I was able to get out of Lebanon yesterday and am currently in Amman
Thank you to all of you who have called, emailed and text messaged me your thoughts, comments and support. It sincerely has meant a lot to me to hear from you during all of this. For those of you who have been asking me how you can get involved to help, I am working on finding ways you can each do your part to assist. So get ready and stay tuned. Each of you can help in some way and each of you should. Think long and hard about what it would feel like to not only be in need and under siege, but to also be callously ignored. Thanks to those who are already working to get involved.
As for me, I was able to get out of Lebanon yesterday and am currently in Amman at my uncle's house.
Deciding whether to leave or to stay was the hardest decision I have had to make in my life. I am safe in Jordan, but my parents, grandmother, aunts & uncles, cousins and friends are all still in Lebanon. Leaving behind my parents is the hardest decision I've ever made. Nothing compares. For the time in my life no one would offer any opinions or advice. No one even presumes to know what the best decision is. In times like these everyone's decisions are their own. I have never before felt the weight of my own responsibility like this.
We decided late Sunday morning I would leave early Monday morning with my cousin's children, aged 6 and the twins aged 4 who were stuck in Lebanon with their grandparents. Their aunt had arranged their departure by land to Syria with their father meeting them at the border. She found a Jordanian driver who had been making runs between Amman and Lebanon to drive me in a car following theirs. He had arrived in Lebanon the night before and knew a small side road to Syria that was still open.
At home in Beirut, I packed a shoulder bag and a small suitcase in half an hour before driving up to my aunt's house in the mountains with my parents and housekeeper . They would drive back down to Beirut that day and I would spend the night there before leaving for Syria the next day.
I could only pack the essentials and in a short time. What I found to be essential were a few pictures, my laptop and cell phone, my diploma and enough clothes for a few days. By driving me up to the mountains, my parents ran the risk of not coming back to the apartment in Beirut. If things got worse while they were away, they may not be able to make it back. While I collected my things, I watched my mother and father frantically scan through their files picking out valuable documents in case their return was precluded. Property deeds, bank accounts, diplomas, etc. If you've met my father, you know he is normally a very strong and outspoken man. While sitting in front of his files he was noticeably quiet. I only heard him say once in disbelief – I can't believe its gotten to this.
As we loaded the car with our things and prepared to leave for the mountains, we could hear the sound of bombing starting again. I was feeling their impact in more ways than one.
My father sped up the road, flying under the bridges, windows ajar listening for the planes that have been bombing them out. No one buckled their seatbelts and we left the doors unlocked to make it easier to get out of the car quickly if necessary. As we raced up the inclines we could hear the bombing close-by. Everyone remained calm but tense under the pressure of the situation.
We arrived at my aunt's house mid-afternoon. I spent the afternoon on the phone checking on friends and watching the news with my family. I was on the phone with my sister discussing whether I should stay or go when the bombing came within earshot from where we were. Two minutes later, my parents rushed out of the house so they could leave to Beirut before the roads became more unsafe. I barely had time to say good bye. I hugged each of them tightly as I choked back tears. My parents whispered wishes of good luck to me, not just for my journey, but in my life afterwards, in the places I would go, the people I would meet and the work I would do. I miss them so much and am counting the days until I they are again standing in front of me to wish me well and to hold me close.
In the evening I sat a while with my aunt and uncle. As we heard news that the Israelis had bombed a tall residential building in Sur (Tyr) of 10 or 11 floors, she called to check on her friends living there. They were in the building next door and had relatives in the building that was bombed. 20 in the building had died and 50 were injured. They had to get off the phone to check who from their family had survived and who needed assistance.
The next morning my aunt woke me at 4:30 to get ready to leave. At 5:00 am we left to my cousin's house where we would meet the drivers that would accompany us to Syria and my cousin who would stay with us until we got to the border. On the balcony of my cousin's house, the building shook from impact while we waited for the cars to be readied. The children started screaming and crying that they were going to die.
At around 5:15 our two car convoy left my cousin's house. I was alone in the car with a driver I didn't know driving behind my cousin's car. My security in the car with him was my last concern. I was scared of being bombed on the road, scared we'd have issues at the border, scared for my family I was leaving behind and scared whether or not I had made the right decision by leaving. The whole way I thought of turning back. Even in Jordan, the thought crosses my mind to go back to Beirut. It is so difficult leaving and being far away. With proximity comes the assurance of their well-being. But distance can give the ability to assist.
As we got closer to Syria we got a little more tense. About 20 minutes from the border, we had to detour off the road which the driver had used the night before. Terror struck us as we were told it had been bombed out about 15 minutes before we got there. We raced the rest of the way to the border fearful that they hadn't finished bombing.
