Substitute housing in 'appalling condition'

Only three years after they moved in, scores of residents in Al Adla village are preparing to vacate their unsafe homes.

Abu baker Bani Hashem inspects one of the houses his family and neighbours are being moved to by Abu Dhabi Municipality.

Al FALAH// As he neared the end of his 20-year naval career, Abu Baker Bani Hashem looked forward to spending time at his home in Al Adla village. Even when he learnt last month that his Government-issued house had been included in a programme to demolish 25 properties because of extensive structural damage caused by rising groundwater and high salinity levels, he was reassured by the news that he had been allocated a new home by Abu Dhabi Municipality in the nearby town of Al Falah. But when he saw the house he was being asked to accept, he could hardly believe his eyes. "They will have to change the floors, doors, kitchen and pipes, at least," he said, leading the way along a dusty corridor. He had, he said, just finished working on my house in Al Adla before his retirement. "I just want them to be fair with us, just to provide us with enough for our family, not more." Cracks scar the walls and ceiling and the floors are carpeted in thick dust, beneath which broken tiles are visible. Upstairs in one of the bedrooms, the windows are open and pigeons have made their home in an abandoned, broken wardrobe. Pen and water marks stain the walls, the front garden is overgrown with weeds and abandoned toys and shoes litter the area. Some of the guttering is falling apart. Mr Hashem, 42, who retired on Aug 1, has been given until mid-September to vacate his home of three years in Al Adla. It is a deadline he believes will be hard to meet, given the amount of work needed on the house in Al Falah. In addition to the mess and damage, the electricity cannot be switched on before the previous tenant's bill is settled, although the municipality says it is working to address this problem. Many of the displaced families have been provided with houses in Al Falah, with some being allotted properties in the village of Al Shati. Under a government programme, all Emiratis are provided with either a house or a plot of land. Five of the condemned homes have been demolished in Al Adla, a village of just 100 houses 60km outside the capital. A further 20 are scheduled to be pulled down as soon as the families have been relocated. Extensive maintenance work is also being carried out on 50 homes in Al Adla, a process which is "going well", according to Abdul Wahab al Jaberi, the municipality's manager of land and properties. While the municipality has pledged to carry out whatever work is needed on the homes in Al Falah, Mr Hashem and others say that substantial work and more time is needed before families can move in. Married with five children and with a sixth expected soon, he says he does not know who used to live in the house. He is grateful for the Government's rehousing exercise and has no problem with his new home being "second-hand", but says he is appalled by its condition. "This should be like a new house," said Mr Hashem. "Everything should have been cleared and then given to me." Some families were already preparing to move into their new homes in Al Shati and Al Falah, said Mr Jaberi. "Maintenance work will be carried out on the houses in Al Falah, which will take one month, and we are checking what the houses need, including new doors. We will have to fix everything for them and do whatever maintenance is needed." The municipality hopes to complete the process - demolition and maintenance work in Al Falah and Al Adla - within two months. Meanwhile, the question of compensation for families whose houses were being demolished was "being studied", said Jumaa al Junaibi,the general manager of the municipality. "We are dreaming that we will be given compensation," said Mr Hashem, who said he spent more than Dh200,000 (US$54,500) on renovating his house in Al Adla, but conceded that it was beyond repair. "We need some backup so that we don't have to spend all over again on this house - I have just retired, who is going to give me a loan now?" While the Hashem family and others wait for a solution, Adil al Harbi and his family have received the welcome news this week that they will be able to keep their "dream home" in Al Adla, after the municipality reassessed the property. "Definitely the family can stay in their home? it is outside the dangerous area and it is safe and there are no problems," said Mr Jaberi. After waiting 14 years for a Government-issued property, the family spent Dh1 million over three years on upgrading their house, into which they have yet to move. "We are so happy for this good news," said Mr Harbi. "I have to thank the Government for this." email:[e-mail]