What I went through during the two days of internet and telecommunication shutdown

It was Monday evening, and I was attending my online class when suddenly my computer screen went blank, no connection. I stepped out of my room, thinking it was just the Wi-Fi. I tried to connect through my phone, but then I realized my SIM card had no signal either, only “limited service.” Suddenly, I heard my mother saying she wanted to call my father, but her phone also had no service. At first, I thought it was just a technical issue with the networks, but after two hours, I realized that all telecom companies had been shut down.

A wave of fear and panic overcame me. My father and brother were at work, and until they returned home, countless worries filled my mind. Every minute felt like a thousand years, wondering whether something had happened to them. When they finally came back around 8 p.m., they explained the situation, they too had been deeply worried about us.

That night, I couldn’t sleep. I was terrified, what if there was bombing? What if soldiers suddenly entered our home? My mind was filled with dreadful thoughts. It felt like falling into a black hole, everything was dark, and no matter how much you tried to reach out, no one could hear you. This time it was especially shocking, because not even a basic phone call was possible. Every time I looked at my phone and saw “no signal,” it broke me inside.

Dark thoughts haunted me: If we die, who will ever know? If they come to arrest us, who will inform our relatives? Those two days were incredibly hard.

My father stopped going to work because he was afraid something might happen to us and he wouldn’t know. My mother, who is very ill and regularly visits the doctor, couldn’t go, there was no way to check if doctors were available. My sisters were also badly affected. One of them missed a very important university interview. The other, who studies online, kept checking her phone, hoping for a signal. My younger brother still went to school, but we worried until he returned, and my mother would stand by the window, anxiously waiting for him.

The whole city seemed frozen. Streets were empty, people stayed inside their homes, not knowing what was going to happen next.

Those two days felt like being dragged back centuries, imagine in the 21st century not even being able to make a simple phone call. The government treats people like toys in their hands, doing whatever they please. No one dares to question them, because if you do, you risk being arrested and tortured. We live as captives, unable even to ask why. They talk about human rights, but here that phrase is meaningless.

For those who ordered the shutdown, it might have been nothing more than just another decision, something unimportant. But for us, it was unbearable. Now I understand how powerless a human being can become, when you cannot even speak up.

Two days without the internet may not sound like much to others, but for us, it was devastating. It felt like living as prisoners, unable to even make a direct call to a loved one.