One cousin passed us off to another. After we'd finished sorting out our papers with the Lebanese officials we moved across the border and into safety. We reached the Syrian side and descended again to get papers stamped. I have never seen such a sight in my life. Loads of people were piled on top of each other in the back of flat bed trucks being carried away from the country. Scores more were crossing on foot carrying their essentials on their back or balancing them on their heads. Their essentials looked quite different from mine. They hauled coolers of drinking water, small tanks of cooking and heating gas and bags of food. I pondered these people's survivability after they crossed the border. They seemed to be in a Catch-22 situation. Damned if they do and damned if they don't. I attached some of the pictures I took while waiting. Please open the attached photos.
We made it to Damascus. My cousin left with his kids to catch a flight to Kuwait where he lives and I waited for an hour until my uncle arrived from Amman to drive me back. I came to find his whole family working on relief efforts. He has been collecting medicine and blankets for internal refugees, his wife has been working with various NGO's and my cousins here have been raising awareness organizing demonstrations and calling out the biases of Western media. One of my cousins here was telling me the story of one of her friend's in Lebanon whom I had met last weekend at beach in Lebanon . She and her friends got caught last week in the South near Sur (Tyre ). They had been spending a day at the beach there when Israel started bombing the Southern region. They were all forced to spend 4 days underground in a bomb shelter without being able to send word to their families in Beirut that they were ok. A couple of days ago, they finally took the chance to leave back to Beirut. As they fled the South, Israeli fighter jets were bombing the roads and bridges they were on, decimating the infrastructure connecting the region to the rest of the country. They were lucky they made it out alive. Others they saw around them were not.
Until now, there have been over 500,000 Lebanese displaced from their homes of a population of roughly 4 million. And, to date, over 250 people have died and over 900 have been injured, many severly so. The vast majority of these victims are civilians. Israel has also hit trucks transporting relief materials into Lebanon. Yesterday a truck transporting medicine donated by the United Arab Emirates was bombed. Israel has also wreaked losses of billions of dollars to our country; a country already in debt after investing to reconstruct after the end of the Civil War. The Southern part of Beirut has been leveled. Thousands of civilians have been cut off from access to clean water, food, shelter and medical treatment. The rest are trapped, biding time and rationing the supplies and resources they do have. Knowing what I know, it appalls me to watch the international press portraying the victimised Lebanese as aggressors.
If Israel's intention was to weaken Hizballah they are failing miserably. Instead they are strengthening the group's spirit and weakening the central government that had been working to disarm it. It seems the support within Lebanon for their disarmament may wane as a result of this war. Watching General Michel Aoun speak yesterday on Al-Jazeera was riveting.
Aoun was a former general in the Lebanese army and played a role during the civil war, particularly in the 1980's. He was in exile in France until last year and returned after Hariri was assassinated. He has since been trying to win the country's presidential seat, which is reserved only for Christian Maronite candidates. Considering the stances he has historically taken, his interview yesterday was in remarkable contrast. He calmly and eloquently stated Lebanon's strength now is in its unity. He believes Hizballah cannot be irradicated because they are a people unto themselves and they are part of the people of Lebanon. He went on to say that by now, the country has suffered such material loss that continued bombing should make little difference to Lebanon. On the contrary, he said, Israel would be doing the country a favour to future reconstruction efforts if it continued to bomb out the rest of the damaged bridges. In reconstruction, you can't fix a bridge; you have to tear down the damaged one first before rebuilding a new one. He called on all Lebanese to stand strong in the face of Israeli aggression. He asserted the salient factors that will rebuild the Lebanon are not material. The ability to reconstruct and rebuild in the aftermath lies both in the strength of people's dignity and unity now and its continued strength later. Material things come and go and they will come again, but the only thing that will rebuild Lebanon will be the dignity of our unified people. It is our duty now to stand together shoulder to shoulder and arm in arm in support of our resistance and in support of our army working with that resistance to defend our country. Hizballah should not return the missing soldiers until a prisoner exchange is agreed upon and the 40 sq km of the Shebaa farms and its 15,000 residents are returned to their land, homes and properties. Otherwise, any agreement reached could only be a lull in the conflict and not a lasting resolution. Aoun went on to say he was shocked and disappointed by the duplicity of the governments of the Arab world. He was shocked to hear the statements of the leaders of the Arab world.. these had been the same leaders who until this war had started had told him they were in support of Lebanon, in support of the resistance and in support of Hizballah.
To me it is shocking to see Villepin, the French Prime Minister, travel to Beirut in a show of support for Lebanon and its people, while the leaders and governments of the Arab world fail to stand with us, even in word. The Lebanese are not the only people they have failed. They are also failing their own. While these governments turn their backs, the Arab street stands in our support.
Israel is waging an unjust war of aggression, terrorising and victimising the people of Lebanon. There is nothing surgical or targetted about their warfare. Their warfare are war crimes.
