CAIRO: In a room overlooking an ancient tomb in Old Cairo, 64-year-old Hossnia El Sayed worries for her future. The basic, stone room is both her home and place of work -- and it may not be long for this world.
An Egyptian government official has told the Cairo-born single mother that the tomb she lives alongside will soon be demolished: part of a major bridge project that is already decimating swathes of the fast-growing capital.
"I live here with my daughter. It is like death for us because this is our home and here we have friends and relatives," she told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.
Be it homes, incomes, graves or history -- locals say the project will kill off irreplaceable parts of Cairo and many say the government is not playing fair when it comes to recompense.
"Even if we were relocated to another place, it will not be the same," said El Sayed, whose room doubles up as a kiosk from where she sells snacks.
Government officials said people should not be living in tombs and that it would offer better replacement housing.
El Sayed said the snack shop she runs earns her about 1,500 Egyptian pounds ($95) a month, but she fears that will vanish once the nearby tomb and her rent-free home are demolished.
Nor is she the only one worrying. Thousands of people who live or work by the tombs say they are victims, targetted for their prime downtown location and Cairo's rush to modernise and accommodate its population boom.
In 2020, authorities removed dozens of old burial sites, the tombs of historical figures among them, from the Qarafat or City of the Dead area that was established hundreds of years ago.
Last November, the government announced its intention to remove another 2,700 cemeteries in the area.
The City of the Dead lies inside Historic Cairo, a heritage area subject to its own particular rules when it comes to tearing down buildings or putting up new ones.
Created as a burial site in the 7th century, the City of the Dead has slowly morphed into one of the country's largest slums, home to more than 1.5 million people, according to the latest official data.
As ever more Egyptians migrated to the capital in search of work and opportunity, they carved out makeshift homes between the low tombs and soaring domes, squeezing family between ancient walls engraved by long-dead calligraphers.
The government says it will ensure the uprooted get alternative housing but has given no details; for their part, residents say they stand to lose precious jobs as well as homes.
Amr Abdel Hady, whose Central Agency for Construction is co-running the project, said the 17-km bridge aims to reduce traffic as well as save time and fuel for those who drive.
"It is part of the state strategy to improve its infrastructure and make it easier and faster for people who will travel to the new administrative capital,” he added.
The new zone, being built on the outskirts of Cairo, aims to accommodate 6.5 million residents and ease traffic.
No specific figures are available about the number of people displaced, nor can officials assuage local fears; business owners say they have been offered no compensation to move.
"If I was relocated, I do not know if I would be able to have the same business," El Sayed said.
Mohamed Abdel Aziz, a 62-year-old craftsman employed by a tile workshop in the City of the Dead, shares her worry.
"The owner told us that the government will demolish this part as well," Abdel Aziz, who earns 150 Egyptian pounds ($9.50) a day, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.
"I have been working in this workshop for 30 years now. For me, it is like home and my only source of income,” he added. -- Reuters
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