Islanders fear Egyptian land grab

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CNN

QORSAYA ISLAND, Egypt (CNN) -- There's only one way to get to Qorsaya island -- a boat that ferries people back and forth all day.

Here, life is quiet and simple, and self-contained. Most locals make their living farming or fishing. And the 5,000 residents who call it home have lived here for generations.

So folks on the island tend to notice when something looks different -- such as when the Egyptian military started snapping pictures and, a few weeks later, swooped in.

"September 11th, they occupy," said artist Mohammed Abla. "They came early in the morning and then they put their hand on one piece of land which was owned by 10 people. And then, in the end, those people they were taken to the judge."

One of them, a fisherman who goes only by the name of Mohammed, said the judge gave him two choices.

"Either sign away your land or go to jail because you stood up to the army," he said. "And so I had no choice, I signed away my land."

Qorsaya may not look the part, but it sits on prime real estate: smack in the center of the capital city Cairo; in the middle of the river Nile.

Residents feel that its real estate is being readied for sale by a government that wants to cash in.

The island's parliamentary representative, Mohamed Aboul Enein, told CNN what he has been telling residents: there is nothing to worry about. The bulldozers they see are there just for development.

Few on Qorsaya buy the government's explanation. They fear they are being evicted, one by one.

Dr. Mohammed Mustafa, a trauma surgeon, has lived on the island for 22 years. He and others are now suing the government -- a process that could take months.

While many residents say they have documents to prove that they own the land, technicalities can stymie their claims.

Egyptian law says that one can lay claim to land if he or she has lived there for more than 15 years -- unless it is "land of the government." That clause gives the government a big legal loophole.

And with bulldozers blazing away daily on the island, paranoia is on the rise.

"The people become something like really crazy," said Abla, the artist. "They don't sleep. Any strange voice on the island, they say 'Okay military, they are coming.'"

Added Dr. Mustafa: "Everybody here (has) depression, and everybody here (has) hate about what happened."

Earlier this year, the doctor brought together residents, mostly children, to send dozens of balloons into the sky. Their message: Save the island.

This is what Qorsaya's residents want -- for their country to pay attention.

Because if Qorsaya goes to the government, residents warn, who knows what part of Cairo will be next.