WEDNESDAY 16 JULY 2014 • [email protected] • www.thepeninsulaqatar.com • 4455 7741 inside Think you know who COMMUNITY • QP and Total Hercules was? Well, donate computers think again to Qatar Charity P | 5 P | 8-9 ARCHAEOLOGY • The ruins of the historical city of Zubara P | 6 OBITUARY • Nadine Gordimer spoke out against apartheid and racial inequality P | 7 HEALTH • An alternative diagnosis to ADHD: Schoolchildren need more time to move P | 11 TECHNOLOGY • Google’s Nest launches network technology for ROOF-TOP connected home P | 12 LEARN ARABIC DWELLERS • Learn commonly used Arabic words and their meanings Their precarious rooftop houses have offered refuge from an unaffordable Hong Kong property market, but some of the city’s poorest residents face losing their makeshift homes as the government seeks to dismantle them. P | 13 2 PLUS | WEDNESDAY 16 JULY 2014 COVER STORY End of the high life for Hong Kong’s unwanted rooftop dwellers heir precarious rooftop houses around 10 shacks on top of a 10-storey have offered refuge from an building in the working-class Sham Tunaffordable Hong Kong prop- Shui Po neighbourhood. erty market, but some of the territo- Su, 46, moved from mainland China ry’s poorest residents face losing their to join her husband, who had lived on makeshift homes as the government the rooftop for 20 years, but would like seeks to dismantle them. a better home for her young daughters. Perched on top of older buildings, the She says she has been applying for ramshackle dwellings may offer pent- public housing for several years. house views in a city where space is at “During a typhoon I’m really afraid. a premium, but the flimsy structures I’m worried that the roof will collapse are frequently battered by typhoons because I can feel the walls shaking. and magnify oppressive summer heat. It’s not safe for a family.” The government says they are too “We don’t have any privacy,” added unsafe -- and many of those who live Su. A dank shared kitchen with a toilet in them agree. and shower hose in one corner is where But with luxury apartments selling the family cook and wash. for more than $50 million and a wait- Rooftop residents either own their ing list for public housing stretching homes or pay minimal rent to shady for years, they say there is nowhere landlords. Upgrading to private accom- else for them to go. modation can prove impossible, cam- “The rent is so high out there, how paigners say. “The deposit, commission can we leave here? It costs at least and first month’s rent for even a tiny several thousand (Hong Kong) dollars, sub-divided flat can be more than we cannot afford it,” said Su Xingyun, HK$10,000 (US$1,300),” said commu- whose family of four lives in a tiny nity worker Angela Lui of local cam- two-room rooftop hut which is under paign group the Society for Community a government removal order. Organisation (SoCO). Their chipboard and corrugated iron “It’s a big number and families can’t home is one among a dark warren of afford it. PLUS | WEDNESDAY 16 JULY 2014 3 ‘Systemic problem’ Many rooftop homes were built in the 1950s, when there was an influx of immigrants from mainland China and few building restrictions. Now, it is an even mix of migrants and Hong Kongers who live there, says Lui. Some have done so for more than 30 years. While there is no exact record of the number of rooftop residents, there are more than 170,000 sub- standard homes throughout the city, according to the authorities. The government says its campaign against “unau- thorised building works” (UBWs), which include rooftop homes, is in the interests of public safety. Between 2001 and 2011 the buildings department removed 400,000 UBWs. But the pace of rooftop removals is now outstrip- ping the ability to rehouse, says Lui, with a lack of coordination between the buildings and housing departments. “The planning of evictions should be linked to the planning of resettlement,” said Lui. “It’s a systemic problem.” Landlords and tenants of UBWs are not entitled to compensation from the government. “No one told me this was illegal,” said Su’s neigh- bour Quang Xuan, 55, a refugee from Vietnam who works as a handyman and has lived in his rooftop home for 10 years. “When people told me we had to move out I said to myself OK, I will go if I can find another place. But if I can’t find somewhere I can afford, I risk becoming homeless, living under a flyover or in a park.” SoCO estimates that there are about 1,200 home- less people in Hong Kong. Rich city failing its poor Both the buildings and housing departments declined interview requests but said in statements that they worked closely together and that public rental housing would be offered to those who were Many rooftop homes were eligible. to an agreement with the