MOVING AWAY... Moving Away (March - April Activity) | Page 22

Moving Away :

September 21 , 2014 , Sanaa . I have been woken up by gunshots in the street . People using guns is not something rare in my city but this time it is different . This time there are more shots than usual , and I hear humans whimpering , crying as if something horrible happened . I am scared . After 10 minutes without moving , I look out the window and I observe the bloodshed : at least 20 guys in front of me are suffering , near the death . I know they are not the only casualties . I must get away from there before it is too late . On the television , everyone is talking about what happened . The politicians are talking about a minor revolt from the Houthis , saying that everyone should stay in their homes and that there is no reason to panic . I know they are lying ; they try to manage the situation , but the Houthis are impossible to control . They will destroy the country , and everybody will die . I need to flee . I don ’ t know where , but I will find a place . I packed all my stuff , and now I am about to open the door . A small stare at my apartment , knowing that I will maybe never see it again and I leave . Once I am out , I take my motorcycle and try to quit the city discreetly . I am afraid : everywhere around me , I hear the sounds of rebels , gunshots … I know that at any moment I can die . After struggling to hide in small alleys for 2 hours I finally reach the edge of the city . I know that the coast is about 140km away from Sanaa . I don ’ t know if my motorbike will be able to do such distance but no time for the doubt : I go as far as possible from the capital towards the west , leaving behind me all my memories . I traveled for five hours straight through the desert , and I finally reach the coast , more precisely the docks of Al Hudaydah . Here we have more information about what is going on . It feels like the rebels have never struck as hard as before . Many countries should open their borders to Yemeni immigrants , it is time to move . I use a part of my savings to take a trip to Hurghada , in Egypt . From there I will be able to go to Cairo and then flee to Europe , Italy and Greece seem like nice places to be . The boat has been traveling the entire night , I took this time to think about what will happen to me , to my country , and to all my friends . I tried to call all my contact but only a few replied . The ones that answered are still struggling to leave hopelessly the capital before it becomes a No Man ’ s Land . It is the first time since this morning that I felt lucky : I am one of the only persons that escaped from Sanaa already . It is 6 am and I can see the Egyptian coast . Soon we will be landing . Because of the situation , we will surely be searched but I don ’ t care I have nothing on me , only enough dollars to travel in Europe and my bike . Once we arrived , I check the news : now the war is not only in Sanaa but all around the country .