8 Canadians killed in Israeli airstrikes, Ottawa sends ships for evacuation
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George Wallace
Army.ca Dinosaur
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Octavianus said:
Not really. Translate "Premier" of (pick any province) into French and it will come out as Premier Minister which would translate back to English as Prime Minister.
Ahh...thank you kind sir! Lost in translation....
George Wallace
Army.ca Dinosaur
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Now...If there are 50,000 Canadians in Lebanon, and 50,000 French, and how many American, and how many British, and Australian, and......Are there any Lebanese left?
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GAP said:
I am sorry sir, but i do not have the web site address, and i did not cut and paste this artical, i found this artical in a newspaper.......... i apologise if i may have broken any rules......... it will not happen again.
cheers: snowy
Brad Sallows
Army.ca Legend
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>I spent the first 35 years of my life being a true Canadian patriot, and I have lived overseas here in Australia for going on 12 years now.
>Don't criticise me for such as decision,
No-one should. You didn't go to Australia to establish a get-out-of-jail-free card.
>Don't criticise me for such as decision,
No-one should. You didn't go to Australia to establish a get-out-of-jail-free card.
Jarnhamar
Army.ca Myth
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I just watched a bunch of Canadians on TV bitching because of the conditions they had to face. I'm guessing on the ship?
We didn't have AC
People were vommiting
We ran out of food
The bathrooms were disgusting
Some people had headstroke
Wow thats almost like you were fleeing a combat zone in order to save your lives. No AC? Gross bathrooms? Thats unacceptable!
We didn't have AC
People were vommiting
We ran out of food
The bathrooms were disgusting
Some people had headstroke
Wow thats almost like you were fleeing a combat zone in order to save your lives. No AC? Gross bathrooms? Thats unacceptable!
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Pretty good summation of how at least part of this has been developing for months. CTV Article reproduced under the Fair Dealings provisions of the Copyright Act. Note the last line- it seesm Hezbollah is getting in close prximity to UN bases, prmpting Israel to attack "out of tactical necessity."
Hidden message there boys.
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20060718/mideast_lebanon_UN_060716/20060718/
A Canadian soldier's report from South Lebanon
Updated Wed. Jul. 19 2006 10:58 AM ET
After the kidnapping of two Israeli soldiers by Hezbollah, and the subsequent bombing campaign began against Lebanon, we received an email from Major Paeta Hess-von Kruedener, a Canadian Forces soldier serving with the UN in South Lebanon.
"If you are interested in a Canadian perspective on the events of yesterday and what is happening here in the area I am serving in, I can provide some concise info for you about the current situation," he wrote.
With the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry, Major Hess-von Kruedner is the only Canadian serving as a United Nations Military Observer in Lebanon. He is stationed at the UN base about 10 kilometres from where the Syrian, Lebanese and Israeli borders meet. The UN's mission there is to report ceasefire violations.
Here is his full email, written July 18, with background on the mission and the current situation:
Major Hess-von Kruedener in South Lebanon in March, meeting with one of the Mouktars of a Druze village called Bourhoz. "Maj H.v.K" as he signs his emails, is an infantry officer with 20 years service. He's done five earlier operational tours (in Cyprus, twice in Bosnia, Congo, and now South Lebanon)
We have had a brief "tactical Pause" in the action here, so I am taking this opportunity to provide you some information on the situation here in south Lebanon. At the outset, I will provide you with a brief background on who I am, What the Org and Mission is here and then answer some of the bank of questions you provided.
Background
My name is Major Paeta Hess-von Kruedener, and I am an Infantry Officer with the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry, of the Canadian Forces. I was sent to this Mission (United Nations Truce and Supervision Organization -UNTSO) last October 05, and am currently serving as an unarmed Military Observer. I have now been stationed here in south Lebanon for Approximately nine months.
I am currently writing to you from the UN Patrol Base Khiam, which is situated approximately 10 km from the nexus of the Israeli, Lebanese and Syrian Borders. I am serving with Observer Group Lebanon, or OGL, and I am on Team Sierra. The Patrol Base is named after the village it is situated in, El Khiam, which sits on one of four ridges which dominates both the Hasbani River valley, which then changes to the Houla Valley when it crosses the Lebanon-Israel border 10 km to our south.
