The evacuation of villages on the southern border of the Kingdom has proved a trial for many of the locals who know no other way of life than the one they have lived for generation upon generation, some of whom have huge families too large for camp tents and who cannot afford alternative accommodation. Many have been unable to adapt to a different life at evacuee camps and instead moved back to homes in what are deemed areas of security concern. Fifty-eight-year-old Ali Yahya Al-Hakami was born in the village of Umm Al-Quroush and has lived there all his life, marrying and bringing up his 24 children. His extended family that was evacuated to the tent camp in Ahad Al-Masareha totals just short of 50 persons. The tent allocated to the Al-Hakami family was too small, and rents for nearby housing were far out of the reach of his income. The whole family is now back in Umm Al-Quroush. “Although we're all here living together including the children, there's no sense of fear,” Al-Hakami says. “Security patrols are constantly present, and although we're right next to the Yemeni border there's been no threat of danger.” Al-Hakami's brother has also brought his family back to the village. “When we were first told to evacuate we obviously obeyed, but the tent we were given was no good at all. I have a big family and my brother has 22 in his. Finding a house was not easy either due to the demand, but when we eventually found one free we were told the rent would be SR4,000 a month!” Al-Hakami said that they went back home and continued searching for accommodation in areas outside the evacuation zone, but to no avail. “We've moved out and back in three times now,” he says. “The constant moving of stuff has also meant me losing a lot of furniture.” “How can I live elsewhere when I live off a pension of 3,600 riyals? Nearly a quarter of that goes to the bank to pay back a loan I took out two years ago for house renovations. How am I supposed to be able to afford SR4,000 in rent? I'm prepared to evacuate again, but only if I'm given proper accommodation.”
