Mirdif residents outraged by obscene grafitti

Dubai: "I can't tell the difference between Mirdif and Satwa," said a disgruntled Mirdif resident after spotting rude graffiti on the walls of Westzone supermarket, on street 81 in Mirdif, minutes away from her own villa.

As the number of Mirdif residents swells, so too do neighbourhood hindrances.

Maya L., a Spanish mum of two, is appalled at the eyesore on the villa across the street from hers. Obscene language and body parts painted out in excruciating detail are what she and her family have to wake up to every morning.

All over Mirdif, the disturbing art is growing. On villa 70 on street 55C, the graffiti on the walls on the elevated house grows by the week. "It started with little squiggles and X-loves-Y types of messages. But that wall is now an expanding canvas with artwork such as a cross and a sickle, gothic text and abstract designs," says M.A., a former resident of street 55C.

Villa 21A on street 75 has everything from peace and love signs to spray-painted messages about who loves whom. Not even the walls of the prestigious Uptown Mirdif have been spared.

Sergio Zolo, an Italian real estate agent is devastated by the freedom of expression that is becoming rampant across the area. "I used to be able to market Mirdif as the perfect family community. It was a great place to bring up your kids, enjoy a winter barbecue and tend to your garden. If this sort of obscene vandalism goes on, this quiet neighbourhood will turn into a ghastly ghetto," he says.

Villa 22A on Street 12 has an interesting message spray painted on its walls. "Stop Vanda…" it says, cleverly asking people to stop vandalising

With swastikas, religious symbols, obscenity and vulgar paintings showing up at an alarming rate, Zolo wonders how long before graffiti vandalism drives residents away from their perfectly manicured homes.

"This goes beyond expressing your inner artist. This is about aesthetically destroying what doesn't belong to you in the first place," said Maya L.