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Weary foreigners ramp up mass exodus from Lebanon
By Charlie Charalambous
AFP
NICOSIA
Petroleumworld.com 07 22 06
Thousands of foreigners huddled in makeshift transit centres Friday, weary but relieved, as governments around the world ramped up a mass evacuation from the raging conflict in Lebanon.
Warships, cruisers and ferries crisscrossed the eastern Mediterranean from ports in Lebanon toward Cyprus and Turkey, packed with refugees, while planes brought more back to their homelands.
Convoys of buses meanwhile headed toward Syria, or from the war-torn south of Lebanon toward the north which has been less badly hit by Israel's offensive against the Shiite Hezbollah movement, now in its 10th day.
"You see these situations on TV and feel sorry for the people. Now we are the ones that feel like refugees," said mother-of-two Brenda Fawaz, 41, at a transit camp in Nicosia set up to handle an estimated 6,000 American nationals expected in the coming days.
"My children were scared -- we stayed inside most of the time. In America you don't see things like that," added Fawaz, from Tampa, Florida.
A UN-chartered cruise ship docked in Larnaca, Cyprus, early Friday carrying 900 UN staff, dependants and other evacuees from 46 different countries.
They joined the 20,000 foreign nationals who have passed through Cyprus since the sealift began in earnest on Monday.
Also docked at Larnaca was the US navy transport vessel USS Nashville with 1,000 mostly US citizens aboard, bringing the number evacuated out of Lebanon via Cyprus in the past 24 hours to almost 2,000.
Another 4,500 Americans were due to depart on three ships, assisted by US Marines.
Some 3,000 French nationals have been pulled out of Lebanon this week so far, with between 4,000 and 5,000 remaining to be evacuated.
French Defence Minister Michele Alliot-Marie said around 400 French citizens were trapped in southern Lebanon, where the fighting has been deadliest, and that an operation would be mounted in the coming days to try to reach them.
Germany was also working to extricate its nationals from the south, having already evacuated around 4,200 of its citizens.
The Italian government said that some 300 of its nationals were left.
In Britain, the defence ministry said about 2,800 people had been rescued from Lebanon by British forces since it began its operation, including more than 1,000 who docked late Thursday in Cyprus.
British warships were shuttling the 160 kilometres (100 miles) between Lebanon and Cyprus. London said it intended to evacuate 5,000 people in all by the end of the week.
Three passenger ferries brought 736 Canadians to Mersin, southern Turkey, some of around 2,000 Canadians expected to return home via that country.
Nine countries -- Australia, Canada, the United States, Argentina, Brazil, Germany, Mexico, Moldova and Sweden -- are organising operations via Turkey.
Around the world from Bangkok to Ottawa, Colombo to Sao Paulo, evacuees stepped off planes to emotional reunions with worried relatives. Some were even welcomed home by government ministers.
Most were exhausted by the ordeal.
"We have had a very tiring journey, but we were very well treated by the British authorities who helped us a lot in getting us back safely," Mimi Kobrossi, 52, said when she arrived at Gatwick airport, southeast Britain.
In Austria, three children who had been visiting grandparents in Lebanon were now back safely home, the Kurier daily reported. Ahmad, 11, said the holiday "was fun ... except when bombs fell."
Early on Friday 37 Spanish and Portuguese nationals arrived in Lisbon on a C-130 cargo plane from Cyprus in the first rescue flight organized by the Portuguese government.
Algerian aid planes returned on Friday with more than 100 rescued Algerian nationals. Rabat said 436 of its 700 nationals trying to leave Lebanon had reached Morocco.
Cyprus on Friday recorded the largest influx of evacuees, from 50 different countries, since the pounding of Lebanon began on July 12.
More than 6,000 foreign nationals disembarked in the ports of Larnaca and Limassol before lunchtime and almost as many more are expected to reach Cyprus shores before the next sunrise.
Australia sent 65 military personnel and 26 extra diplomatic staff to the island to help process about 7,000 Australians trying to leave. It plans to ship up to 6,000 to safety by Sunday evening.
Prime Minister John Howard said it could be the largest movement of Australians overseas in his country's history.
Poorer countries, however, struggled to evacuate thousands of their citizens from Lebanon. Nepalese, Ghanaian, Filipino, Bangladeshi, Moldovan and Iraqi nationals appealed to the International Migration Organisation for help.
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said in a statement that it aimed to get aid to 50,000 displaced people over the next three months. It estimates that some 400,000 people have been displaced within Lebanon or driven into neighbouring countries.
AFP 21 1948 GMT 07 06
Copyright ©2006 AFP. All Rights Reserved.
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