Botched rape attempt exposes capital’s abandoned buildings ‘dilemma’

AMMAN – A reported failed rape attempt at an abandoned building in Amman on Tuesday has exposed a “dangerous” phenomenon of abandoned buildings, which is a “headache” to both the municipality and police, officials from both institutions acknowledged.  

On Wednesday morning, a motorist called Radio Rotana’s morning show host, Yasser Ensour, telling him that he and other passersby rescued an anonymous young woman from a rape attempt in a deserted building between the 4th and 5th Circles in Jabal Amman.

The Jordan Times inspected the site and neighbours confirmed the attempted crime, saying that the perpetrator fled the scene, so did the woman, who, police said, did not report the incident.   

There are over 1,000 abandoned old buildings in the capital, some of which provide shelter to drug dealers and users, and have been reported as scenes of sexual assaults and even murders, according to officials. 

The motorist, who identified himself as Salim Sadeq, told the show host that while driving towards the 4th Circle, he spotted a man attacking the woman in the evening and trying to force her into the abandoned building. 

"I stopped the car and jumped out to the rescue of the girl," Sadeq said, adding that other motorists rushed to the rescue. 

The assailant ran away and the girl was saved, he added. 

The caretaker of a next-door building told The Jordan Times that he was among the people who rushed to the site when people gathered there. 

"I saw the man running away. The girl was in her 20s and was very terrified," he said, adding that the building has been shelter to “wrongdoings”. 

Raed Haddadin, director of the building control department at the Greater Amman Municipality (GAM), said abandoned buildings in the capital, particularly in the old areas, have become a problem for the municipality.

Most these abandoned buildings were built some 70 to 80 years ago and were transferred to a number of heirs who neglected the properties, said Haddadin. 

“For example, a building could be inherited by several children and grandchildren so there is no single person to talk to in order to maintain or renovate it,” he explained, adding that there are over 1,000 deserted buildings in the capital, mainly in the old Amman areas such as Jabal Amman, downtown, Jabal Luweibdeh and the Citadel area, among other places. 

According to Haddadin, some of these properties have become crime sites and public health hazards as they are filled with garbage. 

A police officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told The Jordan Times that several murders were discovered in abandoned buildings in the capital, adding that police have arrested several people for drug-related incidents in such buildings. 

The officer said the woman in Tuesday’s incident was lucky as other women have been raped in abandoned properties.

‘GAM plans to end dilemma’

But the GAM official said the municipality has plans to solve the “dilemma”. 

In the coming few days, GAM will publish an advertisement in newspapers giving owners a month’s notice to clean, maintain and lock these properties, otherwise the municipality will do the job early next year and owners will bear all expenses, Haddadin added. 

Haddadin indicated that the lifespan of cement used in old buildings is around 50 years, which poses risks for public safety, adding some buildings need to be renovated. 

The public safety of old buildings is the responsibility of GAM and the governor, he explained.