A Canadian soldier mans a guard tower at Camp Ziouani, Golan Heights, in 2002. Thousands of Canadians have served in this border region since 1958. (Photo: MCpl Frank Hudec, Canadian Forces Combat Camera
The patrol base was initially an observation post and was built in 1972, but was later destroyed in 1976 during the fighting between the PLO and the South Lebanese Army (SLA). In 1978 it was rebuilt again and manned by elements of the Norwegian Battalion serving with UNIFIL. In 1980, Observer Group Lebanon (OGL) assumed responsibility for it. Historically, the area of the El Khiam and Hasbani valleys to the north and the Houla valley to the south have been the main axis for invasion in to Lebanon and Palestinian Territories.
Mission
The mission of Team Sierra and OGL within the greater context of UNTSO is to maintain the integrity of theWithdrawal Line (Blue Line), and report on any and all violations or activities that threaten the cease-fire and international peace and security here along the Lebanese/Israeli border, and Israeli Occupied Lebanon, and to support the UNSC resolution 1559, within our mission mandate.
Information Requested
(1) Currently, there are several nationalities that are here on the patrol base with me. I am serving with an Australian, Chinese, Finnish, Austrian, and Irish Officers. They come from various different backgrounds, levels of experience and services (Army, Navy and Air Force) from within their militaries.
(2) I have been here for nine months of a one-year tour of duty. Since I have arrived here in Lebanon, this current incident is the fourth I have seen and by far the most spectacular and intensive.
The first was 21 Nov 05, when the Hezbollah tried to capture IDF soldiers from an IDF observation position overlooking the Wazzani river near the town of Ghajjar on the Blue Line. This action was unsuccessful and resulted in the deaths of the Hezbollah raiding force.
On 01 Feb 06, a young shepherd boy was Killed by an IDF patrol near an abandon goat farm called Bastarra. Hassan Nasrallah (note: Hezbollah's leader) vowed that there would be consequences to this action. Team Sierra was tasked on 2 Feb 06, to assist in the investigation of the incident, and we sent one team to do so while the other team conducted its normal mobile patrolling activities.
On 03 Feb 06, a limited engagement took place initiated by the Hezbollah on several of the IDF defensive positions located in occupied Lebanon.
Then on 28 May, the Islamic Jihad (PLO) fired rockets from South Lebanon, into Israel, which elicited an immediate aerial bombardment of positions near our patrol base and in the Bekka valley.
(3) Our Team's normal operational activities are to plan, and execute daily vehicle and foot patrols of the Blue Line area within our area of responsibility. Unfortunately, with the current artillery and aerial bombing campaign being carried out by the IDF/IAF, it is not safe or prudent for us to conduct normal patrol activities. Currently, we are observing and reporting on all activities in our area of responsibility, with specific attention to activities along the Blue Line, which is clearly visible from our hilltop position.
(4) Team Sierra is currently observing both IDF/IAF and Hezbollah military clashes from our vantage point which has a commanding view of the IDF positions on the Golan mountains to our east and the IDF positions along the Blue Line to our south, as well as, most of the Hezbollah static positions in and around our patrol Base. It appears that the lion's share of fighting between the IDF and Hezbollah has taken place in our area. On the night of 16 July, at 2125 hrs, a large firefight broke out between the Hezbollah and the IDF near a village called Majidyye and lasted for one hour and 40 minutes.
(5) Based on the intensity and volatility of this current situation and the unpredictability of both sides (Hezbollah and Israel), and given the operational tempo of the Hezbollah and the IDF, we are not safe to venture out to conduct our normal patrol activities. We have now switched to Observation Post Duties and are observing any and all violations as they occur.
This is all the information of a non-tactical nature that I can provide you. I cannot give you any info on Hezbollah position, proximity or the amount of or types of sorties the IAF is currently flying. Suffice to say that the activity levels and operational tempo of both parties is currently very high and continuous, with short breaks or pauses. Please understand the nature of my job here is to be impartial and to report violations from both sides without bias. As an Unarmed Military Observer, this is my raison d'etre.
What I can tell you is this: we have on a daily basis had numerous occasions where our position has come under direct or indirect fire from both artillery and aerial bombing. The closest artillery has landed within 2 meters of our position and the closest 1000 lb aerial bomb has landed 100 meters from our patrol base. This has not been deliberate targeting, but has rather been due to tactical necessity.
