Coptic families from Arish are fleeing death threats, kidnapping and arson attacks. More than 100 Christian families have fled so far. The majority of these families have been resident in the town for more than four decades, having migrated there from Upper Egypt. Bishop Bolous Halim, spokesman for the Orthodox Church, says a video uploaded on the Internet by Islamic State (IS) announcing that “Copts are a direct target” precipitated the killings, arson and death threats that broke out in the final week of February. At the Evangelical Church in Ismailia women and men from Arish gather for lunch. Mervat Girguis told Al-Ahram Weekly that masked youths no older than 25 had gone to Christian homes in Arish and written “Leave” on the door. Fawzia Riad Moussa, 49, dressed in black, is sitting next to her 16-year-old son Morcos and 20-year-old daughter Dimyana. They look across at Girguis and recount how her veterinarian husband was killed on Sunday, 12 February, 2017 at 2pm. According to Eissa, a Muslim eyewitness, the husband went to work at the Veterinarian Administration then went to a clinic owned by one of his colleagues in Al-Obour district near Al-Muwasalat to look after sick animals. Two masked men came in. One of them took his cell phone from his pocket, his papers and money. They forced him down the stairs to the middle of the street and made him kneel. Then they demanded he convert to Islam. When he refused he was shot. “We filed a police report and buried him in Alexandria the next day,” says his widow. Then, just as the family was trying to finalise the paperwork for his pension someone called her son Morcos and said: “If you don't leave Arish, we will kill you.” It is not an isolated story. Saad Hakim, 65, was killed with his son Medhat, 45, on 12 February, 2017 at 10.30pm. The murderers then burnt the two bodies in front of Hakim's wife, says Nazmi Fahim, the brother-in-law of the victim. Fahim has lived in Arish for 49 years and his son Ezzat was born there. Before the 2011 revolution their lives were happy and stable, he says, but when Mohamed Morsi was elected president many radicals came to Arish. “It felt as if we were ruled by Hamas,” says Fahim. “When Adli Mansour became president the situation improved to some degree but over the past two years conditions in Arish turned into a war against us and the army.” Fahim continues, listing the victims he knows: “Martyr Magdi Lamie Habashi, the owner of an appliance shop was kidnapped. The church paid the ransom but then his family received a phone call telling them where to collect his body. A week later, a priest was killed as he was leaving Al-Masaaid Church. Father Mina Abboud was killed on 6 July 2013. Father Rafael was killed in June last year. Wael Youssef, 38, was killed at a supermarket on 30 January. Dr Bahgat was killed on 12 February. On 18 and 19 February, 2017, they killed Gamal Tawfik, a teacher, and Hakim and his son.” In January 2011 Rafah Church was destroyed. St George's Church was burnt to the ground after the Rabaa Al-Adaweya sit-in was dispersed. And the attacks, says Fahim, have continued. His wife interrupts: “They want to punish us for electing [Abdel-Fattah] Al-Sisi. But never; he is in our hearts.” In a room with three beds Mohrael, five, asks her father Ezzat, to take her out. “Come on, dad, let's go have fun,” she says. Ezzat tells his daughter he's been walking all day and is tired. “Al-Sisi rebuilt Rafah Church,” says Ezzat. “They are doing this to drive a wedge between the police, the army and Christians. Many of those who have stood by us during this ordeal are Muslims. My house is being protected by Muslims who wept as we were leaving Arish.” Unfortunately, he adds, he cannot easily stay in touch with his neighbours because the first thing the terrorists take from their victims are cell phones. “Muslims are now scared to answer phone calls from us in case they are targeted. Everyone is under threat. The terrorists kill Muslims under the pretext they are cooperating with the police and army.” Ezzat tells of a friend, a Muslim policeman, forced to move from house to house. “It is a war, but not a regular war. They want to lure the army into a civil war.” His wife, Mariam Fayez, adds: “They want us to hate Al-Sisi but we will never hate the army or Al-Sisi. We are all brothers and sisters.” Fahim repeats a verse in the Bible: “Fear not those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear Him who can destroy both body and soul.”
