, our sense of self is less tied into where we are as much as it was before. People, young people, they don’t care for that.

“As for the older people, they care, but how many old people are still around? What’s left is here.”