In the evening of Jan. 4, 2025, as I sat in my backyard for dinner with my family, a round of explosions went off into the air. Mid-bite, we all froze and exchanged wide-eyed glances. My father broke the tension with a nervous laugh, and the rest of us followed with uneasy chuckles as we realized the explosions were only fireworks from our neighbor’s yard—a belated New Year’s celebration.