The Ahvaz municipality has issued an "immediate evacuation" warning to residents of certain areas in the city, stating that during the rainy season, there is a high risk of landslides, mudslides, and house destruction in areas such as "Hasirabad" and "Manba Ab."
A Warning for People's Lives, an Unanswered Question
This warning, while essential for preserving people's lives, raises an important question: "Where should families without any other shelter go?" Residents of Ahvaz, even if they have not passed through these areas, have seen the small shanties built haphazardly on the hills when they drive down Bouyeh Street to reach the Behbahani Highway.
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The Hasirabad and Manba Ab neighborhoods have long been home to people in Ahvaz who struggle with deprivation and economic difficulties. Leaving their homes is impossible for them without a safe place to relocate.
Reminiscing Memories
Before I emigrated, I had walked many times through the alleys of Hasirabad and Manba Ab. To visit men and women who were distantly related to my father. They were underprivileged but welcoming and hospitable in their homes. Every year, a little before the New Year, in late winter and before schools reopened at the end of summer, my father would prepare packages of food, nuts, and stationery. He knew families there who were in need of help.
I remember one year, on the brink of autumn, when I brought bags of shoes, stationery, and food for the grandchildren of "Aunt Zahra," who was caring for her daughters' children after her daughter had passed away from illness years earlier. She insisted that we be her guests. She still wore mourning clothes for her young daughter after all these years. With her bent back, she hurried over and took my father's hand: "If you don't come inside, I will be upset. Come have a cold drink.
Manba Ab is by no means considered an outskirts area, yet for years, evacuation warnings have been issued for its residents on the brink of winter and the short rainy season in Khuzestan. For the women, men, and children who have settled in this area due to the expansion of informal settlements and migration from villages to cities, living in houses built on the hills without urban planning regulations has resulted in casualties for years.
Crisis Management and the Need for Prudence
Mr. Mayor, preserving the lives of citizens cannot be achieved through orders, warnings, and alerts. In a democratic and clean system, before issuing warnings and taking evacuation actions, a safe shelter, basic facilities, and peace of mind for citizens must be provided. Underprivileged people who sit on a wealth that they have no share in due to the ineffective policies of the past decades should not have to choose between staying in unsafe homes and homelessness.
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