I thank you for the opportunity to provide you with some information from the front lines here in south Lebanon.
Maj Hess-von Kruedener
Hidden message there boys.
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20060718/mideast_lebanon_UN_060716/20060718/
A Canadian soldier's report from South Lebanon
Updated Wed. Jul. 19 2006 10:58 AM ET
After the kidnapping of two Israeli soldiers by Hezbollah, and the subsequent bombing campaign began against Lebanon, we received an email from Major Paeta Hess-von Kruedener, a Canadian Forces soldier serving with the UN in South Lebanon.
"If you are interested in a Canadian perspective on the events of yesterday and what is happening here in the area I am serving in, I can provide some concise info for you about the current situation," he wrote.
With the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry, Major Hess-von Kruedner is the only Canadian serving as a United Nations Military Observer in Lebanon. He is stationed at the UN base about 10 kilometres from where the Syrian, Lebanese and Israeli borders meet. The UN's mission there is to report ceasefire violations.
Here is his full email, written July 18, with background on the mission and the current situation:
Major Hess-von Kruedener in South Lebanon in March, meeting with one of the Mouktars of a Druze village called Bourhoz. "Maj H.v.K" as he signs his emails, is an infantry officer with 20 years service. He's done five earlier operational tours (in Cyprus, twice in Bosnia, Congo, and now South Lebanon)
We have had a brief "tactical Pause" in the action here, so I am taking this opportunity to provide you some information on the situation here in south Lebanon. At the outset, I will provide you with a brief background on who I am, What the Org and Mission is here and then answer some of the bank of questions you provided.
Background
My name is Major Paeta Hess-von Kruedener, and I am an Infantry Officer with the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry, of the Canadian Forces. I was sent to this Mission (United Nations Truce and Supervision Organization -UNTSO) last October 05, and am currently serving as an unarmed Military Observer. I have now been stationed here in south Lebanon for Approximately nine months.
I am currently writing to you from the UN Patrol Base Khiam, which is situated approximately 10 km from the nexus of the Israeli, Lebanese and Syrian Borders. I am serving with Observer Group Lebanon, or OGL, and I am on Team Sierra. The Patrol Base is named after the village it is situated in, El Khiam, which sits on one of four ridges which dominates both the Hasbani River valley, which then changes to the Houla Valley when it crosses the Lebanon-Israel border 10 km to our south.
A Canadian soldier mans a guard tower at Camp Ziouani, Golan Heights, in 2002. Thousands of Canadians have served in this border region since 1958. (Photo: MCpl Frank Hudec, Canadian Forces Combat Camera
The patrol base was initially an observation post and was built in 1972, but was later destroyed in 1976 during the fighting between the PLO and the South Lebanese Army (SLA). In 1978 it was rebuilt again and manned by elements of the Norwegian Battalion serving with UNIFIL. In 1980, Observer Group Lebanon (OGL) assumed responsibility for it. Historically, the area of the El Khiam and Hasbani valleys to the north and the Houla valley to the south have been the main axis for invasion in to Lebanon and Palestinian Territories.
Mission
The mission of Team Sierra and OGL within the greater context of UNTSO is to maintain the integrity of theWithdrawal Line (Blue Line), and report on any and all violations or activities that threaten the cease-fire and international peace and security here along the Lebanese/Israeli border, and Israeli Occupied Lebanon, and to support the UNSC resolution 1559, within our mission mandate.
Information Requested
(1) Currently, there are several nationalities that are here on the patrol base with me. I am serving with an Australian, Chinese, Finnish, Austrian, and Irish Officers. They come from various different backgrounds, levels of experience and services (Army, Navy and Air Force) from within their militaries.
(2) I have been here for nine months of a one-year tour of duty. Since I have arrived here in Lebanon, this current incident is the fourth I have seen and by far the most spectacular and intensive.
The first was 21 Nov 05, when the Hezbollah tried to capture IDF soldiers from an IDF observation position overlooking the Wazzani river near the town of Ghajjar on the Blue Line. This action was unsuccessful and resulted in the deaths of the Hezbollah raiding force.
