YANBU, 3 May 2004 — Students at Yanbu Industrial College were still feeling the shock waves from Saturday’s terrorist attack. Many of them had witnessed part of the morning rampage.
“I heard gunshots outside my window around 8 a.m.,” one student told Arab News. “I had just woken up, and I froze for five minutes. I couldn’t believe my ears.
“I went outside the dormitory and my friends were there and told me about a terrorist operation. I could not believe it because I never thought that anything bad would happen in Yanbu. I stayed in my room the whole day,” he added.
Disbelief was a common reaction. “I was stopping at a traffic light when I saw a car dragging something behind it,” said another student who asked not to be identified.
“I could not believe my eyes. I was shocked and terrified.
“For the whole day I felt stunned and scared,” he added.
According to Ahmad J., everything was back to normal yesterday. “But there is still a sense of shock and disbelief about what happened yesterday. Students are acting normal and talking about football and next Wednesday’s game. People have become used to these terrorist acts after the bombing in Riyadh and the shootout in Jeddah. But our foreign teachers are not happy.”
His English teacher is British. “He came today and gave us a short class and then left the college,” Ahmad said. “He looked upset.”
Muhammad D. believes little will change in the life of the city. “I went to downtown Yanbu today. Things looked normal, except for the police presence,” he said. “They approached my friend and me and asked to see our ID and asked us why we were there and if we saw anything suspicious. But things will go back to normal soon,” he added.
