By Claire Evans

03/28/2018 Washington D.C. (International Christian Concern) – February 2017 will forever remain seared into the memories of Christians from al-Arish. That month ISIS committed a series of murders, mostly in broad daylight and in public spaces. ISIS message was clear: Christians are no longer welcome in al-Arish. Appealing to the authorities for protection was not an option, as they lacked either willingness or ability to protect the village’s Christians. So, they fled in the hundreds until none remained.

Throughout the next year, the community scattered all across Egypt. Six months after they fled, it was estimated that 130 families settled in Ismailia, 70 in Cairo, and 26 in Port Said, with smaller numbers living in a variety of different locations. A year later, 121 families are living in Ismailia, 44 families in Cairo, 32 families in Port Said, and many more scattered in other villages.

Today, the security situation in al-Arish remains unstable at best. ISIS continues to demonstrate that Christians are not welcome. The first Christian to attempt a return was Nabel Saber Fawzi, who returned to al-Arish in May 2017. The second Christian, Bassem Attala, returned in August 2017. Both men were killed by ISIS shortly after their return. Adel, who was displaced from al-Arish to Ismailia, said, “We had hoped to return to al-Arish one day after the situation is calm, but the killing of Nabel and Bassem has cut any hope of return to al-Arish. The ISIS group in al-Arish wants to reach a message to any Christian who thinks to return again to al-Arish that your fate will be like the fate of Nabel.”

Christians have faced many challenges since their initial displacement. But if one theme is constant when speaking with the displaced Christians of al-Arish, it is that families feel marginalized.

“My family and I have faced difficulty coping in the new place we moved to… We feel marginalization as a result of the state’s neglect of our crisis and the lack of interest of officials to follow our lives and provide what has been promised,” explained Refaat, who lives in Ismailia.

Farouk, who lives in Cairo, added, “We are suffering from marginalization of the government to us, where is our rights? We have been neglected from the government and there is no stability nor future for us.”

“In the beginning of our displacement, the governor of Ismailia welcomed us very much,” said Makram. He continued, “But he then neglected us and did nothing to help us.”

This neglect is “the real crisis,” according to a recent report released by the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights. The report explains that this crisis “was later reflected in the level of interventions of state institutions, whether to achieve justice or reparation to the victims.”

Reparation, or some form of assistance, has been just as slow coming for the families. “The situation is very hard for us,” says Mounir, who now lives in Ismailia. “I lost everything, I lost my work, home, [and] property there. I cannot find any work here; the government hasn’t compensated. We know that we cannot return again to al-Arish and we cannot sell our homes there, so the state must therefore estimate our property in al-Arish and give us compensation.”

Each family has had to make difficult choices following their displacement. Mona, a 32-year-old woman, now lives in Cairo with her four children who are between the ages of six months and 10 years. Her husband, Emad, worked as a plumber in al-Arish and made enough money to provide for his family. But, “after we moved to live in Cairo, he could not find any work to feed us. He had to travel abroad to the UAE last June to work there and save money to meet our physical needs.”

Mona further explained, “The government hasn’t stood with us in our difficult circumstances. We lost everything and we haven’t got any compensation from the government. Just the Ministry of Social Solidarity has started to give us monthly pension of 300 EGP (17 USD) since last October. But the 300 EGP is very little bit amount, I pay 600 EGP (34 USD) for the rent of the apartment we live in, in addition to the very expensive living expenses and the educational expenses for my children.”

The situation is further echoed in the words of Refaat, who added that “the majority of displaced do not find jobs, which makes us suffer from a lack of income that provides a decent life for us.”

Ultimately, the combination of these challenges presents a stark reality that these families have had to face in the last year. Adel said, “All of us don’t know what our future will be. How long will we [stay] here? One month, two months? And after that, where will we go? There isn’t any stability for us, and there isn’t any work for us here. The situation is so bad for us and our fate is unknown.”

For interviews with Claire Evans, Regional Manager, please contact Olivia Miller, Communications Coordinator: press@persecution.org