War in Lebanon

Long journey came to an end...

2006-07-19T23:58:00.000+03:00

Yes, I have made it to Amman, now last destination, Paris.
during my trip, I got contacted by a journalist from CBC

(Canadian Broadcasting Corporation) that came across this blog. (I am going to admit it, I am happy and proud, because this shows that my work isn t going to waist)
so this is the e mail i wrote back to her explaining what happened during these 10h of road trip:

"you want to leave but have no clue when, so you start packing. you can wait 3 days with your suitcase on your bed using old clothes and re washing your underwear as fast as possible in order not to have to repack.
obviously what you are taking is the strict minimum because you know that if something happens you are going to have to walk (In my case, I couldn't leave my 12kg printer because I d have no way to get it back to university with me).
then, finally, after waiting, you get the confirmation that you are leaving the next morning at 7 am. to be honest, I couldn't sleep all night I was so stressed. We had heard that roads were bombed and we were obviously scared to be a target.
We got to the rendez-vous point at 7 and waited an hour not knowing what was going to happen. the stress level was such that a mother started insulting her child because he was too slow to sit down.

at 8 sharp, an Israeli jet decided to be an alarm clock and broke the sound barrier. that s when we decided to get out of there.
the driver took the oddest routes in order not to take the risk of being bombed.

we saw the Lebanese landscape passing by, a lot of people were crying, sad to have left all behind.

I never had any feelings for Lebanon, except this time. tears were on the verge of falling, all I could do was to keep my mind as straight as possible in order to tell people what was going on.
the trip went very well until a point where we saw black smoke.

at first, I thought it was an old truck in front of us expelling black fumes from its huge exhaust pipe that was in a blind spot, but then I saw while we passed it, a truck that had been exploded and that was still freshly smocking.

that gave us a reality check and you could feel a vibe of fear crossing the bus. from then on the last hour of ride to the border was a nightmare. we were all scared of being the next target.

we finally arrived to the border with at least 1000 other people at the same time.
you could see every single negative emotion on their faces: fear, despair, but most of all you could hear them thinking: "what are we going to do now?" and all these questions of why? how? when? where?... it was all about survival...
it took us at least 2h to cross that thin boarder.

I can tell you the relief when we saw the sign "Welcome to Syria" and also the sadness of having left people behind.

For my part, I continued with my sister and 5 other people to Amman. the entire trip from start to stop lasted us 10h. and we were lucky. we had paid $75
to get away from harm's way.
$75 that gave me what 10000 roller coasters wouldn't even get close to give.

and we were lucky..."

Big day

2006-07-19T02:41:00.000+03:00

Today is the day I evacuate with my sister. Ahead of us we have a 15h ride in a bus... And it costs $75 to do that trip so you can imagine how its going to be.
I am definitely going to take some pictures but I guess you won t hear from me before two days... Or just watch the news to check if a bus going to Syria (yes we have to pass by Syria) got bombed...

See you guys soon hopefully

Evacuating people

2006-07-18T20:50:00.000+03:00

Countries are evacuating their citizens by boat. This was shot today after I went for a little dive (yes its war time but you can never stop scuba divers from using their own sea) my colleagues used binoculars and saw the Greek flag.
that boat seemed to be escorting a yacht, I m still not sure what boat that was... Maybe the Orient Queen a big touristic cruise boat that goes around the Mediterranean sea.

I had to darken a lot the picture due to the fog we have... it reminds me like video games when they talk about "the fog of war"

Road trip

2006-07-18T16:01:00.000+03:00

I just got news that I am going to leave for Amman tomorrow at 7am by bus... I am sorry to tell you that I won t be able to report on what is happening in lebanon, however I will still be able to tell you what people go through during self evacuation.
I hope to keep you updated as soon as possible

Scared to be shot down?

2006-07-18T14:29:00.000+03:00

Last night I went to have dinner in the mountains with some friends. Then we went to their house and stayed on the balcony overlooking Beirut and Dahie. We heard a plane going around and all of a sudden we saw flares (planes release flares to disturb incoming missiles so that they don t get hit). a second after these flares we saw a huge flash and a couple of seconds later heard the "boom". The plane passed by twice, bombing the same area and left, leaving behind him destruction as you can see from the smoke.

One hour later, he passed above us at the speed of sound to scare us even more... At least it worked for me...

We were all excited to see this but in the other it reminded us that we are at war and that it could happen also to us and poor innocent people are being killed in front of our eyes...

It is weird this feeling...a country is at war with you however you are not at war against them. They are killing you and all you can do is sit and wait like a prisoner in a cell being tortured every once in a while...

