The Remaking of Jeddah
The demolitions which have plagued Jeddah in recent years, are part of a large-scale urban development project called Vision 2030, which aims to significantly transform Saudi Arabia's economy and society. As part of this project, entire neighborhoods in Jeddah are being demolished to make way for new developments, such as the flagship futuristic city NEOM, in the northwest of the country. The recent developments in Jeddah have caused grave concern due to the sudden eviction orders that have targeted entire neighborhoods without prior announcement or inclusion in earlier plans, leading to significant amounts of confusion and anxiety within the populace.
According to Amnesty International, a Jeddah Municipality document from 2019 indicates that more than 558,000 residents have been affected by the demolitions that began in October 2021 (and have continued intermittently since). The lack of transparency regarding the demolitions and their impact on the affected parties has raised concerns, as some residents were heavily invested in the area and were blindsided by the government's secretive demolition plans. Additionally, according to an official document that Amnesty International reviewed, residents were given varying notice periods, ranging from 24 hours in one neighborhood and between one to six weeks in others. For instance, in the Al Ghaleel neighborhood, access to electricity was cut-off one day after residents saw the word "evacuate" painted on their buildings. In other neighborhoods, schedules for evictions and demolitions were communicated via billboards or through state-aligned media outlets.
Furthermore, there have been reports of discriminatory practices towards low-income and migrant workers during the demolition process. For instance, reports have indicated that some workers were offered lower compensation for the same properties in comparison to Saudi citizens, while others were not offered any compensation at all. On 31 January 2022, the Saudi Gazette announced a compensation scheme for citizens impacted by the demolitions; the scheme, however, did not include foreign nationals, who represent 47% of those evicted. Critics have expressed concern that the authorities are pursuing the development project without any consideration regarding the cost to the people living in the affected area. They assert that residents were callously evicted from their homes without sufficient time or compensation to find alternative housing, and that hundreds of thousands of foreign nationals have been subjected to discriminatory treatment by being excluded from the compensation scheme.
Moreover, the evictions in Jeddah have triggered feelings of despair and anger among the residents, who have resorted to various forms of "protests". Graffiti has been spotted in many neighborhoods, with nostalgic images of the houses being posted on social media platforms such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Twitter. Some individuals have also taken videos and posted them with music or poetry. Additionally, a cartoonist using the name "Prison of the Ghost" has posted several images that depict the crown prince personally directing the destruction of houses and mosques, linking these actions to the construction of NEOM. Experts speculate that much of the income generated through the massive land acquisitions in Jeddah will be redirected towards the North, instead of being used for the construction of habitable housing for the evicted residents.
The forcible eviction of a significant portion of the population may harm the local economy and foster even wider dissatisfaction with the regime, potentially leading to further segregation of the local and foreign populations. This raises questions about whether people will trust the state enough in the future to invest the much higher sums necessary to buy property and build businesses. Ultimately, it is ironic that a policy advertising Saudi heritage as a major attraction for visitors is destroying it on an unprecedented scale. As a result of this urban development, the old city may turn into a mere museum in the midst of a modern urban desert.