MADINAH, 6 December 2006 — Eight Saudi families, including single mothers and scores of children, are fighting eviction from their charitable housing because the accommodations are considered unsafe and unclean, but the families say their only alternative is worse: life on the streets of the holy city.
The daily Al-Madinah reported that the Taiba Charity Committee is asking the inhabitants to leave their boarding because the owner of the building wants the tenants out.
Umm Abrar, a widow and a mother of five who did not want her full name published, said that the families have received a verbal and written eviction notice. While the organization has agreed to cover rent at new accommodations, the families say the amount offered wouldn’t cover the cost.
“They said they will pay the rent if it does not exceed SR8,000 for the first year,” said Abrar. “Where can we find such low-priced accommodation? Why did they choose to come at this time of the year; our children are going to school and it is hard for us to move?”
A mother of nine children said that after living in the building for years, the notice came unexpectedly and we have only a month to move out.
Fatima Abdullah, whose family has resided in the building for five years, said that with a monthly income of SR700 — barely the wage of a live-in foreign domestic — there’s no way that the rent subsidy would be enough to find other accommodations in Madinah.
Zainab, who is a divorced single mother, says that her ex-husband has disappeared without providing any financial support for their five children.
“We were in a terrible condition before we moved to this apartment,” she said. “Now they are asking us to leave. My children and I have no income and rely solely on charity.”
Taiba Director Manal Al-Hagas said the owner asked the organization to move the families out, but would not elaborate on the reasons.
“We agreed to do so because the building is in a sad state of repair,” he said. “We’ve been looking for another building. The one we found was too expensive and lacked furnished kitchens.”
Al-Hagas said the committee has offered a SR10,000 per year subsidy to the families, which isn’t likely to cover the full annual cost of a family-sized apartment.
