Alwaght- Saudi regime's demolition of almost 20 neighborhoods across the port city of Jeddah has triggered widespread criticism with many residents saying they were only given 48 hours and in some cases, 24 hours to vacate their homes. Authorities also cut off people's water, electricity and other services before notice was given.
At least 10 neighborhoods have been completely wiped out so far, as work continues in around another 10 areas. The plan targets some 60 districts mostly located in the city’s southern part with the estimated population of one million people.
Residents say the demolitions have taken them by surprise and given them little to no room to plan their relocation or say goodbye to the neighborhoods they've lived in for generations.
To make matters worse, residents say the authorities have not put them in temporary government housing or offered any compensation, effectively turning many from homeowners to renters.
The displacement has caused a housing crisis, with rental prices skyrocketing across the city. In some cases, rents have doubled in a matter of days, residents say, and many aren’t able to afford them.
Some people have been forced to lay out their furniture in the open, taking shelter under bridges, and some families sleeping in their cars.
Activists, over the past days, slammed the Saudi authorities for destroying the entire residential neighborhoods, and denounced the displacement of the residents without giving them a deadline to find alternative homes.
The demolitions come as the crown prince last month launched a new investment project dubbed “Jeddah Central Project,” which will include four landmarks: an opera house, museum, sports stadium, and oceanarium, as part of the implementation of Vision 2030.
The social media activists said “a humanitarian, social and economic catastrophe will affect at least one million people”.
Yahia al-Hadid, a Human Rights Defender and the Chairman of Gulf Institute for Democracy and Human Rights (GIDHR), censured in a tweet the Saudi government for destroying the residents' homes, “without any consideration of their humanitarian situation.”
The citizens of the oil-rich country “live below the poverty line and are being humiliated, despite the oil wealth that have been scattered over the seasons of entertainment.”
