Salonaz Sami reports on the kidnap and rape that wreaked havoc among the once peaceful villagers of Damietta "It was a massacre," said Mohamed El-Gharbawi, a farmer, describing events on Saturday and Sunday in the villages of Al-Borg and Shat Al-Sheikh Dorgham in Damietta. The normally sleepy governorate, best known for its palm trees and fishing boats, was shocked by news that a young woman from Shat Al-Sheikh Dorgham village had been kidnapped and raped by four men from the neighbouring village of Al-Borg on 25 May. The woman was left by her assailants in the middle of the road, according to one local's account of what happened. When she returned home her family went to the police and named one of the attackers she had named. All four were then arrested. According to a security source who spoke to Al-Ahram Weekly on condition of anonymity, an arrangement was then reached by senior members of both families and, in accordance with local customs and traditions, the alleged perpetrator of the attack, though he denied the allegations, married the girl inside the police station. "But as soon as they left the station the situation quickly became ugly once again," said the source. An oral and physical confrontation took place between the two families and, an hour later, a divorce. "The woman's family then had to take revenge, after all, it is a matter of honour for them," reports the source. On 26 May, men from Al-Sheikh Dorgham's village kidnapped the ex-groom along with two of his friends and raped them. "They wanted them to feel the same humiliation they had inflicted on the poor girl," said Al-Gharbawi. "But it didn't stop there," added the security source. To further humiliate and disgrace them mobile phones were used to film the men being raped and the films were immediately distributed among the local populace. "A nightmare began," says Al-Gharbawi. Hundreds of angry villagers attacked Shat Al-Sheikh Dorgham with white weapons and firearms, in an attempt to rescue the men who had been kidnapped, destroying everything in their path. "The men were later found naked tied to palm trees in a secluded area nearby," says the source. The next day Shat Al-Sheikh Dorgham villagers took their own revenge, and the same scenes were repeated in Al-Borg village. Hundreds of anti-riot forces were deployed in the two villages and tear gas and rubber bullets were used to disperse crowds. Six soldiers were injured in the process. "In the two days of confrontations tens of cars and shops were destroyed and 17 locals injured and taken to the Damietta General Hospital," he adds. By the time the Weekly went to print, 18 villagers were in police custody facing charges of rioting, destroying public and private property and the possession of unregistered firearms. A council consisting of village elders and the constituency's MP was hastily convened in an attempt to contain the situation. A meeting took place on 28 May, attended by the governor and head of security in Damietta, but so far no recommendations have emerged to resolve the conflict. Meanwhile, according to Al-Gharbawi, the villages resemble ghost towns. "The shops are closed and the streets are empty except for riot police. People are too scared to let their kids go to school." What makes things worse is the fact that the two villages are so dependent on one another. "Fishermen from Al-Borg have fish restaurants in Shat Al-Sheikh Dorgham village and vice versa, and it is the same with marriage. Men from Al-Borg are married to women from Shat Al-Sheikh Dorgham and vice verse," explains Al-Gharbawi. "If the situation is not solved soon who knows what might happen."