I have been in touch with my family and friends since leaving. They are all safe. My parents, grandmother and the housekeepers are in the mountains with my aunt and uncle. For those of you trying to get in touch with me, the best way is through email.
Always,
Reem
As for me, I was able to get out of Lebanon yesterday and am currently in Amman at my uncle's house.
Deciding whether to leave or to stay was the hardest decision I have had to make in my life. I am safe in Jordan, but my parents, grandmother, aunts & uncles, cousins and friends are all still in Lebanon. Leaving behind my parents is the hardest decision I've ever made. Nothing compares. For the time in my life no one would offer any opinions or advice. No one even presumes to know what the best decision is. In times like these everyone's decisions are their own. I have never before felt the weight of my own responsibility like this.
We decided late Sunday morning I would leave early Monday morning with my cousin's children, aged 6 and the twins aged 4 who were stuck in Lebanon with their grandparents. Their aunt had arranged their departure by land to Syria with their father meeting them at the border. She found a Jordanian driver who had been making runs between Amman and Lebanon to drive me in a car following theirs. He had arrived in Lebanon the night before and knew a small side road to Syria that was still open.
At home in Beirut, I packed a shoulder bag and a small suitcase in half an hour before driving up to my aunt's house in the mountains with my parents and housekeeper . They would drive back down to Beirut that day and I would spend the night there before leaving for Syria the next day.
I could only pack the essentials and in a short time. What I found to be essential were a few pictures, my laptop and cell phone, my diploma and enough clothes for a few days. By driving me up to the mountains, my parents ran the risk of not coming back to the apartment in Beirut. If things got worse while they were away, they may not be able to make it back. While I collected my things, I watched my mother and father frantically scan through their files picking out valuable documents in case their return was precluded. Property deeds, bank accounts, diplomas, etc. If you've met my father, you know he is normally a very strong and outspoken man. While sitting in front of his files he was noticeably quiet. I only heard him say once in disbelief – I can't believe its gotten to this.
As we loaded the car with our things and prepared to leave for the mountains, we could hear the sound of bombing starting again. I was feeling their impact in more ways than one.
My father sped up the road, flying under the bridges, windows ajar listening for the planes that have been bombing them out. No one buckled their seatbelts and we left the doors unlocked to make it easier to get out of the car quickly if necessary. As we raced up the inclines we could hear the bombing close-by. Everyone remained calm but tense under the pressure of the situation.
We arrived at my aunt's house mid-afternoon. I spent the afternoon on the phone checking on friends and watching the news with my family. I was on the phone with my sister discussing whether I should stay or go when the bombing came within earshot from where we were. Two minutes later, my parents rushed out of the house so they could leave to Beirut before the roads became more unsafe. I barely had time to say good bye. I hugged each of them tightly as I choked back tears. My parents whispered wishes of good luck to me, not just for my journey, but in my life afterwards, in the places I would go, the people I would meet and the work I would do. I miss them so much and am counting the days until I they are again standing in front of me to wish me well and to hold me close.
In the evening I sat a while with my aunt and uncle. As we heard news that the Israelis had bombed a tall residential building in Sur (Tyr) of 10 or 11 floors, she called to check on her friends living there. They were in the building next door and had relatives in the building that was bombed. 20 in the building had died and 50 were injured. They had to get off the phone to check who from their family had survived and who needed assistance.
The next morning my aunt woke me at 4:30 to get ready to leave. At 5:00 am we left to my cousin's house where we would meet the drivers that would accompany us to Syria and my cousin who would stay with us until we got to the border. On the balcony of my cousin's house, the building shook from impact while we waited for the cars to be readied. The children started screaming and crying that they were going to die.
At around 5:15 our two car convoy left my cousin's house. I was alone in the car with a driver I didn't know driving behind my cousin's car. My security in the car with him was my last concern. I was scared of being bombed on the road, scared we'd have issues at the border, scared for my family I was leaving behind and scared whether or not I had made the right decision by leaving. The whole way I thought of turning back. Even in Jordan, the thought crosses my mind to go back to Beirut. It is so difficult leaving and being far away. With proximity comes the assurance of their well-being. But distance can give the ability to assist.
As we got closer to Syria we got a little more tense. About 20 minutes from the border, we had to detour off the road which the driver had used the night before. Terror struck us as we were told it had been bombed out about 15 minutes before we got there. We raced the rest of the way to the border fearful that they hadn't finished bombing.
One cousin passed us off to another. After we'd finished sorting out our papers with the Lebanese officials we moved across the border and into safety. We reached the Syrian side and descended again to get papers stamped. I have never seen such a sight in my life. Loads of people were piled on top of each other in the back of flat bed trucks being carried away from the country. Scores more were crossing on foot carrying their essentials on their back or balancing them on their heads. Their essentials looked quite different from mine. They hauled coolers of drinking water, small tanks of cooking and heating gas and bags of food. I pondered these people's survivability after they crossed the border. They seemed to be in a Catch-22 situation. Damned if they do and damned if they don't. I attached some of the pictures I took while waiting. Please open the attached photos.
