In the zeal to protect regional, global, or ideological concerns, it sometimes becomes easy to forget the all-too-human side of war.
To those of you who have "taken sides" in the conflict between Israel and its neighbors, I submit the following article, published on cnn.com earlier today:
Your e-mails: Crisis in the Middle East
Sunday, July 16, 2006; Posted: 12:30 p.m. EDT (16:30 GMT)
(CNN) -- CNN.com asked readers affected by the attacks in the Middle East to send us their stories. Here is a sampling of the responses, some of which have been edited:
I am sitting in my kitchen eating a falafel, hearing the rockets whizzing overhead. Out in the blue sea I can see the Israeli warships block our port. My six children are terrified, and they are not able to go to school. We are all brothers and sisters in this world. May this war end soon.
Mohammed Abu Sheikh, Beirut, Lebanon
My daughter was studying at the Lebanese American University in Beirut and is a student at Boston College. [The students] have escaped to Byblos with the clothes on their back. She called today in total desperation. The adjoining town of Junieh has been bombed, cell phone towers are down and the Christian enclave they were told would be a safe haven is now under attack. Her plea -- and that of all the students in her group -- was, "Please, mommy, don't let us die here. Everyone is now terrified and desperate. This Christian area of safety is under attack. When are we going to be evacuated?"
Jean Kluck, Farmingdale, New York
I am one of 6 students from Teaneck, New Jersey, who came to Israel for a three-week program from the UJA Federation of Bergen County to work in Nahariya in a day camp for Israelis, teaching them English. We were in Nahariya when the missiles started, and we heard the noises, and even witnessed a field that had been hit by a missile. We spent a total of about eight hours in a bomb shelter, four at night (Wednesday), and four again in the morning (Thursday), and were only then taken out when the roads were "safe enough" for a cab to take us. Where we are now is somewhat of a safer place, but we're still in the relative north. We constantly still hear the missiles hitting, and we see and hear the military planes and helicopters flying above. Initially we were going to be moved in Nazareth, but due to the escalating circumstances, our program has now been cancelled. Personally, I will still be staying in Israel until August 7 as previously planned, but I believe the rest of the kids on the program are being sent home. We're all hoping that the situation improves fast and that Israel and its people will no longer be in danger.
Gavi Lewy-Neuman, Shcania, Israel
I'm Lebanese and I live in the U.S., but I came to Kuwait to visit my parents, and we were all planning on going back home to Lebanon to spend a wonderful summer, as we do every year. But the attacks happened. They destroyed the airports and destroyed every means of transportation for people in the southern villages and towns to leave.
I'm from a small village in the south called Ain-ebel. We do not support Hezbollah, but 15 Israeli missiles hit and destroyed my beautiful village. We are devastated. My relatives are there: my aunt, my cousins and my uncle -- not to mention those Lebanese who were supposed to spend two weeks in Ain-ebel for the summer and leave. Now these people are stuck, in constant fear, under attack. Hezbollah missiles were planted in our village, and they're firing from Ain-ebel's territory without the consent of the people who live there.
The roads that lead to Beirut are destroyed, the bridges that lead to Beirut are destroyed, and everyone is stuck there with no food, no electricity and no water. The people from that village are trying to help our families there by spreading the word that we, those people and towns that do not support Hezbollah or their actions, are innocent. People are hiding in the church, which was renovated not too long ago. It is a big church, but can it take Israeli missiles?
My relatives are scared of dying, are scared of ending up homeless again; we don't not want history to repeat itself. We have had enough. I call on the Lebanese all over the world and the U.N.: Please help my village survive this dreadful act of Hezbollah. I feel betrayed, that nobody is mentioning those people back in my village. Those who have no voice to be heard, I refuse to let them die in vain. Hezbollah is getting out of control to the point of declaring war against Israel, without the consent of the Lebanese government. They are destroying what Lebanon had been trying to rebuild for the past 10 years just for the lives of three prisoners, is it worth it?
I'm not there right now, but I can be their voice. Lebanon will live on. They are fighting each other on Lebanese soil, and this is immoral.
Dana K., Tempe, Arizona
I am of Armenian descent. I have all my relatives in Lebanon. My entire family, including my son and my little nephew, went to visit our relatives. I have been constantly calling them to make sure they are safe. I was frightened when I heard the port in Junieh was hit, because they were at the chalet in Junieh. I went crazy when I couldn't get ahold of them. When I finally got through, they told me they had escaped into a basement. My son was crying for me to help him. He's only 13. My nephews are 5 and 2. I also have a newborn niece. Can you please help us to find a quick escape? I heard Italy and other countries have been successful in taking their citizens.
