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SinaiWeekly Issue n.37 - Aug. 18th 2008
The ultra modern ‘City of Peace’ with its shining hotels, luxurious gardens, clean streets and annually held conferences, harbors a guilty secret. Tour operators never sell excursions to this place, restaurants are not opened there and even police forces so profoundly seen in the rest of the town rarely enter the forgotten areas of Ruwaisat, located 15 minutes’ drive from the heart of entertainment, Naama Bay. How It All began: back in 1998 Ruwaisat was a residential zone with few South Sinai Bedouins inhabiting it. Clean and gorgeous, it was soon discovered by foreign settlers attracted to the area by its amazing views on the desert, the mountains and the Tiran Island, as well as by its proximity to the St. Catherine National Park. Huge strips of land waiting to be developed and cultivated and affordable prices made the area even more appealing to those dreaming of a nice house with an exclusive design, a blossoming garden and a playground for kids. But even more so, being a true symbol of an authentic Sinai life, Ruwaisat attracted those who were willing to integrate with the local Bedouins and learn their traditions. Pretty soon the place which was used to be a desert turned into a small oasis with nice houses inhabited by educated Egyptians and foreigners. The Beginning of an End: the quickly developing Sharm had to find a place to keep all the remains of building materials used for the construction of new developments away from the critical eyes of tourists; and the isolation of Ruwaisat made it a perfect location for storage purposes. Rapidly, bricks, plasters and stones were seen on every corner of Ruwaisat turning the national treasure into a dump. The growing demand in cheap working power so essential to the growing mass tourism industry posed another problem. Poor Egyptian villagers eager to work hard for little money, hot meals and cheap accommodation flooded Sharm forcing the employers to look for solutions for staff housing. The cheap prices on flats and Ruwaisat’s distance from the rest of the ‘developed world’ speeded up employers’ decision in turning Ruwaisat into a ‘hostel’ area. Soon villas were turned into staff houses whereas shuttle buses and taxis rarely seen in the area not so long ago became the daily attributes of Ruwaisat’s reality. Another factor which largely contributed to the existing mess was the bombings of 2005. Attacks which took the lives of more than 60 people made the authorities suspect Bedouins in cooperation with the organizers of the massacre. An effort was made to protect tourists and local residents from the repetition of such events and a separation wall was erected to control the vehicles coming in and out of Ruwaisat. The previously existing three entrances to the area were turned into one and the residents of the place once again felt on their skins the sour taste of neglect. From that point the house of cards is starting to fall apart. Living behind the Wall: “it is like living in a prison” – says Mrs. Jessica, a local resident and a mother of two. Prison with all its unpleasant attributes. The Rubbish - this problem is one of the most disturbing ones. “The great amount of food remains which are not cleaned on a regular basis make it a perfect place of inhabitance for cockroaches, flies, mosquitoes and rats; whereas the plastic bottles thrown away daily in huge amounts from the numerous touristic buses, then collected and burnt near people’s houses causing disgusting smell might cause cancer if actions are not taken urgently” – says Mr. Sherif El Dardiry, an activist of Ruwaisat Residence Association. The rubbish presents another threat, this time to the health of animals inhabiting Ruwaisat. “Some animals come to the gardens of people eating their plants, but more often they find food in garbage bags existing in such amounts in this place, and since there is no habit of separating the organic and hazardous waste; the risk of animals’ mortality is growing rapidly.” – Says Kirsten Hilger, Managing Director of ‘Cotton and Art’ and a local resident. Indeed, the estimated number of animals dying each week on the streets of Ruwaisat reaches 20-30 animals and the number is still growing. The Water: the prices on water essential to the blossoming of the nice Ruwaisat gardens reached ridiculous levels: one meter of water in the area costs 30 L.E. (in comparison to 1 L.E.) in Cairo. The huge consumption of water in summer leads to huge bills of more than 1000 pounds forcing families to leave Ruwaisat because of their inability to pay the bills. Security factor - the settlement law from 1997 recognized the rights of any person to settle in deserted areas. Once a family settled and a stone house was built, its rights on the land were authorized making it impossible for the government to evict the family from its land. The law encouraged a group of 82 pseudo-Bedouins to settle in Ruwaisat in an attempt to sell this land later for higher prices. Not being solved on the spot, the problem soon reached new levels with estimated 1000 new illegal settlers putting the security of the region under a threat. “All know that this area is the main drug-trafficking spot” – says a local who prefers to stay anonymous. “Consequently, theft and gunfights have always been a common case here. Leaving the house in the late evening hours was out of the question” – he continues. Organization points: apart from the mentioned problems, the place has no street lights, no asphalt roads, no decent supermarkets, pharmacies, schools and nurseries; while telephone and internet are still considered to be the luxury of the future. Solving or Ignoring? “We were talking with the government too many times, letters to the Governor and the Security Office have been sent, promises were heard, actions have been barely taken” – says Mr. Sherif El Dardiry. “The government doesn’t know how to solve the problem and the few people who have ever attempted to do something on the issue were mysteriously fired” - he argues. At the same time some actions were taken, as the government began a construction of a water tank not so long ago. “The only problem with the tank is that it is constructed in the wrong place. Now they will have to install a pump to provide residents on the North of the area with water” – says Mr. Soliman Sarkis, a Manager in ‘Coral Beach Rotana Resort’ and a long term resident of Ruwaisat. The residents of the place are not sitting back either, as they have plenty of ideas on bringing Ruwaisat back to its past glory: collecting garbage from homes, funding the cleaning of the territory, feeding the street animals and educating people on such issues as litter separation and animal poisoning – those are things that the community is working on, realizing thought that cooperation with the authorities is essential. “We are eager to cooperate with the government, we can even help it fund the project, but honestly speaking I doubt that a country which makes over 6 billion USD annually on tourism can not spend several thousands on cleaning up operation. Mind you that all of us pay taxes. Only for this reason this area deserves to be cleaned” – says a local who preferred not to disclose his name. The residents also came up with ideas on how the government can help in terms of security and traffic jams reduction: “it is very simple” – says a local Bedouin who preferred to be anonymous – “the IDs of all settlers should be thoroughly checked to fight with the growing problem of illegal settlements and crime, whereas the checkpoint should have more experienced policemen who can identify those presenting a threat to the security of the area” – he states. “Traffic jams which took a life of a six-year old girl in February 2008 can be decreased by separating the entrance to the industrial and residential zones, whereas staff residing in Ruwaisat should be given an alternative in other areas of the city” – Mr. Soliman Sarkis told ‘The Sinai Weekly’. But there were other, more extraordinary solutions, as opening of a special touristic attraction at the very end of Ruwaisat as an attempt to force the government and investors to clean the area. There was also a suggestion to find an investor who would transform the area into a huge blossoming garden, making it an appealing investment to foreigners and rich Egyptians. Though problems occur, the residents remain optimistic about the future: “we are going to fight for this place and we are going to win. We love this place, we love its diversity. If we were given the opportunity to choose another area in Sharm to settle in, we would still choose Ruwaisat, as this place is unique.” – comments Mrs. Kirsten. But fixing the problem requires the efforts of every participant in this government-investors-residents triangle; this is why residents hope to get some help from powers that be: “We do understand that it will take time, we don’t come and say ‘Do it now’, but at least do it gradually. No matter what actions are taken, it is essential that the government, the investors and the residents work together towards the achievement of the goal, otherwise it will be a vicious cycle of ‘we do, they ruin’” – with golden words she summed up our conversation. Article by Eugenia Ugrinovich The Sinaiweekly