We’ve nowhere to go

Wednesday 24 Sep, 2008

Ten families living in a villa at Hamriya Park in Deira have been forced to live in baking-hot conditions for the past week after their electricity was cut off following threats of eviction.

Faisal Ahmed, who lives in the villa with his wife and three children, claimed the water and power were disconnected without any notice.

“My home was in the dark when I returned home from the office one day. I contacted the Municipality who said that it would never be restored as the villa is being shared by multiple families,” said Ahmed, who works as an accountant and pays dhs4,000 for a room in the dilapidated villa.

“Since then it has been a struggle to lead a normal life. My landlord tried to provide a generator, but it was removed after neighbours complained of the noise.

“We are using a small pipe to siphon water from a nearby tank as the taps don’t work.

“The children have stopped going to school because of the problem, I would have appreciated it if the Municipality had taken up this issue after Ramadan,” he added.

Ahmed said he had hunted for alternative accommodation but could not find anything that he could afford.

“I really have no choice but to stay here,” he said.

“There is no where else for us to go.”

All ten families in the villa have been told to get out by the Municipality as part of its crackdown on villa sharing.

It announced earlier this week that anyone sharing a villa, who was not a family, had 30 days to vacate their home.

Shah Ul Hameed also shares the villa in Deira.

He has a ten-day-old daughter who has been suffering horribly since the loss of power.

“My daughter developed skin rashes as it is too hot to stay in the house. I often go to the rooftop carrying her in my arms but she never stops crying. We now sleep in the open under the sky,” he said.

A spokesperson at the Municipality said the deadline for villa evictions would not be extended.

“A notification has been published in the newspapers in this regard. People have to vacate within a month,” he said.