Dubai business owners ‘heartbroken’ after losing 20,000 books during extreme storms
One small business is fighting for survival after the storms that were recorded across the UAE last week.
Somia Anwar and Grace Karim, the owners of Bookends, a second-hand bookshop in Dubai Silicon Oasis, lost at least 20,000 book as a result of the extreme weather.
Ms Anwar, who drove from her home in Sharjah to Dubai during the storm after receiving a call about the flooding in the shop, told The National it was like a scene from a film.
As the shop is on the lower ground floor of a building in Digital Park, the water level was quickly rising when she arrived.
“It was pitch dark, I was trying to see what I could save, what books I can put higher, but most shelves are wooden,” she said. “After about two hours, me, my son and husband realised there was nothing we could do.
“It felt like a scene from a movie.
“I could see my books floating, hear the water coming in.
“I knew I should not have been there, as it’s a safety issue, but it’s a start-up, it’s our baby, so I was not thinking straight.”
Ms Anwar said it took authorities about three days to pump the water from the basement, by which time at least a third of their stock had been ruined.
“Three days immersed in water, all the shelves had to be thrown out,” she said.
“The books were piled on top of each other, so even if water did not reach a certain level, it soaked the top books as well.”
The shop stored about 30,000 books, 10,000 of which they’ve had to throw away. A nearby storage centre, which was also flooded, held about 20,000. Ms Anwar estimates they have lost about 10,000 to 15,000 of those.
“The books we lost, they do not belong to us,” said Ms Anwar. “These books belong to the sellers.”
Bookends, which started four years ago during the Covid-19 pandemic, is a community-driven online marketplace where anyone can list their items and use the credit from sales to buy new ones.
The shop generates a profit by adding a service fee.
Ms Anwar and Ms Karim have been working for 12 hours a day trying to repair the store.
“Some of the books are damp, so we are putting some in the sun, but the entire place smells damp,” Ms Anwar said.
“We are trying to take the books out and give them a bit of air. We are sorting out dehumidifiers so at least some books are dry are safe and do not start smelling.
“Our big concern is that no mould grows on them.”
Both the physical and online stores are closed as they assess the stock. They’ve also asked for volunteers to help clear everything out and started a campaign for donations of used books that people no longer need. “We have had an amazing response,” said Ms Anwar.
“People are coming in from all over to give us a helping hand and sort out whatever is left of the books.
“We have a lot of book lovers, including many people who did not know about us.
“One kid came in yesterday and we gave him a scanner to scan some bar codes – he loved it and said he wanted to be a cashier when he grows up. We’re trying to find joy in everything we are doing here, but we’re very heartbroken.”
Ms Anwar believes it will take up to 10 days before they can partially re-open the store.
“With the amount of support we are getting from the community, we will surely come back,” Ms Anwar said.
“We are amazed at the love and support we’re getting. We cannot let those people down.”
It took three days to pump the water from the basement, by which time at least a third of their stock had been ruined