We made it to Damascus. My cousin left with his kids to catch a flight to Kuwait where he lives and I waited for an hour until my uncle arrived from Amman to drive me back. I came to find his whole family working on relief efforts. He has been collecting medicine and blankets for internal refugees, his wife has been working with various NGO's and my cousins here have been raising awareness organizing demonstrations and calling out the biases of Western media. One of my cousins here was telling me the story of one of her friend's in Lebanon whom I had met last weekend at beach in Lebanon . She and her friends got caught last week in the South near Sur (Tyre ). They had been spending a day at the beach there when Israel started bombing the Southern region. They were all forced to spend 4 days underground in a bomb shelter without being able to send word to their families in Beirut that they were ok. A couple of days ago, they finally took the chance to leave back to Beirut. As they fled the South, Israeli fighter jets were bombing the roads and bridges they were on, decimating the infrastructure connecting the region to the rest of the country. They were lucky they made it out alive. Others they saw around them were not.
Until now, there have been over 500,000 Lebanese displaced from their homes of a population of roughly 4 million. And, to date, over 250 people have died and over 900 have been injured, many severly so. The vast majority of these victims are civilians. Israel has also hit trucks transporting relief materials into Lebanon. Yesterday a truck transporting medicine donated by the United Arab Emirates was bombed. Israel has also wreaked losses of billions of dollars to our country; a country already in debt after investing to reconstruct after the end of the Civil War. The Southern part of Beirut has been leveled. Thousands of civilians have been cut off from access to clean water, food, shelter and medical treatment. The rest are trapped, biding time and rationing the supplies and resources they do have. Knowing what I know, it appalls me to watch the international press portraying the victimised Lebanese as aggressors.
If Israel's intention was to weaken Hizballah they are failing miserably. Instead they are strengthening the group's spirit and weakening the central government that had been working to disarm it. It seems the support within Lebanon for their disarmament may wane as a result of this war. Watching General Michel Aoun speak yesterday on Al-Jazeera was riveting.
Aoun was a former general in the Lebanese army and played a role during the civil war, particularly in the 1980's. He was in exile in France until last year and returned after Hariri was assassinated. He has since been trying to win the country's presidential seat, which is reserved only for Christian Maronite candidates. Considering the stances he has historically taken, his interview yesterday was in remarkable contrast. He calmly and eloquently stated Lebanon's strength now is in its unity. He believes Hizballah cannot be irradicated because they are a people unto themselves and they are part of the people of Lebanon. He went on to say that by now, the country has suffered such material loss that continued bombing should make little difference to Lebanon. On the contrary, he said, Israel would be doing the country a favour to future reconstruction efforts if it continued to bomb out the rest of the damaged bridges. In reconstruction, you can't fix a bridge; you have to tear down the damaged one first before rebuilding a new one. He called on all Lebanese to stand strong in the face of Israeli aggression. He asserted the salient factors that will rebuild the Lebanon are not material. The ability to reconstruct and rebuild in the aftermath lies both in the strength of people's dignity and unity now and its continued strength later. Material things come and go and they will come again, but the only thing that will rebuild Lebanon will be the dignity of our unified people. It is our duty now to stand together shoulder to shoulder and arm in arm in support of our resistance and in support of our army working with that resistance to defend our country. Hizballah should not return the missing soldiers until a prisoner exchange is agreed upon and the 40 sq km of the Shebaa farms and its 15,000 residents are returned to their land, homes and properties. Otherwise, any agreement reached could only be a lull in the conflict and not a lasting resolution. Aoun went on to say he was shocked and disappointed by the duplicity of the governments of the Arab world. He was shocked to hear the statements of the leaders of the Arab world.. these had been the same leaders who until this war had started had told him they were in support of Lebanon, in support of the resistance and in support of Hizballah.
To me it is shocking to see Villepin, the French Prime Minister, travel to Beirut in a show of support for Lebanon and its people, while the leaders and governments of the Arab world fail to stand with us, even in word. The Lebanese are not the only people they have failed. They are also failing their own. While these governments turn their backs, the Arab street stands in our support.
Israel is waging an unjust war of aggression, terrorising and victimising the people of Lebanon. There is nothing surgical or targetted about their warfare. Their warfare are war crimes.
I have been in touch with my family and friends since leaving. They are all safe. My parents, grandmother and the housekeepers are in the mountains with my aunt and uncle. For those of you trying to get in touch with me, the best way is through email.
Always,
Reem
posted by Reem at 2:27 AM
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