Cairo's heritage sites threatened with demolition
Restoration projects and demolitions are not only threatening the historical character of Old Cairo, but also causing forced displacements and anger among residents.
CAIRO — Egypt has made several requests through various forums for assistance in protecting world heritage sites in the country from terror and other physical attacks. For instance, UNESCO's Committee for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict met May 21 to discuss plans for Egyptian heritage sites after the government requested special protection for the ancient city of Thebes. At the same time, however, the Cairo governorate appears bent on demolishing homes and other buildings in historic Old Cairo without regard for their potential and actual heritage value.
On May 4, the Cairo governorate completed the removal of residential buildings on 18 acres in the Ezbet Abu Qarn area of Old Cairo in a three-day demolition campaign. Governorate authorities claimed the buildings were “encroachments on the governorate’s land.” Maher Subhi, an engineer and Old Cairo district chief, said the 34 residential buildings had been illegally built and stressed the need to form a urban planning commission to develop and implement a plan for the area.
On June 3, a number of residents evicted from Ezbet Abu Qarn filed a complaint with the attorney general against the governor of Cairo, the Old Cairo district chief and a police station bailiff, accusing them of trespassing and of forcibly evicting them from their homes. They requested that legal action be taken to financially compensate them, find alternative homes for them or both, and that all evictions stop, pending determination of the complaint.
Forced displacement has been a growing issue in the last three years in Egypt. Sectarianism is cited as one cause along with the concentration of wealth in the hands of businesspeople. In one incident, five Coptic families in Bani Suef were forced from their home after being beseiged by Muslim neighbors upset by a Facebook post about the Prophet Muhammad by a Christian relative living abroad. Another example came from the Ramlet Bulaq district, where a businessman who owns two high-rises and a big hotel in the area had wanted to acquire more land. After many residents refused to leave or sell their land, the police burned houses and conducted raids and arrests to evict them.