On 01 Feb 06, a young shepherd boy was Killed by an IDF patrol near an abandon goat farm called Bastarra. Hassan Nasrallah (note: Hezbollah's leader) vowed that there would be consequences to this action. Team Sierra was tasked on 2 Feb 06, to assist in the investigation of the incident, and we sent one team to do so while the other team conducted its normal mobile patrolling activities.
On 03 Feb 06, a limited engagement took place initiated by the Hezbollah on several of the IDF defensive positions located in occupied Lebanon.
Then on 28 May, the Islamic Jihad (PLO) fired rockets from South Lebanon, into Israel, which elicited an immediate aerial bombardment of positions near our patrol base and in the Bekka valley.
(3) Our Team's normal operational activities are to plan, and execute daily vehicle and foot patrols of the Blue Line area within our area of responsibility. Unfortunately, with the current artillery and aerial bombing campaign being carried out by the IDF/IAF, it is not safe or prudent for us to conduct normal patrol activities. Currently, we are observing and reporting on all activities in our area of responsibility, with specific attention to activities along the Blue Line, which is clearly visible from our hilltop position.
(4) Team Sierra is currently observing both IDF/IAF and Hezbollah military clashes from our vantage point which has a commanding view of the IDF positions on the Golan mountains to our east and the IDF positions along the Blue Line to our south, as well as, most of the Hezbollah static positions in and around our patrol Base. It appears that the lion's share of fighting between the IDF and Hezbollah has taken place in our area. On the night of 16 July, at 2125 hrs, a large firefight broke out between the Hezbollah and the IDF near a village called Majidyye and lasted for one hour and 40 minutes.
(5) Based on the intensity and volatility of this current situation and the unpredictability of both sides (Hezbollah and Israel), and given the operational tempo of the Hezbollah and the IDF, we are not safe to venture out to conduct our normal patrol activities. We have now switched to Observation Post Duties and are observing any and all violations as they occur.
This is all the information of a non-tactical nature that I can provide you. I cannot give you any info on Hezbollah position, proximity or the amount of or types of sorties the IAF is currently flying. Suffice to say that the activity levels and operational tempo of both parties is currently very high and continuous, with short breaks or pauses. Please understand the nature of my job here is to be impartial and to report violations from both sides without bias. As an Unarmed Military Observer, this is my raison d'etre.
What I can tell you is this: we have on a daily basis had numerous occasions where our position has come under direct or indirect fire from both artillery and aerial bombing. The closest artillery has landed within 2 meters of our position and the closest 1000 lb aerial bomb has landed 100 meters from our patrol base. This has not been deliberate targeting, but has rather been due to tactical necessity.
I thank you for the opportunity to provide you with some information from the front lines here in south Lebanon.
Maj Hess-von Kruedener
- Reaction score
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Ghost778 said:
For some inexplicable reason the old Maple Leaf Gardens came to mind. Anyone remember the communal piss troughs that weren't fit for cows to go in. Good enough for hockey fans I guess though.
- Reaction score
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Israeli kids signing arty shells destined for Hezbollah.....
http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=viewArticle&code=20060719&articleId=2754
Pro-Arab blogs upset, but here's the REST of the story.....
http://ontheface.blogware.com/blog/_archives/2006/7/20/2142505.html
http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=viewArticle&code=20060719&articleId=2754
Pro-Arab blogs upset, but here's the REST of the story.....
http://ontheface.blogware.com/blog/_archives/2006/7/20/2142505.html
- Reaction score
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That still pales in comparison to pictures of Islamic extremists dressing their little kids up in mock suicide vests.
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http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1153475346521&call_pageid=968332188492&col=968793972154
Evacuees arrive in Ottawa
Passengers end long Odyssey that included sea voyage to Cyprus
Jul. 21, 2006. 09:23 AM
HEBA ALY AND GRAHAM FRASER
STAFF REPORTERS
OTTAWA - Two radically different tales emerged from the passengers who disembarked the first plane to land in Canada with those fleeing the war in Lebanon.
At 4:00 a.m. today, in the middle of a dark, clear night, Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s plane landed in Ottawa with 87 Canadian evacuees, who – tired but relieved – told their stories.
One was a story of gratefulness for a prime minister who “did the best he could.”
