Fujairah’s Wam village gasps for breath

Many residents of Wam village are calling for basic services, such as street lighting, a park, a school – and even paved roads. Jeffrey E Biteng / The National

The village is near a cement factory and a mining site and the deep excavation worries residents. Jeffrey E Biteng / The National

An abandoned football field in the village. Jeffrey E Biteng / The National

LIttle has changed in the remote settlement of Wam over the years. Jeffrey E Biteng / The National

Dust is a health hazard to children and elders in the village. Jeffrey E Biteng / The National

Wam resident Umm Mohammed, with her grandson Sultan Al Hafiti, 2, laments conditions in her hometown. Jeffrey E Biteng / The National

FUJAIRAH // To the casual outsider, the remote settlement of Wam may seem a million miles away from the modern cities of Abu Dhabi and Dubai.

But to many of the 300 families clustered around the centre of the close-knit village, 10 kilometres from Dibba, it has been home since the late 1970s.

Yet little has changed in the ensuing decades and now many residents are calling for basic services, such as street lighting, a park, a school – and even paved roads.

In particular, they say dust is a health hazard to children and elders.

“I’m tired of complaining and talking about the issues we face here as no one seems to care,” said Mohammed Al Hafiti, 45.

“I have five children and they all have respiratory problems and almost all the families have a nebuliser device at their houses, along with the inhalers.”

The village is near a cement factory and a mining site, and Mr Al Hafiti said: “They have been digging for so long that they formed a very deep hole in the ground and it’s considered very dangerous as they didn’t place any fence around it and children may become curious and fall in the hole.”

Umm Mohammed, a 60-year-old mother of seven, said that both she and her grandchildren are suffering from breathing difficulties, as are two of her children.

“We just came back from hospital as my two-year-old grandchild Sultan suffered from breathing difficulties last night,” she said.

“I clean the house three times a day and each time the school buses arrive the area becomes full of dust due to the unpaved roads.”

She also said that there is no place for her or other housewives to exercise, as the lack of street lighting means the area becomes pitch black after sunset.

“For medical reasons the doctor advised me to walk every day but, unfortunately, I can’t during the day due to the hot weather and it’s impossible at night in the dark.”

Another resident said that many accidents occur on the main road, with the most recent a month ago.

“One Asian worker was hit by a car last month as the driver didn’t see him in the dark and the worker suffered serious injuries. I don’t let my children play outside after sunset and I keep an eye on them during the day due to the huge hole nearby,” said Abdullah Al Hafiti, a 28-year-old father of four.

The department of public works in Fujairah said it has recently opened a four-kilometre road that links Wam village with Dibba city and that it is planning to open a public park.

“The four-kilometre road has been reconstructed according to the residents’ demands to easy traffic and transportation,” said Salem Al Maksah, director of the Public Works and Agriculture Department.

Mr Al Hafiti said: “We are definitely pleased with the new road but, for example, having lights in the streets and solving the mining site issue is more important to us than repaving an existing road.”