AT THE ENTRANCE to a youth hostel displaced families surround MP Nadia Henry. One of them, Rifaat Shukri, says that “in war you must know your enemy”. “Now,” he adds, “the situation in North Sinai is very difficult. Rockets and bombs are fired and land on residential areas. We don't know where these weapons are coming from.” Emad Fouad, 24, responds: “Everything comes from the tunnels. The situation has to be addressed. Security forces are doing their best but this is war.” “I came to Ismailia with my mother and siblings,” says Christine Nassif, 20, a teacher at a private school. “Now our biggest fear is that our house will be burnt. I was so scared when we were leaving I forgot to bring my ID card. Thank God I was able to cross to Ismailia by ferry. We and the army are suffering terribly.” Girguis Refaat, 12, sits next to his father. He says that though he liked living in Arish there was no point going back when even his school building is pock marked with bullet holes. A 55-year-old man who preferred not to give his name insists he will return. “We will go back. I bought 600 square metres of land and built a house. Each of my children has an apartment there.” Gamal Adli, 30, says the trouble began in 2011. “We die every day. Muslims, too, receive death threats but the focus has been on Christians in the week since the army attacked Gabal Al-Halal. I have three children. We would go home in the afternoon and not go out until the next morning. We decided to leave Arish for the sake of the children. No one told us to leave.” Bassem Herz Attallah, 26, concurs. “We arrived in Ismailia five hours ago. Attacks in the past were isolated or they were kidnappings for ransom which the families paid. Now, though, it is too dangerous.” But why flee to Ismailia? “After Wilayet Sinai published orders on the Internet to target Christians some of us called friends in the Evangelical Church in Ismailia and they told us there would be a place for us there,” says Attallah. At the Evangelical Church Nabil Shukrallah is coordinating relief efforts. The first four families, he says, arrived last Thursday after witnessing arson attacks. “It was then we formed the Evangelical Church Relief Group which is manned by 15 young Muslims and Christians who work to provide families with food and shelter. We also reached out to physicians to provide the displaced with medical care as soon as they arrive.” Shukrallah adds that the committee has expanded to include the Evangelical, Orthodox and Catholic churches. “The goal is to get rid of Christians. First, in Arish, then to threaten the Muslims there so they can take over North Sinai. Evacuating Sinai is an indirect way to fragment Egypt. We have to be vigilant,” says a nun who is helping out. According to Adel Shukrallah, 41, supervisor of youth services at the church “many of those who fled are in a bad state.” “They left with their clothes and some food, in fear, weeping because they are fleeing their homes.” “We have not appealed for donations. The truth is we haven't needed to. People of different ages, religions and genders are providing assistance. The prayer room keeps filling with blankets, food and clothes. It is the Egyptian spirit the terrorists are trying to destroy but we believe all good things come to those who love God.” The committee operates around the clock. IN FRONT OF the Orthodox Coptic Archdiocese Romany Youssef Khalil and his wife are delivering food and drink to the displaced. “We are helping them as Egyptians first, not as Christians. We know that supporting them is primarily the responsibility of the state,” says Khalil. “We are helping because we are brothers in this country and in humanity.” Father Kirollos Ibrahim from St George Church is also there to help. “Those who threaten others and kill Christians have no religion. Some fanatics hate themselves and project their hatred on to Copts. These concepts are alien to Egypt. The solution is to correct mistaken concepts that have nothing to do with religion and create a healthy, moderate atmosphere for all members of society.” “Those who fled left under the protection of their Muslim neighbours and friends. There are several churches in Arish and they could have helped the displaced but the movement of clergy is restricted because of security conditions there.” The church, says Ibrahim, has rented flats for some families and the Ministry of Youth and Sports has opened up youth hostels for the rest. Negotiations are also underway to provide housing in Port Said. “Egypt's people are blessed,” declares Father Moussa Ibrahim of Bishop Bishoi Church in Ismailia. He is confident that what is happening is a result of successes in the battle against the terrorists. “We do not regret electing Al-Sisi. We did it with free will. Even when human rights groups speak to us we say we reject any interference in our domestic affairs. Problems in the home are resolved by people in the home.” Father Ibrahim fears for Egypt. “We must be vigilant about the dangers of undermining the state. These attacks do not target Copts only but the whole of Egypt.” Shafik Ramzi, who travels to Arish for work, says a contributing factor to the problem is that tribalism is strong in Arish and families don't always care about education. This makes it fertile ground to recruit accomplices to help kidnap Christians or Muslims, he says. Mina Magdi, a student at Sinai University's Arish Campus since 2012, says real concern was first triggered by the killing of Father Mina Abboud. Security was tightened and roadblocks went up meaning that it now takes him three hours instead of 90 minutes to get to Arish. “We wake up to gunfire, and security procedures are even more intense during religious feasts,” he says. Osama Kamel Rateb, deputy president of Sinai University's Arish Campus, has been in emergency meetings since the start of the crisis last week, and is in contact with the minister of higher education and the Private Universities Council who have already resolved the matter. “The university has stayed open and will not hesitate to provide assistance,” says Rateb. “But this situation is beyond us. The threat is against all sects, and each sector must do its duty so life can continue. There are plots against the homeland and we must understand the dangers.” “The governorate is ready to do whatever it can for the displaced,” Ismailia's Governor Yassin Taher told Al-Ahram Weekly. “Families have been housed in youth hostels and Al-Mustaqbal City and provided with medicine and food.” While Ismailia has been turned into a city of refuge, accommodating the largest number of displaced families, some others have fled to Cairo, Assiut and Qalioubiya. In these governorates too the Ministry of Social Solidarity says it will cover school fees, rent and provide LE1,000 in urgent assistance to families fleeing the violence in Arish.