Please, if you have any questions, comments or anything just e mail me at aelkhalil@gmail.com
thank you for following

News from the US

2006-07-17T19:32:00.000+03:00

I just read on the US embassy of Lebanon's website that they have a plan to evacuate us and that every citizen will be able to take 1 bag weighting not more than 15 kilos and no pets allowed.

we will get more info in the next days.

For myself, I have my printer and clothes I need to take so I m going to have to chose... ;)
I have two other ways of leaving: One with my driver's contact and the other using a tour that will transport me to Amman then I ll be able to catch a flight to Paris.

will keep you informed

Emptiness

2006-07-17T12:55:00.001+03:00

This is one of the main streets in down town. Normally it is packed and there is noise all over. I walked that deserted area and the only people that were left were military listening to the radio and rejoicing about the plane shot down.

Walking there was spooky because the only thing I could hear was the slight wind.
it felt a bit like in the film "28 days later"

People are scared so they stay home. Even embassies have closed down like the Spanish embassy seen here

The only people that are willing to stay in this area are the journalists that are quite busy and report all the time.

journalists like the ones on CNN are established here and that s from where you get the images.

People are taking the risk to go on the road to Syria despite recent bombings because for them it is safer to take the risk and leave the country than to stay and wait till things calm down or get worse.

Now to finish with my today's tour in Beirut, I decided to pass by the Manara (lighthouse) to see what had happened to it. The top has been destroyed because it had meteorological equipment and some relay antennas.
Now I know why I can t watch Mithbusters on the Discovery channel.... Please, Don't take the Discovery channel away... Its one of the only channels I love

Wake up...

2006-07-17T12:33:00.000+03:00

This morning, we got a 6am wake up call hearing bombs explode in the area. Then we heard at 11 Israeli planes bossing about their super sonic speed, in a way telling us that its lunch time.
This is a real psychological warfare. They are breaking down the Lebanese morale and keep fear level high.
Yesterday the city of Tyre where was hosted an international marathon 3 months ago was bombed and destroyed civilian houses. Now a lot of people are panicking fearing they will be the next.

The American embassy still didn t find a way to evacuate us. We are still tensely waiting for THE e mail or Phone call.

will try and go out today to check out what is going on

Ghost town

2006-07-17T00:26:00.000+03:00

When I arrived in Beirut, I didn t recognize the City... Imagine New York with no cars on Broadway. It reminded me of western movies with that dry ball of hay/grass crossing the street... I never saw Beirut that empty.
People are staying home or gone to Syria or hide in the mountains.
the only people I encountered was CNN.

Tomorrow I will try and go to downtown, a place that is usually packed 24/7 and see who is left.
hopefully my dad will let me go a bit.
people are scared to move even in Beirut center.

its incredible how fear is growing in this country.

Going back to Beirut

2006-07-16T14:07:00.000+03:00

We are going to go back down to Beirut in order to get my passport and get my stuff ready for the probable evacuation tomorrow.
the US are still trying to figure out how to evacuate us. According to officials we are 25000 Americans here... Its going to be a long trip...

Stress level is picking up here. People feel like prisoners. We are all united, and most people here are insulting Hassan Nasralla (Hezbollah Leader).

the country is actually a bit devised on that subject but I think the majority is against what happened.

I just got news from the Hotels in Beirut: they have evacuated every intercontinental in Beirut
, leaving at least 1500 people on the streets.
Banks are not authorizing withdrawals, gas stations are not filling more than for 15 dollars...
I am afraid that our economy is long gone.

Evacuation

2006-07-16T02:41:00.000+03:00

It has been confirmed the foreign citizens are going to be evacuated starting from tomorrow with the French and Swedish followed on Monday by the Americans.

Hopefully I will be evacuating with the Americans and will be able to bring you interesting pictures.
As the ports are destroyed, the foreigners will be evacuated using amphibious vehicles and then set on a warship heading to Cyprus. Then we will fly off to our final destinations. Will keep you posted

Party during war time

2006-07-16T02:35:00.000+03:00

Even if its war party still find the way to party... the lebanese people are trying to do as if nothing is happening in order not to feel the stress that much.

The young generation will defenetly be a forward force in the rebuilding of lebanon

Evacuation

2006-07-15T21:19:00.000+03:00

I have just learnt that the french and american embassy are preparing evacuation tomorrow by boat. apparently they will fly by helicopter then land on a military boat that will take them to Cyprus.
I doubt i will go, I think I will stay with my familly and cover this story as best as possible even if i m not a real journalist.