The other: a story of anger over what they experienced before they boarded the magical flight from Cyprus.
“Once we were in Cyprus, the Canadian authorities did a great, great, great job getting us to here. It was more than we expected,” said Lemira Omran, of Woodbridge, referring to the supply of food, the organization of the flight and the overall treatment of the evacuees. Her three children – aged 6 to 12 – surrounded her as she checked into a room at the Holiday Inn on Cooper St. in Ottawa.
The federal government is putting up dozens of Torontonians and evacuees from other parts of the province for one day, until they can make arrangements to find their way home from Ottawa at their own expense.
Harper praised the work done by Canadian officials to help evacuate Canadians from Lebanon when he landed this morning, but some of his staff blamed the Canadian ambassador in Beirut for the confusion, saying he was a Liberal appointment.
“To be frank, my main concern right now with the evacuation effort is that we’ve got a lot of federal employees working very long, very difficult hours themselves,” Harper said. “I’m just concerned they’re going to burn out before this is over.”
Evacuee Liliane El-Helou said she had complained about the organization of the evacuation in Beirut to Harper on the plane.
“One of his people ... said to me ‘This is a Liberal-appointed ambassador,’” she told reporters. “Well I am sorry. If this is an excuse, and it is a silly excuse I think, well remove him now, and appoint someone who is more qualified.”
Louis de Lorimier is a career diplomat who, previous to becoming Ambassador to Lebanon, served in Abidjan, Seoul and Paris. He also worked as a ministerial liaison in the office of Joe Clark when he was Secretary of State for External Affairs.
Harper said that the government has pulled together staff from around the Middle East region to deal with the demands of the evacuation.
He said that the flight itself was uneventful.
“It was very quiet,” he told reporters at the airport. “Mostly people were very tired. They were in very good spirits, considering, but they were very tired. The kids, of course, went to sleep like babies, but most people rested. It was kind of like a normal long transcontinental voyage, except with a little extra measure of satisfaction for us, and I think for them.”
Most of the Canadians who returned here after days of waiting and travel had nothing but praise for the prime minister with whom they shared a quiet ride home.
“He tried to do his best,” said Rouba Maaluf, 21, of Montreal, as she sat in her wheelchair waiting to go home with Ottawa relatives. “He say that he’s sorry but he do his best.”
Elie Khalil was more than grateful as he awaited his wife and young children at the airport, flowers in hand. He said he didn’t care how long it took because in the end, “these guys brought my family back,” he said, barely able to hide his joy. “It’s big thanks.”
Apart from a few critical comments, passengers reported no outbursts at the prime minister during the flight, where he casually chatted with some of the passengers and shook hands with each one as they got off the plane. For the most part, “everyone had no energy to be angry,” said Joe Azzi, 18, of Ottawa.
But as they walked through the cameras and spotlights with their luggage and children, hugging the family members that awaited them, most evacuees couldn’t remove the bad memories from their minds.
When asked what message he wanted to give the prime minister, 19-year-old Shady Abboud held back in his criticisms, as his mother insisted in Arabic “thank him, thank him.” Others were more frank.
“It was hell to arrive,” said Ottawa’s Rawad Antoun, 20. It took three days to evacuate the first 250, he said, noting there are 25,000 Canadians who want to leave the war-torn country. “If it goes at this speed, it’ll take them months to get everyone out.”
“It was chaotic. It was insulting,” said Woodbridge’s Omran, as she remembered the fainting and vomiting on a crowded boat from Beirut, with a grueling hot sun shining down on them during the day and cold air keeping them company at night. She used a tablecloth to keep her children warm as they slept on the deck. The food ran out before she and her family could feed themselves during the 17-hour trip. She scrounged up extras for her children from other families.
“I felt like an animal on this trip,” said El-Helou, who made the trip with her teenaged son and daughter and had been traveling for 51 hours straight. “My goal during this trip was to show them the good image of Lebanon. But what happened in this trip, they saw a bad image of war and a bad image of Canada.”
The passengers could only guess as to why they were the lucky ones to be chosen for the boat to Cyprus and subsequently the first of two flights to Canada – the other landed in Montreal later this morning. Many were women with young children, although a number of young men in their late teens or early twenties were amongst those who arrived.
