Two families living in neighbouring apartments were coming back from their relative's wedding. The day passed by peacefully, and everyone was happy after the party that ended at 6pm. The cars were rushing back home, an hour before the clock rang "curfew time". The two families, who reside near the North Sinai Security Directorate, told Daily News Egypt a story of the circumstances they lived during the deadly incident that occurred on 29 January, leaving more than 20 people dead in Al-Arish. As they arrived the families said goodbye to each other and entered their separate apartments. Inside one of the houses was a grandmother, a lecturer who is a mother of two, her sister, and their 23-year-old cousin who is a college student. Meanwhile, in the apartment next door lived their uncle, his wife who is a teacher and a mother of two young girls and a boy. "Nearly 10 minutes after getting back into the house, we were watching TV. My mother in law was preparing dinner; we were all very happy because our cousin just got married and everything was just fine, even the kids were playing around, until the clock struck 7.15," said the lecturer. "At that very moment the ground started shaking and I felt like an earthquake was happening." A second later a large window came crashing in leaving a big hollow space in the wall, the lecturer added. "The sound of the explosion was so loud that we jumped off the chairs and rushed screaming and running towards the other apartment, looking for our uncle and his wife who came out as white as paper from fear, while the sound of gunfire and bombings did not stop," said the lecturer's sister. "A power blackout hit the block, where we all hid in the same room and sat on the floor; the kids were crying and women were shaking from fear; the sound of bombs and gunfire didn't rest and I felt like the house was going to fall down and we were all about to die," she added. The uncle said that he could not process what was actually happening. "I didn't know where we should go or what we should do, I told them all to go downstairs; only a second later I realised that even if we were to run outside we would get shot, so again I screamed go into the house, I said go inside immediately," he added. With the curfew imposed, the families were stuck in one house, with no mobile coverage, no lights and the sound of gunfire everywhere. "The shooting was so loud that I felt like bullets were going to penetrate the walls, and my six-year-old cousin whispered into my ears saying, ‘I'm scared, when will this noise stop?' So I just hugged her tight, saying, ‘Everything is going to be ok, sweetie, don't worry'; a phrase that I wasn't even sure was true, but I had to comfort that poor little girl," the student said. Almost 15 minutes passed until the lights came back, but they felt like years. The 23-year-old student was sleeping over at her cousin's house; she left her mother at the wedding, assuming that she would go back home safely with her relatives. "I kept calling my mother over 40 times but couldn't reach her; I was worried sick, I didn't know if she arrived safely or if something happened to her," she added. The authorities imposed a limited state of emergency in selected areas of North Sinai as part of heightened counter-insurgency measures. These came in the wake of the 24 October militant attacks, which left at least 30 security personnel dead. Photo Armed forces handout Curfew hours imposed in the past months were supposed to be lifted on 25 January, but the government extended it three months further. After endless trials the young lady finally reached her mother and found that she arrived safely at her house that was away from the incident, but instead the daughter left her mother terrified for her and the rest of her relatives. The sound of gunfire and bombs continued non-stop for over an hour, then intermittently throughout the dark night. "If something would've happened to us we would've probably been mentioned in a news ticker; nothing more… maybe as a number amongst the numbers of people who died and whose story no one knows," said the lecturer. "Ironically I started adapting to the sound of gunshots, so that when it stopped I felt terrified, because it was after the silence that we would suddenly get struck by terrorising sounds," she added. Three hours after being trapped on the ground, the families started to get out of the room to inspect the damage to their homes. Smashed glass was everywhere; the floor was filled with broken pieces that they kept sweeping away while trying to keep the children from getting hurt. "The window in our room was entirely shattered on the floor and on the bed; me, my husband and the kids had to sleep, or try to sleep in another room on the floor," said the teacher. "I tried to sleep but I couldn't from the sounds of gunfire that accompanied us all night, even when I would pass out for a few minutes, the unending noise kept forcing me to wake up out of terror," said the student. One of the families are not permanent residents of Al-Arish, so they left the house the next day to stay somewhere safer, and the day after they all went back to Cairo, trying to forget the painful memories of that day. On the other hand, the other family have their entire lives over there and have to find a way to live in that volatile town somehow. "When I was saying my goodbyes to the helpless children, I felt like a piece of my heart was being torn, it was as if I was leaving them in a war zone and could do nothing about it; it's just heart-breaking," said the student. One family left, leaving the rest behind with ache and sorrow. They came to share the happiness of the newlyweds and ended up witnessing a piece of the reality that they had been hearing of but still could not truly understand for years. "It was in that very moment of the attack that I understood what my beloved ones are going through. I honestly don't know how residents like the people of Gaza are living in those constant circumstances. Things like this make you think, but I could only hope that God would bless them and secure them from any harm; God be with you my people, the people of the bleeding town, the people of Sinai," added the student. Others expressed their feelings towards the situation, whereby several residents of Al-Arish feel that they are at war, but what is worse is that they do not know who they are up against, or who their enemy is. A young father, who is a permanent resident of the town, expressed his thoughts, saying: "We are human beings; why do we have to live like this when we're supposed to be feeling safe in our homes and secure in our country?" Further, a pharmacist in his late twenties noted that he has been looking for a way out of this troubled place. "Things however aren't that easy, but it became my main goal to get out and just run from this seemingly never to be resolved situation," he said. A doctor feels that the army is not taking serious measures to control the situation. "I don't really see how the soldiers they put in charge are fit to handle this troubled area; how will a bunch of young men who just graduated from college be able to secure a place that threatens national security?" he questioned, whereby he also claimed that the procedures taken to inspect vehicles going in and out of the city of North Sinai are not sufficient, and that even though most of the time people wait in long queues to be inspected, a lot of people just pass by without undergoing any serious investigations. The story of the two families is among hundreds of other stories that the residents of Al-Arish have witnessed during that night. Countless people doubtless found their houses destroyed, and screams and cries filled the town as the night got darker. The people of Sinai are trying to recover, but they are not even given a chance to forget and truly recover, said the teacher. "We're losing our town. Oh, I wish I knew where you're headed to Sinai."
