Saudi Arabia reportedly issued a disturbing order in pursuit of an environmentalist's dream of a "car-free" city, a project in which a list of Western companies are clamoring to participate.
The Saudi government is preparing to build a futuristic desert city it is calling The Line as part of its Neom eco-project.
While the Saudis are terming this the city of the future, it appears they have been applying some old-fashioned strong-arm tactics to get the project rolling, the BBC reported Wednesday.
Colonel Rabih Alenezi -- a former Saudi intelligence officer who went into exile in the U.K. last year -- told the BBC that he was ordered by his superiors to evict the tribe living along the construction line in 2020.
One of these tribesmen he was tasked with removing was later shot and killed for opposing his eviction from his home, Alenizi said.
Saudi forces were ‘licensed to kill’ to evict villagers for NEOM - the futuristic, eco-city - an ex-intelligence officer told us.
We spoke to former execs who called it a climate disaster and a UK company who pulled out of a £100m contract in The Line.
— Merlyn Thomas (@MerlynThomas) May 9, 2024
The Neom project is one of the kingdom's efforts to begin finding ways to get beyond its oil-based economy. The crown is putting $500 billion into the project.
The Saudis are expecting to complete only about 1.5 miles of The Line by 2030.
It is envisioned as a car-free city that is 106 miles long but only 656 feet wide, hence its name.
Our vertical city is progressing. Witness the first phase of our masterplan take shape #TheLINE #NEOM pic.twitter.com/Yq2yc2YgJ1
— NEOM (@NEOM) May 5, 2024
THE LINE's masterplan is set to redefine livability.
The 170km long city will transform how we live:
↔️ 170km long, 500- meter high and 200-meter wide
🚫 No cars. No roads. Zero carbon emissions
♻️ Powered by 100% renewable energy
🏙️ Built on 34 km2 (2% of a… pic.twitter.com/zCc5ilutrC
— NEOM (@NEOM) May 5, 2024
The project is similar to the left-wing concept of the 15-minute city. According to NPR, "in a 15-minute city, a person can access key things in their life -- work, food, schools and recreation -- within a short walk, bike, or transit ride of their home."
The idea is to put an end to freedom of movement and locate the whole population in huge urban centers where no one owns a vehicle.
The race to join the project by Western construction companies was hot, and many British and U.S. companies have become involved.
The effort to build a futuristic city also meant dealing with people who lived in the area in the present.
Satellite data shows that Sharma village was bulldozed, according to the BBC.
Alenezi said he was directed to target the village of al-Khuraybah, an area inhabited by the Huwaitat tribe for generations.
The former Saudi colonel said he was told in April 2020 that the tribe was made up of "many rebels" to the Saudi crown and "whoever continues to resist [eviction] should be killed, so it licensed the use of lethal force against whoever stayed in their home."
Alenezi said he evoked a medical problem to ditch the mission to evict the villagers, but it went on anyway.
Esports/gaming-related entities (media, orgs, etc) that are taking money from city projects and government-owned entities. Here's a before and after of the @NEOM project (from @Planet). In shot 1, villages and people. In shot 2, all gone, demolished. Where did those people go?… pic.twitter.com/q0B2LURQzi
— James B Fudge (@jfudge) May 9, 2024
He said one of them -- Abdul Rahim al-Huwaiti -- refused to be evicted and was shot dead by the soldiers.
The government also arrested dozens and even arrested some who merely went online to support those being evicted, the BBC reported. Many are afraid to speak out about the evictions because of retaliation by government officials.
The crown also tried to wave off criticism by claiming that those displaced were paid a fair market price for their land. However, records seem to show they were paid far below what the land was worth, the BBC reported.
One man who lost his land, speaking to the media under the assumed name "Nader Hijazi," said he was given only a month's warning before losing his home. Images of his former village look like the leavings of a warzone, he said.
"They're waging a war on people, a war on our identities," Hijazi said.
Saudi Arabia says it is looking to build the city of the future, an eco-friendly metropolis where residents can walk to their jobs and everything they need is nearby -- but it is destroying the history and lives of many generations to do so.
In addition, the city is being created in a desert where relatively few people live. Imagine if the enviro-nuts get their way and build something like "The Line" in the West.
Don't think leftists in the U.S. are not looking to replicate the idea here. As Michael Brilliot, deputy director for citywide planning for San Jose, California, told NPR, "We're trying to retrofit suburbia."
They want to bulldoze suburbia and replace it with megacities.