Rose, Sarasota, Florida
My daughter Lana is going to be 14 on August 1. She went to Los Angeles to visit her father for part of the summer and then after one week got an invitation to go visit her father's relatives and cousins. I felt a bit hesitant, though she has been going to Beirut ever since she was a baby. This time she went with relatives of her grandparents, leaving to Beirut via Paris. I didn't want to disappoint her and say no, so I agreed when her father told me of the trip. I am now very concerned for her safety as well as the safety of the family she is with. They are wonderful people, and I know they are doing everything possible to comfort her. I myself used to go every summer and found Lebanon beautiful and its people full of life despite the past civil war and all of the hardship these people have suffered. As a mother, I feel so helpless and as a human being feel so sad that Lebanon must once again face possible ruin of its sovereignty and the strength it took so long to rebuild. Mr. Rafik Hariri would be so sad to see this country he loved and worked so hard to rebuild return to such a horrible past. May God help everyone reach peace and may God return my beautiful daughter safe and unharmed soon.
Sincerely, a mother wishing to hug her daughter and tell her how much she loves her.
Linda Hageali, Miami, Florida
My wife just spoke to her aunt in Carmiel, northern Israel. Her aunt just came back with her family from vacation only to find her new house hit with a Katyusha, which landed in her daughters' room. Had they not gone on vacation, her teenage daughters would have been dead.
Alex, Staten Island, New York
People are desperate. The telephone number posted only says the lines are full, call back later, and then clicks off. My beautiful daughter and family are trapped in southern Lebanon, in Sidon, now without even cell phone contact. Last news was Israel was bombing randomly in the region. This is unacceptable.
Brenda Rose, Montreal, Quebec
I am a Lebanese American currently staying at my family's country residence in Shemlan, Lebanon, located in the mountains above Beirut. My fiance and I came here with the intentions of writing our graduate school dissertations and enjoying the vibrant city life, beautiful beaches and natural beauty of Lebanon. We now find ourselves watching in disbelief as the bombs fall and smoke billows in the city below us. As I write this I am sitting in the garden, amidst three dozen olive trees, a symbol of peace that now seems so distant. We pray for a resolution and anxiously await news of evacuation.
Patricia Karjian, Shemlan, Lebanon
I am studying at a university in Jerusalem, but I live in Toronto. I want to say that the situation appears to be surprisingly normal here in Jerusalem. People are going about their daily routines as normal, and I am continuing my research and studies at the hospital. I also have a younger sister who is in Tel Aviv doing volunteer work for another week before returning to Toronto. She also hasn't noticed anything unusual there, but we are both keeping up-to-date with the situation. The current situation is in stark contrast to six years ago in Jerusalem, when I was also here during my first degree, during the initial phase of the Second Intifada. At that time, people here were much more affected by the suicide bombings in the city occurring on a near-daily basis. The fear of terror is nothing new to the people here, and I guess it shows in the way people are handling the current situation.
Benji Matta, Toronto, Ontario
To those of you who have "taken sides" in the conflict between Israel and its neighbors, I submit the following article, published on cnn.com earlier today:
Your e-mails: Crisis in the Middle East
Sunday, July 16, 2006; Posted: 12:30 p.m. EDT (16:30 GMT)
(CNN) -- CNN.com asked readers affected by the attacks in the Middle East to send us their stories. Here is a sampling of the responses, some of which have been edited:
I am sitting in my kitchen eating a falafel, hearing the rockets whizzing overhead. Out in the blue sea I can see the Israeli warships block our port. My six children are terrified, and they are not able to go to school. We are all brothers and sisters in this world. May this war end soon.
Mohammed Abu Sheikh, Beirut, Lebanon
My daughter was studying at the Lebanese American University in Beirut and is a student at Boston College. [The students] have escaped to Byblos with the clothes on their back. She called today in total desperation. The adjoining town of Junieh has been bombed, cell phone towers are down and the Christian enclave they were told would be a safe haven is now under attack. Her plea -- and that of all the students in her group -- was, "Please, mommy, don't let us die here. Everyone is now terrified and desperate. This Christian area of safety is under attack. When are we going to be evacuated?"
Jean Kluck, Farmingdale, New York
I am one of 6 students from Teaneck, New Jersey, who came to Israel for a three-week program from the UJA Federation of Bergen County to work in Nahariya in a day camp for Israelis, teaching them English. We were in Nahariya when the missiles started, and we heard the noises, and even witnessed a field that had been hit by a missile. We spent a total of about eight hours in a bomb shelter, four at night (Wednesday), and four again in the morning (Thursday), and were only then taken out when the roads were "safe enough" for a cab to take us. Where we are now is somewhat of a safer place, but we're still in the relative north. We constantly still hear the missiles hitting, and we see and hear the military planes and helicopters flying above. Initially we were going to be moved in Nazareth, but due to the escalating circumstances, our program has now been cancelled. Personally, I will still be staying in Israel until August 7 as previously planned, but I believe the rest of the kids on the program are being sent home. We're all hoping that the situation improves fast and that Israel and its people will no longer be in danger.
Gavi Lewy-Neuman, Shcania, Israel
I'm Lebanese and I live in the U.S., but I came to Kuwait to visit my parents, and we were all planning on going back home to Lebanon to spend a wonderful summer, as we do every year. But the attacks happened. They destroyed the airports and destroyed every means of transportation for people in the southern villages and towns to leave.
