JEDDAH, 9 December 2007 — Western families are being told to leave their compound accommodation in Jeddah at very short notice. Some families have been given no notice period whatever; others have as little as two weeks to arrange new accommodation and there is no recourse to appeal.
The landlords usually refuse to give any reason to the tenant for the move. However, one informed source said that the reason for the evictions is that the law requires compounds housing Western families to be guarded by personnel of the armed forces, often the elite National Guard.
Compound owners are then required to finance the guards — either directly or indirectly — and they do not wish to bear this expense for only a few families.
One of the subjects of an eviction notice said that on Nov. 28 he was handed a notice to quit immediately and asked to sign it. “I refused,” he said.
“I am still waiting to see what happens. I have no intention of going through this hassle without good reason. I asked them why this notice was given to me and I was told it was as a result of a directive from the Ministry of the Interior.”
Arab News was given a copy of a note from a landlord who quoted the Ministry of the Interior as his source. Paraphrased, the note said: “In response from instructions from the Ministry of the Interior for us to act expediently on their advice, all Europeans and Americans living in *** compound are to evacuate their villas and move to another location in the interests of security. You are required to leave villa number ** immediately.”
Arab News has information that at least 12 families on three different compounds in Jeddah alone have received notice in the last two weeks. As a result of this move by landlords, waiting lists for accommodation have begun to form at compounds that seem set to continue armed security.
Prices of accommodation on some compounds have risen in the last week — in one case by 12 percent.
On the face of it, the decision by landlords is purely commercial and reasonable from the perspectives of their balance sheets. From a security and PR standpoint it raises other questions.
“Concentrating Westerners in compounds makes for less dispersed and larger targets,” said one Western manager of a retail complex. “It seems to decease security for the individual rather than increase it.” Other Westerners adopt a more phlegmatic view. “It’s a knee jerk response to the arrest of 208 individuals in the recent security sweep,” said one.
“It’s also an opportunity for landlords to shift the blame and inconvenience to officialdom for their wishing to save the expense of security. In a way, you can see their reasoning.”
The general opinion of those who were contacted by Arab News was that the wise course of action was to attempt to make arrangements for alternative accommodation in the event of follow through by landlords.
