Posted on 07/21/2006 10:10:18 AM PDT by blam
Convoy of fear driven out by war machine
By Tim Butcher, in Tyre, southern Lebanon
(Filed: 21/07/2006)
It was the terrified faces of the children pressed against the car windows yesterday looking up for Israeli aircraft that showed this was no ordinary seaside drive.
Thousands of Lebanese fled in fear up the country's Mediterranean coast road, pathetically waving white towels and pieces of clothing as if that could protect them from the force of the Israeli war machine.
A family flee their village in southern Lebanon
Bumping past craters ripped deep into the road by Israeli bombs, the stream of cars, most filled to bursting with people and luggage, raced desperately for sanctuary further north.
One car had not been so lucky. It lay smashed like a child's toy after being picked up and dumped upside down by the blast of a nearby bomb. Another was wrapped round a telephone pole having hit it at speed.
The sound of Israeli jets churning overhead in the smoke-streaked blue sky was unceasing, added to every so often by the sound of an explosion.
"How safe is the road? Which way do you go?'' were the questions asked by almost all the drivers. In the sticky summer heat many strained sweatily at the steering wheel, eyes wild with apprehension, as they headed north.
It was as if the main coast road on the Costa Brava was under attack. Swanky hotels lay abandoned and roadside bars were boarded up. The direct route along the highway was impossible after repeated air raids turned bridges and major junctions into impassable heaps of shattered concrete and twisted girders.
So a much slower, convoluted route had to be followed along farm tracks and country lanes hugging the shoreline of a sea more normally associated with relaxing summer holidays.
Nearby villages stood abandoned. There were no friendly locals from whom to ask advice so drivers had to pay close attention, looking for fresh dusty tracks left by earlier vehicles.
Those taking flight had plenty of grounds for fear. Israel has turned much of southern Lebanon into a free-fire killing zone and it is here that the bulk of the 300 civilian fatalities have occurred in nine days of attacks.
Minarets poke through the smoke after a strike on Tyre
In particular, bottlenecks on the road were to be avoided as Israel has attacked lines of traffic heading north, killing many innocent civilians.
"I have to leave, I have to leave,'' said a voice in pure Strine. Mahmoud Hijazi, 16, was born in Australia to Lebanese immigrant parents before moving back to the family's home Shia village of Aytaroun three years ago.
"I was in the internet cafe in our village and met this really nice-looking girl whose family had emigrated to Canada but I never got to know her name," he said. "The next time I saw her she was in three pieces.
"The bomb hit our village just down from our house and we knew we had to leave.''
The climate of fear was made worse by Israel's use of very modern methods to apply psychological pressure to the Lebanese. An automated device has been telephoning local numbers with a message in Arabic, that introduces itself as coming from the Israeli government and warning all civilians to get out of the area."
If the message was intended to instil fear, it has worked. The ancient port city of Tyre was yesterday a nexus of terror for refugees as they tried to flee the onslaught.
Many swarmed into the city's larger buildings and tower blocks, praying for safety. For a few lucky ones there were places on vehicles heading north and for a smaller group still there was the chance of rescue by sea.
A Cypriot ferry, the Serenade, chartered by the United Nations, came into view and anchored off the port to bring out all local UN staff and a few hundred foreign nationals.
"That's my new life you are looking at,'' said Mahmoud, pointing at the vessel from the dockside. He was one of the lucky ones selected by the UN for evacuation.
"If I get on that beautiful ship then I know I will have a life after this.''
Before reaching the Serenade he had to get past a small group of British soldiers drafted in from UN duty in Cyprus to handle the evacuation.
The squaddies, gunners from 4 Regt Royal Artillery, had sailed overnight to Tyre and were struggling at times to control the 600-strong crowd on the dockside arguing and pleading to be rescued.
"Oi, fella, stand back'' shouted one soldier, his sunburnt face red with effort as he tried to control the crowd.
When the Serenade finally sailed over the horizon into the setting sun, a mood of despondency descended on those left behind in Tyre.
A few minutes later came the sound of an Israeli drone, buzzing across the evening sky seeking out further targets.
What pathetic writing!
Another Robert Fisk clone thinks Israeli warnings to Lebanese citizens to evacuate are acts of terror.
boo hoo - this guy is a Hezzie sympathyzer.
The climate of fear was made worse by Israel's use of very modern methods to apply psychological pressure to the Lebanese. An automated device has been telephoning local numbers with a message in Arabic, that introduces itself as coming from the Israeli government and warning all civilians to get out of the area."
This could go in the textbooks as a great example of exercising 'restraint'. They're doing exactly what the international community has rightly reminded them to do. Climate of fear my arse! More like "Thanks for the warning!"
I wonder if these Lebanese people are smart enough to understand that if THEY had dealt properly with the terrorists on their own soil, Israel would not have to. Perhaps they should stop making bologna and start cleaning house.
Amen and right on!
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