building’s landlords -- who Eligibility criteria include means testing and living can also evict them -- that they can stay for up to built in the 1950s, when there in the rooftop home for more than two years, prior three years, says Lui. to the removal order. The buildings department removal notice, issued was an influx of immigrants The buildings department said it would not, by in 2012, does not give a timescale for eviction. from mainland China and few law, make any resident homeless. What is certain, though, is that the illegal homes At the end of March this year there were almost will eventually be torn down. building restrictions. Now, it is 250,000 applications for public rental housing. The In the short-term, rent subsidies would help resi- average waiting time for general applications is three dents move on to something better, says Lui. an even mix of migrants and years, the housing department said. But to solve the worsening housing crisis the gov- Hong Kongers who live there, Those not eligible can go into temporary accom- ernment needs to build more affordable homes. modation -- but Lui says that moving to the “transit “Hong Kong now is a rich city with a high GDP,” says Lui. Some have done so centres” on the outskirts of Hong Kong means resi- Lui said. dents have to uproot their lives, their children, their “We have the responsibility to ensure that every- for more than 30 years. jobs, which many do not want to do. body living here enjoys adequate housing.” Residents of the Sham Shui Po rooftop have come AFP 4 PLUS | WEDNESDAY 16 JULY 2014 COMMUNITY Students from Dinu Dancing Academy in Doha organised their annual danc- ing show at Hotel Plaza Inn. S Khan, Deputy Chief of Mission at the Sri Lankan Embassy, was the chief guest. The colourful dance performances were choreographed by Dinuk Vimukthi Lawrance. KMCA holds AGM Karnataka Muslim Cultural Association (KMCA) has unanimously re-elected Niyaz Ahmed as the President for the year 2014 -2015 in the recently held annual general body meeting held at ICC. The body also elected three members for the advisory panel — Syed Abdul Hye, Rehman Saab, and Ibrahim Beary. Seen in the photo: Sitting from left to right: Fayaz Ahmed, Ibraz Khan, Niyaz Ahmed, Saquib Raza Khan, Mohammed Mujeeb and Muneer Ahmed. Standing from left to right: Zia Ul Huq, Syed Ashfaq, Ifran Shariff, M, Iqbal Manna, Ismail Aboobakar and Ahmed Saeed Assadi. Pak Qatar Takaful group hosts Suhour party ak Qatar Takaful Group (PQTK), which com- prises of Family Takaful and General Takaful, a PPakistan based company hosted a gala Suhour at the Dana Club for Pakistani community in Qatar. It was attended by company chairman Sheikh Ali bin Abdullah Al Thani, Shahzad Ahmad, Pakistan Ambassador, Abdulbasit Ahmed A Al Shaibei, CEO, Qatar International Islamic Bank, and officials of the Pakistan embassy in Doha. Zahid Awan, Director Pak-Qatar Takaful Group briefed about the group activities in Qatar and spe- cially in Pakistan. Earlier, Aleem Paracha, President, Halqa-e-Ahbab, one of the oldest community forum in Qatar wel- comed the guests. Muhammad Khaleeq delivered a speech on the importance of Ramadan. COMMUNITY / MARKETPLACE PLUS | WEDNESDAY 16 JULY 2014 5 Safari Win 10 Toyota Camry Promotions Safari Win 10 Toyota Camry Promotions prize distribution Ceremony was held at Safari Mall recently. Aziz Dhamani, Manager, Zainul Abideen, General Manager, and Shaheen Madappatt, Chief Coordinator, with winners. Bangladeshi community organises Iftar party An Iftar Party was organised by Bangladeshi community at the Doha Grand Palace Hotel. Payar Mohammed, President of BNP Qatar, a community forum, Mohammad Shahidul Haque, former General Secretary, Abu Tahir Miyzi, Mohammed Aminur Rahman and Fazlur Kadir Chowdry addressed the gathering. Payar Mohammad said the forum has around 12,000 members in Qatar. Main objectives of the forum is to assist and help needy Bangladeshis in Qatar. QP and Total donate computers to Qatar Charity otal E&P Qatar has donated 50 refurbished personal computers and laptops to Qatar TCharity on behalf of Qatar Petroleum (QP). The computers were handed over at a special ceremony held at Total’s office and attended by Yousef Al Nesf, Total E&P Qatar’s Public Relations Manager, Abdallah Al Dosari, Qatar Charity’s Director of In-Kind Donations, and other senior officials. to Qatar Charity these fifty computers, which will initiative, and we are confident that the donated Total E&P Qatar recently joined hands with QP impact the lives of many families in Qatar. Used IT computers would make a lot of difference in effec- in donating 40 personal computers and 10 laptops equipment is often discarded which is not only bad tively serving the information and communications to Qatar Charity.