I'm from a small village in the south called Ain-ebel. We do not support Hezbollah, but 15 Israeli missiles hit and destroyed my beautiful village. We are devastated. My relatives are there: my aunt, my cousins and my uncle -- not to mention those Lebanese who were supposed to spend two weeks in Ain-ebel for the summer and leave. Now these people are stuck, in constant fear, under attack. Hezbollah missiles were planted in our village, and they're firing from Ain-ebel's territory without the consent of the people who live there.
The roads that lead to Beirut are destroyed, the bridges that lead to Beirut are destroyed, and everyone is stuck there with no food, no electricity and no water. The people from that village are trying to help our families there by spreading the word that we, those people and towns that do not support Hezbollah or their actions, are innocent. People are hiding in the church, which was renovated not too long ago. It is a big church, but can it take Israeli missiles?
My relatives are scared of dying, are scared of ending up homeless again; we don't not want history to repeat itself. We have had enough. I call on the Lebanese all over the world and the U.N.: Please help my village survive this dreadful act of Hezbollah. I feel betrayed, that nobody is mentioning those people back in my village. Those who have no voice to be heard, I refuse to let them die in vain. Hezbollah is getting out of control to the point of declaring war against Israel, without the consent of the Lebanese government. They are destroying what Lebanon had been trying to rebuild for the past 10 years just for the lives of three prisoners, is it worth it?
I'm not there right now, but I can be their voice. Lebanon will live on. They are fighting each other on Lebanese soil, and this is immoral.
Dana K., Tempe, Arizona
I am of Armenian descent. I have all my relatives in Lebanon. My entire family, including my son and my little nephew, went to visit our relatives. I have been constantly calling them to make sure they are safe. I was frightened when I heard the port in Junieh was hit, because they were at the chalet in Junieh. I went crazy when I couldn't get ahold of them. When I finally got through, they told me they had escaped into a basement. My son was crying for me to help him. He's only 13. My nephews are 5 and 2. I also have a newborn niece. Can you please help us to find a quick escape? I heard Italy and other countries have been successful in taking their citizens.
Rose, Sarasota, Florida
My daughter Lana is going to be 14 on August 1. She went to Los Angeles to visit her father for part of the summer and then after one week got an invitation to go visit her father's relatives and cousins. I felt a bit hesitant, though she has been going to Beirut ever since she was a baby. This time she went with relatives of her grandparents, leaving to Beirut via Paris. I didn't want to disappoint her and say no, so I agreed when her father told me of the trip. I am now very concerned for her safety as well as the safety of the family she is with. They are wonderful people, and I know they are doing everything possible to comfort her. I myself used to go every summer and found Lebanon beautiful and its people full of life despite the past civil war and all of the hardship these people have suffered. As a mother, I feel so helpless and as a human being feel so sad that Lebanon must once again face possible ruin of its sovereignty and the strength it took so long to rebuild. Mr. Rafik Hariri would be so sad to see this country he loved and worked so hard to rebuild return to such a horrible past. May God help everyone reach peace and may God return my beautiful daughter safe and unharmed soon.
Sincerely, a mother wishing to hug her daughter and tell her how much she loves her.
Linda Hageali, Miami, Florida
My wife just spoke to her aunt in Carmiel, northern Israel. Her aunt just came back with her family from vacation only to find her new house hit with a Katyusha, which landed in her daughters' room. Had they not gone on vacation, her teenage daughters would have been dead.
Alex, Staten Island, New York
People are desperate. The telephone number posted only says the lines are full, call back later, and then clicks off. My beautiful daughter and family are trapped in southern Lebanon, in Sidon, now without even cell phone contact. Last news was Israel was bombing randomly in the region. This is unacceptable.
Brenda Rose, Montreal, Quebec
I am a Lebanese American currently staying at my family's country residence in Shemlan, Lebanon, located in the mountains above Beirut. My fiance and I came here with the intentions of writing our graduate school dissertations and enjoying the vibrant city life, beautiful beaches and natural beauty of Lebanon. We now find ourselves watching in disbelief as the bombs fall and smoke billows in the city below us. As I write this I am sitting in the garden, amidst three dozen olive trees, a symbol of peace that now seems so distant. We pray for a resolution and anxiously await news of evacuation.
Patricia Karjian, Shemlan, Lebanon
I am studying at a university in Jerusalem, but I live in Toronto. I want to say that the situation appears to be surprisingly normal here in Jerusalem. People are going about their daily routines as normal, and I am continuing my research and studies at the hospital. I also have a younger sister who is in Tel Aviv doing volunteer work for another week before returning to Toronto. She also hasn't noticed anything unusual there, but we are both keeping up-to-date with the situation. The current situation is in stark contrast to six years ago in Jerusalem, when I was also here during my first degree, during the initial phase of the Second Intifada. At that time, people here were much more affected by the suicide bombings in the city occurring on a near-daily basis. The fear of terror is nothing new to the people here, and I guess it shows in the way people are handling the current situation.
Benji Matta, Toronto, Ontario
posted by Brian Bly at 2:35 PM
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