And while they couldn’t be happier to finally be home, some still had weights on their shoulders for those they left behind.
For Omran, it was her elderly parents.
“I lived through the civil war, I lived through the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in 1982 and I know how horrible it was, so I didn’t want the kids to go through what I did. I couldn’t leave my parents, but at the same time, I couldn’t sacrifice my kids. I had to bring them here.”
Ontario Health Minister George Smitherman was at the Canada Reception Centre - the reception area for official flights.
“We wanted to convey to anyone returning from Lebanon that Ontario is ready to support people as required,” he said. “We’ve created an exemption for anyone returning so there will be no three-month (residency) requirement to wait for benefits related to health care to kick in.”
Well, getting over 25,000 people out of anywhere would seem to be a very daunting task.....wouldn't it. Did any of us expect there to be over 25,000 "Canadians" living anywhere other than Canada! Then some of the passengers were "insulted", and felt like "animals" because they weren't evacuated in style. What did they expect ....the Queen Mary II , or Carnival Cruise lines to come and get them. They should be thankful someone came and evacuated them to begin with. I mean, you're in the middle of a war ravaged country and instead of being grateful that someone from "another" country (Canada - note sarcasm) rescued you and your family, you choose to complain about the food and accommodations on the ship. The whiners should be more than content that they were not killed over there.
Then, they proceed to comment on how what's occurring in Lebanon was horrible.....and the trip to Cypress was equally as horrifying, because the country some people take advantage of (Canada) did not accommodate them in style . They have slighted the country that has gracefully taken them and they're families in. The country that has provided numerous social services, access to fruitful employment, a passport which affords them easy travel throughout the world, a peaceful and tolerant society in which these people don't seem to be grateful for, etc.
Now, the piece de resistance.... Premier McGuinty has graciously decided to wave the three month residency requirement so the people that have abandoned this country can take advantage of our generosity again.
I apologise for the rant, yet after watching the news and reading a few articles this morning, I'm a little pissed at peoples' reaction to this fiasco.
Evacuees arrive in Ottawa
Passengers end long Odyssey that included sea voyage to Cyprus
Jul. 21, 2006. 09:23 AM
HEBA ALY AND GRAHAM FRASER
STAFF REPORTERS
OTTAWA - Two radically different tales emerged from the passengers who disembarked the first plane to land in Canada with those fleeing the war in Lebanon.
At 4:00 a.m. today, in the middle of a dark, clear night, Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s plane landed in Ottawa with 87 Canadian evacuees, who – tired but relieved – told their stories.
One was a story of gratefulness for a prime minister who “did the best he could.”
The other: a story of anger over what they experienced before they boarded the magical flight from Cyprus.
“Once we were in Cyprus, the Canadian authorities did a great, great, great job getting us to here. It was more than we expected,” said Lemira Omran, of Woodbridge, referring to the supply of food, the organization of the flight and the overall treatment of the evacuees. Her three children – aged 6 to 12 – surrounded her as she checked into a room at the Holiday Inn on Cooper St. in Ottawa.
The federal government is putting up dozens of Torontonians and evacuees from other parts of the province for one day, until they can make arrangements to find their way home from Ottawa at their own expense.
Harper praised the work done by Canadian officials to help evacuate Canadians from Lebanon when he landed this morning, but some of his staff blamed the Canadian ambassador in Beirut for the confusion, saying he was a Liberal appointment.
“To be frank, my main concern right now with the evacuation effort is that we’ve got a lot of federal employees working very long, very difficult hours themselves,” Harper said. “I’m just concerned they’re going to burn out before this is over.”
Evacuee Liliane El-Helou said she had complained about the organization of the evacuation in Beirut to Harper on the plane.
“One of his people ... said to me ‘This is a Liberal-appointed ambassador,’” she told reporters. “Well I am sorry. If this is an excuse, and it is a silly excuse I think, well remove him now, and appoint someone who is more qualified.”
Louis de Lorimier is a career diplomat who, previous to becoming Ambassador to Lebanon, served in Abidjan, Seoul and Paris. He also worked as a ministerial liaison in the office of Joe Clark when he was Secretary of State for External Affairs.
Harper said that the government has pulled together staff from around the Middle East region to deal with the demands of the evacuation.
He said that the flight itself was uneventful.
