‘The price of security is hefty' JIZAN – The residents of eight border villages have only days left before they have to evacuate their homes, but many are still holding onto the slim hope that they will be allowed to stay. They are also asking to be moved to good accommodation. The villages are being evacuated because of the intense clashes between the Saudi military and the infiltrators in the area. Many villagers, however, were seen loading their livestock and furniture onto trucks in preparation for leaving before Saturday's deadline. The villages of Sir, Umm Al-Quroosh, Mahjan, Al-Zabadi, Al-Dhalah, Abu Al-Radeef, Sirdah, and Majroob might soon be ghost towns after being in existence for over 100 years. “The price of security is hefty,” said one villager.“We have to evacuate the place which we have bonded with our entire lives,” said Muhammad Haddadi, who was preparing to leave. Haddadi said he had spent over SR500,000 on his village home. “It was the savings of my 26 years of military service,” he said. Haddadi said he was shocked when he was ordered to evacuate. Many infiltrators had taken refuge in abandoned village homes. Some homes were completely destroyed during bombing campaigns - a fate that Haddadi hopes his home will escape. “I shed tears, really, when I know it could be destroyed. Camps would not make a good replacement for home. The dream to have one family under one roof during bad and good times, now seems to have vanished,” he said. Mahdi Hakami, the tribal chief of some of the villages which have to be evacuated, said he was officially notified of the order by the authorities. “The villagers are ready to accept the orders for their safety, but they hope for a better place to live,” he said. Camp life would not suit families, he said. A 64-year-old villager Ali Hakami, said that their stay at the evacuee camp might be longer than anticipated, requesting a better home at the camp. Muhammad Hakami, another villager, said his family refused to leave by the evacuation order from their Umm Al-Quroosh village. “They wanted to stay despite the order, but I talked them out of it,” he said. “I believe it is for our safety.” Village children would receive education as normal at Jizan schools, said Ali Awaf, director of the Samtah Education Department. “Over 900 out of 1,500 students from evacuated village schools were spread out among schools in the region during the first evacuation call.” It is expected that the border villages of Al-Rawdah Al-Gharbiya, Al-Rawdah Al-Sharqiah, Umm Al-Oud, Al-Kanadeesh, and Al-Wastah will also be scheduled for evacuation soon. Sources at the Civil Defense Department said arrangements to host the evacuees have already been put in place.
