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Article

27 Apr 2020

Author:
Sarah Leah Whitson & Abdullah Alaoudh, Foreign Policy

Mohammed bin Salman’s Bloody Dream City of Neom

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For hundreds of years, the [Huweitat] tribe had occupied villages and towns, including a historical capital, Khuraybah, across the northwestern province of Tabuk. Now, some 20,000 people are set to be pushed out to make room for Neom...

Rather than consult with the local community and seek to integrate them in the region’s ambitious plans, the government has treated its citizens like disposable objects...

[Authorities] started issuing property confiscation orders in early January... offer[ing] residents only vague, verbal promises of temporary apartments and unspecified compensation... there was no judicial process involved in reviewing the tribe’s objections to the development project, their forced displacement, or the terms of the compensation.

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