Tension growing

2006-07-15T21:04:00.000+03:00

people are watching the news as if they were watching the world cup. On TV we can see the bombed cars and bridges about 100 civilians have died. 22 have found death trying to flee shot down by missiles.

this picture was taken in the lobby of the Intercontinental Mzaar where everybody is stressed around the TV

Fright

2006-07-15T20:00:00.000+03:00

people are getting more and more tense. we are right now in the mountains that are packed with people because we can t leave the country. we are taken hostage.

I can tell you that you can feel the stress level. it is quite scary.
today we heard that the UN advised to evacuate Beirut the capital.
the Port of Beirut has been bombed too, planes are passing over us to create more pressure and make people live a nightmare.
a lot of people are traumatised and scared to die.
cars that were escaping the south got exploaded, roads bombed... its total war here.

some relays have been bombed rendering communications impossible in some areas.
Stress level has come to the point that if you make a bit of a sudden noise, people will jump. Some people are so affected that they are starting to smoke pot to calm down.

for me the most stressful part is being stranded here we have nowhere to go and if we try we could get killed.

I am writing in a hurry and I hpope you understand what i am trying to say.
thank you for following.
hope to write soon...

Yesterday

2006-07-15T19:27:00.000+03:00

Ok as I couldn t post anything yesterday, here is what I saw from my roof top: thats a cargo ship stranded due to the militarry blockade from Israel if they move, they will be sunk

here you can see the shops that are completely closed off. people have fleed already to the mountains

Here you can see the smoke coming from the bombed sights... its becoming worse and worse.

pressure is building up.

as soon as I left my house to go to the mountains, we heard 2 explosions they had just targetted the airport again and the road leading to Syria.
then they tried to scare us by going faster than the speed of sound creating a double boom that can break windows

Too dangerous to leave

2006-07-14T14:44:00.001+03:00

All the embassies have already evacuated only key people stayed. The roads leading to Syria (the only way out) are threatened to be bombed. No one is safe to leave the country.
The Swiss and German embassy told their citizens not to move because the border might be bombed.

As for people that are staying, we are out of electricity and all the markets are running out of food. There is almost no bread left and people are starting to panic a bit.

As for me I am going to stay here for the moment, we might go to the north of Beirut in case Israel decides to bomb us.

keep you informed on the latest inside story

Too dangerous to leave

2006-07-14T14:44:00.000+03:00

All the embassys have already evacuated only key people stayed. the roads leading to Syria (the only way out) are threatened to be bombed. No one is safe to leave the country.
The Swiss and German embassy told their citizens not to move because the border might be bombed.

As for people that are staying, we are out of electricity and all the markets are running out of food. there is almost no bread left and people are starting to panic a bit.

As for me I am going to stay here for the moment, we might go to the north of Beirut in case Israel decides to bomb us.

keep you informed on the latest inside story

Bombings

2006-07-14T13:18:00.000+03:00

I can hear explosions from far away, I am still usure of where they are but Israel is hitting hard

after the night

2006-07-14T12:54:00.000+03:00

Nothing much during the night except that the airport was bombed again. Hotels are down to 10% occupency, shops are closed, our economy is reaching Ground Zero.
I have heard that an American ship tried to evacuate American citizens but that still stays a rumor.
for my part i m most probably leaving tomorrow through Syria to be able to get back to Uni on time.
This situation is bad....

sounds at 3:40 am

2006-07-14T03:53:00.000+03:00

It is now 3:40 am and I am hearing jet planes passing over Beirut. It seems they are going to wake everybody up with a super sonic boom.
I have double glazing and still it sounded as though the plane just barely missed my house by 100m.
I ll keep you posted

escape route seem to be thinner

2006-07-14T03:06:00.000+03:00

news comes saying that the hightway leading to Damascus has been hit. People that are leaving must pass by northern routes

Blockading Lebanon

2006-07-14T02:49:00.000+03:00

Israel has bombed the international airport twice and the other militarry airports have been hit. They have instated a Naval blockade restricting us from going to Cyprus or Greece by boat.
there is only one way out, and that s passing through Syria.
I am going to bed. I ll keep you updated during the day...

to all lebanese, stay strong its only a hard time passing just keep safe and don t do anything stupid

Rush to gas stations

2006-07-13T18:16:00.000+03:00

People are rushing to gas stations in the city of Beirut to fill up and be able to flee in worse cases to Syria

War in Lebanon

2006-07-13T17:43:00.000+03:00

I am not here to give you my opinion, only to show you what is happening. without passing by manipulated media.

I don t have a press card or anything to be "legal" to take pictures and report. but i feel its a duty to do so.