CAIRO - It was New Year's Eve and Mariam still had time to check her e-mails and write down her New Year resolutions on Facebook before going to Mass with her family. Mariam, who had high hopes for 2011, asked the Lord to stand by her. She had no idea that she was not only bidding farewell to 2010, but to her life too. For Mariam Fekri died in a blast that targeted worshippers coming out of the Two Saints Church in Alexandria last Friday. Mariam's family lost her mother and aunt as well. The terrifying incident has left behind widows, children and mothers whose lives have changed in the blink of an eye. The way the survivors describe the bloodshed and horror on the faces of the victims make one's hair stand on end. One minute they were celebrating the New Year, the next they were dead, with their limbs scattered across the street, sending shock waves nationwide. Behind the death of each and every victim of the recent act of terror in Alexandria is a tragic story. Little did the Fawzis, who went to New Year's Mass at the same church every year realise that they would lose three of their dear family members: Zahia, Teresa and Mary (Teresa's daughter). Meanwhile, Mary's sister Marina was admitted to hospital together with scores of other injured citizens. According to official statements, 23 people were killed in the bombing and around another 100 injured Mary and Marina's brother, Adel, was very distressed to lose three of his family members in one fell swoop, but he was just as distressed at the brutal way they met their end. Yunan Salib, who survived the blast, says he'll never forget seeing his young daughter lying on the ground next to him covered in blood. Yunan, accompanied by his wife and their child, had decided to leave the church shortly before the end of the service. When the bomb went off, Yunan thought their daughter had died, so you can imagine his relief when he heard her crying. Yunan witnessed human body parts flying through the air, the kind of thing you only hope to see in war movies. Yunan, like all of Egypt's Coptic Orthodox Christians, is convinced that the perpetrator was not an Egyptian. “Muslims and Copts in this country have co-existed peacefully for centuries. The act must have been committed to give an impression that sectarian sedition is steering our lives,” he told Al-Masry Al-Youm Arabic-language daily newspaper. Youssef Rezq and Wael Saad were lifetime friends. Although Youssef had lived in Germany for eight years, he came home every Christmas to see his family and friends. This year was extra special for Youssef, as he'd come home to get married too. He attended the Mass with his young wife, who is now a widow. Wael is stunned by the tragic death of his friend – he cannot understand why he had to die. These stories are just the tip of the iceberg, while the families of the victims are worried about how secure their own lives are. If anything positive has come out of this unwelcome tragedy, it's that which has brought Egypt's Muslims and Copts closer together. They realise that they share the same destiny, since they share the same country. Terrorism has not only hurt Girgis, Mikhail and Boutros, but Ahmed, Mohamed and Mahmoud as well.
