Dozens arrested protesting government evictions in Alexandria neighborhood

Thirteen residents of an Alexandria neighborhood arrested on Friday while taking part in a large protest against a government decision to forcibly evict them from their homes were ordered to be held in remand detention on Saturday, one of the detainees’ defense lawyers told Mada Masr.

The protest, in which hundreds of households from the neighborhood took part, was dispersed by security forces who fired tear gas into the crowd and arrested at least 51 people. Thirteen were ordered detained on Saturday by the Public Prosecution on charges of demonstrating, gathering, incitement, throwing stones and injuring security forces. Other detainees are being held pending an appearance before the prosecution at Margham Camp, a Central Security Forces detention facility, while the whereabouts of others remain unknown, the lawyer said. 

The security crackdown over the weekend marks the latest escalation in a government campaign to displace residents in the neighborhood of Ezbet Nady al-Seid in Alexandria. Residents told Mada Masr that local authorities are acting on a long-standing plan to sell the area to real estate investors that disregards the residents’ right to fair and proportionate compensation and a say in resettlement plans. 

Two weeks before Friday’s protest, local MP Mahmoud Qassem announced without warning that all housing units in the area should be vacated and told residents to prepare for resettlement in alternative units, said two residents of Ezbet Nady al-Seid who spoke separately to Mada Masr on condition of anonymity. The statement did not provide details regarding the resettlement plan or how people impacted by the decision would be compensated.

According to the two residents, a committee came to the area on June 2 to inventory the residential units, recording the names of the owners and their spouses, and photographing the interiors. The committee told the owners of the first five units that they should be at home in order to complete paperwork regarding their resettlement to new homes in Bashayer al-Kheir 3 and Bashayer al-Kheir 5, government social housing projects around seven to eight kilometers from their current homes.

Owners of the five apartments were told by the administration for the Bashayer al-Kheir area that they would be given alternative units at a monthly rent of LE300, while shop owners would be given alternative shops, both of the residents told Mada Masr. 

Residents of Ezbet Nady al-Seid objected to the rate of compensation offered, said the sources, since the authorities were not differentiating between households, and failed to take into account that some owned their homes, or had bought a second flat for their children to marry into, while others owned factories, workshops or shops. “How is it that owners of workshops that are worth around LE600,000 are to be compensated with a shop that’s three to four square meters?” one of the residents said.

According to another resident who spoke to Mada Masr on condition of anonymity, residents have long feared that the land would be sold to investors. “We knew that we would be forced to leave and that we wouldn't be able to do anything about it, but at least we should be given our dues,” said the source. “We decided to hold protests on Friday to urge officials to explain the situation to us.”

Hundreds took part in a demonstration organized on Friday afternoon at Ezbet Nady al-Seid, chanting,  “we are not leaving,” “we will not forsake our land,” and “we are all one.” Security forces dispersed the demonstration with tear gas and arrested 51 people.

One of the residents told Mada Masr that the security presence in the area has intensified since the protest was dispersed and that eviction procedures are underway. On Sunday, local authorities for Bashayer al-Kheir, where residents are to be relocated, asked the occupants of  22 properties to provide proof of residency in order to be assigned and resettled in new apartments. 

One of the residents who spoke to Mada Masr said the instructions by officials clearly disregard the residents’ demands, given that residents are expected to act upon them with no questions asked.

Some residents also raised concerns about the total number of households marked for eviction.

Alexandria Governor Mohamed al-Sharif told anchor Amr Adib on the MBC Masr TV channel on Friday that each resident or shop-owner in Ezbet Nady al-Seid will be relocated to an alternative property only three kilometers away at Bashayer al-Kheir 3 or Bashayer al-Kheir 5, adding that that 6,044 families will be resettled and 1,800 new shops and workshops provided in place of workplaces that will be displaced.

However, residents put the total number of families in the area marked for evictions at no less than 15,000, adding that the majority of stores, workshops and homes in the area are not registered since they were acquired customarily through wad’ al-yed (customary unregistered land acquisition).

During the Friday-night phone-in, Sharif said that residents are being displaced because Ezbat Nady al-Seid is a “slum” and since winter rain leaves the area vulnerable to seasonal flooding. 

Yet, residents who spoke to Mada Masr called Sharif’s comments “false and inaccurate.” In March of last year, Sharif announced plans to develop seven areas in Alexandria, including Ezbet Nady al-Seid. The Informal Settlement Development Fund allocated LE115 million to develop the infrastructure of the area, including its sewage system, water, electricity, gas and roads.

The sewage system in the area has already been renovated, the residents said, adding that they did not face any rainwater flooding last winter. 

Former MP Haitham al-Hariri, who lost his seat as an independent for the Muharram Bek constituency that includes Ezbet Nady al-Seid in the 2020 elections, also commented to Mada Masr on the tension between renovation activity in Ezbet Nady al-Seid and the eviction orders, saying, “It seems as if we are dealing with two different governments, one working towards developing and renovating Ezbet Nady al-Seid, and the other working on demolishing the area and selling it to investors.”

According to Hariri, evictions have already been carried out in downtown Alexandria and the Nozha Airport area, both of which are adjacent to Ezbet Nady al-Seid, and preparations are underway to empty the three areas, as well as the nearby neighborhoods of Ezbet al-Matar and Abees al-Ashra, in order to sell them to investors, potentially including Talaat Moustafa Group. 

"The situation at Ezbet Nady al-Seid replicates what took place at Warraq Island,” said Hariri. “They saw land they liked, so they decided to kick people out of it.” Hariri, who submitted three briefing requests to the 2015-2020 House of Representatives on the situation at Ezbet Nady al-Seid, told Mada Masr that no one is uncompromisingly opposed to the development plans, but that the government should provide residents with options, allowing them to return to the area afterwards if they so choose and taking into account the particular situation of each resident.

According to Hariri, he expressed concern in the House to representatives from the Housing Ministry and the Informal Settlement Development Fund regarding plans to develop the Ezbet Nady al-Seid area, saying that spending on the area’s infrastructure would be counter-productive if the government is considering evicting the residents. Hariri said officials at the time responded that the state would not resort to evacuating the area.

Qassem, a Nation’s Future Party MP who won the seat from Hariri in 2020, told Mada Masr that he is speaking with residents in the area to double check the governor’s information, stressing that everyone will be compensated. Qassem also said he would communicate with families in the area to find out how many people were arrested in total.