Ajman stall owners appeal for help after souq fire sends lifetime’s work up in smoke
Shop owners gathered opposite the Iranian souq in Ajman on Thursday, watching firefighters hose down the charred remains of their life’s work.
Some sheltered in the shade of Ajman Speciality Hospital’s car park as cooling operations continued on the market where their stalls once stood.
For Fardees Ahmad, in his 50s, the loss of his two shops that sold household items means an end to a 30-year business.
He and other shop workers were not at the souq when the fire broke out because the authorities closed it in March to prevent the spread of Covid-19.
“I have been here for over 30 years and, after a five-month closure, everything is gone. I don’t have money to pay my home rent or to pay wages for my employees.
“I don’t know what to do. I am left with nothing,” said Mr Ahmad, who is from Iran.
Shop owners struggling to stay financially afloat during the market closure said they had no idea how they would support their families now.
Mohammed Arif Islam, 25, was looking after a clothes shop for his father, who had travelled home to Bangladesh when flight restrictions came into force.
“We lost everything in this fire. The shop we had for the past 11 years that provided for 20 members of my family is gone,” he said. “This business provided for my mother, my brothers and sisters and for myself. I don’t know what we will do.”
He said most shop owners do not have insurance and are waiting for guidance from the authorities on what to do next.
Products worth hundreds of thousands of dirhams were lost in the fire that broke out at 6.30pm on Wednesday.
Officials said flammable goods stored in the souq caused the fire to spread quickly, sending thick black smoke into the air and prompting the evacuation of the neighbouring hospital.
Almost 100 firefighters, including crews from Dubai, Sharjah and Umm Al Quwain extinguished the blaze by 9pm.
Nobody was hurt but damage to the popular souq, in Ajman’s New Industrial Area, was extensive. Brig Abdulaziz Al Shamsi, director general of the emirate’s civil defence, said 125 shops were destroyed after parts of the market collapsed. Investigations into the cause of the fire are under way.
Some shop owners said they worried about paying off debts to suppliers, from whom they had bought products they were unable to sell once the market closed in March.
Mohammed Hussain, 37, worked at a carpet shop for the past 11 years and was at the souq when the fire began.
“I come here all the time, just like every other worker does, to see what will happen with us. Last night, while sitting next to a cafeteria opposite the market, I saw the fire.
“I am devastated. We are more than 600 workers in this market who have now lost our jobs after about five months of shutdown because of the coronavirus,” said Mr Hussain, from Bangladesh.
A few said the fire may have started after sparks from a welder ignited a stall.
One shopkeeper said he ran over to try help but the fire spread too quickly.
Another, who preferred not to be named, appealed for help, saying he was not insured.
“I went to an insurance company myself to insure my shop. They refused because there were no walls separating the shops,” he said.
“We are about 140 shop owners in this market who have collectively lost ... our life’s work in just two hours. Please help us.”