Families face relocation

Adel al Harbi in his apartment.

AL ADLA, ABU DHABI // Three years ago, Adel al Harbi started renovations to create what he describes as his family's "dream home". He has spent more than Dh1 million (US$272,000) on upgrades, including jacuzzis, terraces and a state-of-the-art kitchen. Mr Harbi's family of seven lived in a three-bedroom apartment in the capital for 14 years, waiting for the Government-issued house in the village of Al Adla on the outskirts of the capital.

But two weeks before the family was to move in, they are coming to terms with the reality that their dream home will be demolished. The Harbi home is one of 20 in the village slated to be knocked down just three years after they were built, due to severe structural problems. "Inshallah, they will give me a new house and [I know] they are working on this subject," said Mr Harbi. "I have taken loans from banks, from family and friends to build this house."

The family has already been allocated another house, in the coastal village of Al Shati. But Mr Harbi said they were in denial after learning that they will have to start all over again. "We didn't believe it when they told us," he said. "We had just come back from China where we bought all of the furniture." Still, Mr Harbi said they were thankful to be given any home. Under a Government programme, all Emiratis are provided with either a house or a plot of land.

"I was very happy when I first saw my house in Al Adla," he said. "It is far away from Abu Dhabi, but it is better than sitting in a flat for 14 years. We were waiting for [the house], which is a great help from the Government." As part of village-wide inspections organised by Abu Dhabi Municipality, a group of municipality officials and a team of engineers recently toured Mubarak al Mehri's villa, assessing damage before deciding whether to tear the house down or continue to patch it up as new cracks appear.

A crowd of local men followed the delegation with Mr Mehri leading the way, pointing out cracks scarring the walls. Like many others in the village, Mr Mehri, 43 and originally from Baniyas, poured his own money into renovating and decorating the bright orange home he shares with his wife and seven children. "I need a new house, this is for my family, my children, my future," he said. "It's not enough just to fix it, I need this problem to stop."

He pointed to the walls in one of the bathrooms, where the paint is peeling and chunks of crumbling cement are missing. The water tank near the toilet hung precariously in the corner, and Mr Mehri recalled how a tank in another bathroom became dislodged twice and fell from the ceiling. Among the residents trailing the municipal delegation was a man, 38, who would only be identified as Mubarak. He moved to Al Adla from the capital with his wife and six children three years ago when he was allocated a house in the village.

"From the beginning [the municipality] started to build and they didn't study the situation properly," he says. "There is too much salt in the sand and they didn't make a diagnosis for this, so it is affecting the village." A loud chorus of voices joined in Mubarak's assertion that more needed to be done prior to the houses being built. "It is not just about maintenance; they will pay to fix it and it will happen again," he said.

Salem al Maameri, the director of municipal services at Abu Dhabi Municipality, rejected the notion that the damage stems from any failure to properly assess the site when planning for the Al Adla community. Standard soil tests were carried out before construction began and since then, he said. "It was OK before, but the level of the groundwater rose and brought increased levels of salt [with it]," he said.

Al Adla is made up of rows of identical buildings, some that have been customised by their owners, with the odd orange, pink and purple house adding colour to the desert backdrop. In addition to the structural problems, residents complain of a lack of facilities in the village: there is no school, clinic, park or police station. Local children attend school in the capital or in neighbouring towns, such as Al Faya, some 25km away.

Residents employed in the defence forces were not allowed to be photographed, but were willing to explain their predicament and open up their homes. Ahmed Jaber al Hammadi, originally from the seaside town of Mirfa in Al Gharbia, said he has spent more than Dh380,000 on decorating and renovating his home in the last three years. Intricate tiled patterns adorn the living room floors; the Moroccan design-inspired ceiling alone cost Dh30,000.

The Hammadi house, located along the same row as three homes that have already been demolished, is also slated to be torn down. However, unlike some of the other buildings, it does not bear many of the cracks that serve as evidence of major structural damage. "I don't want to move from here, but I don't know what to do," Mr Hammadi says, sitting on one of the plush gold brocade chairs in his living room. "There is a lot of groundwater so maybe [my house] will break just like the others."

Fourteen of the 20 families displaced from Al Adla are due to move to homes in the nearby village of Al Falah. Six, including the Hammadis and the Harbis, have been sent to Al Shati. But not everyone is happy about the new houses on offer. The house in Al Shati is in dire need of repairs, Mr Hammadi says. "If I move I will also have to fix-up the other house as well, and lose the Dh380,000 I invested in this house."

The first group of families were due to receive the keys to their replacement homes yesterday, according to the municipality. It has also set up a committee of seven architects and engineers to oversee the assessment of every house in Al Adla, as well as the repair work. "I still have one month to leave my house, but I am waiting for a good idea to help us and give us a suitable home," Mr Hammadi said. "If that doesn't happen, I can't move from here."

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