“It was very quiet,” he told reporters at the airport. “Mostly people were very tired. They were in very good spirits, considering, but they were very tired. The kids, of course, went to sleep like babies, but most people rested. It was kind of like a normal long transcontinental voyage, except with a little extra measure of satisfaction for us, and I think for them.”
Most of the Canadians who returned here after days of waiting and travel had nothing but praise for the prime minister with whom they shared a quiet ride home.
“He tried to do his best,” said Rouba Maaluf, 21, of Montreal, as she sat in her wheelchair waiting to go home with Ottawa relatives. “He say that he’s sorry but he do his best.”
Elie Khalil was more than grateful as he awaited his wife and young children at the airport, flowers in hand. He said he didn’t care how long it took because in the end, “these guys brought my family back,” he said, barely able to hide his joy. “It’s big thanks.”
Apart from a few critical comments, passengers reported no outbursts at the prime minister during the flight, where he casually chatted with some of the passengers and shook hands with each one as they got off the plane. For the most part, “everyone had no energy to be angry,” said Joe Azzi, 18, of Ottawa.
But as they walked through the cameras and spotlights with their luggage and children, hugging the family members that awaited them, most evacuees couldn’t remove the bad memories from their minds.
When asked what message he wanted to give the prime minister, 19-year-old Shady Abboud held back in his criticisms, as his mother insisted in Arabic “thank him, thank him.” Others were more frank.
“It was hell to arrive,” said Ottawa’s Rawad Antoun, 20. It took three days to evacuate the first 250, he said, noting there are 25,000 Canadians who want to leave the war-torn country. “If it goes at this speed, it’ll take them months to get everyone out.”
“It was chaotic. It was insulting,” said Woodbridge’s Omran, as she remembered the fainting and vomiting on a crowded boat from Beirut, with a grueling hot sun shining down on them during the day and cold air keeping them company at night. She used a tablecloth to keep her children warm as they slept on the deck. The food ran out before she and her family could feed themselves during the 17-hour trip. She scrounged up extras for her children from other families.
“I felt like an animal on this trip,” said El-Helou, who made the trip with her teenaged son and daughter and had been traveling for 51 hours straight. “My goal during this trip was to show them the good image of Lebanon. But what happened in this trip, they saw a bad image of war and a bad image of Canada.”
The passengers could only guess as to why they were the lucky ones to be chosen for the boat to Cyprus and subsequently the first of two flights to Canada – the other landed in Montreal later this morning. Many were women with young children, although a number of young men in their late teens or early twenties were amongst those who arrived.
And while they couldn’t be happier to finally be home, some still had weights on their shoulders for those they left behind.
For Omran, it was her elderly parents.
“I lived through the civil war, I lived through the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in 1982 and I know how horrible it was, so I didn’t want the kids to go through what I did. I couldn’t leave my parents, but at the same time, I couldn’t sacrifice my kids. I had to bring them here.”
Ontario Health Minister George Smitherman was at the Canada Reception Centre - the reception area for official flights.
“We wanted to convey to anyone returning from Lebanon that Ontario is ready to support people as required,” he said. “We’ve created an exemption for anyone returning so there will be no three-month (residency) requirement to wait for benefits related to health care to kick in.”
Well, getting over 25,000 people out of anywhere would seem to be a very daunting task.....wouldn't it. Did any of us expect there to be over 25,000 "Canadians" living anywhere other than Canada! Then some of the passengers were "insulted", and felt like "animals" because they weren't evacuated in style. What did they expect ....the Queen Mary II , or Carnival Cruise lines to come and get them. They should be thankful someone came and evacuated them to begin with. I mean, you're in the middle of a war ravaged country and instead of being grateful that someone from "another" country (Canada - note sarcasm) rescued you and your family, you choose to complain about the food and accommodations on the ship. The whiners should be more than content that they were not killed over there.
Then, they proceed to comment on how what's occurring in Lebanon was horrible.....and the trip to Cypress was equally as horrifying, because the country some people take advantage of (Canada) did not accommodate them in style . They have slighted the country that has gracefully taken them and they're families in. The country that has provided numerous social services, access to fruitful employment, a passport which affords them easy travel throughout the world, a peaceful and tolerant society in which these people don't seem to be grateful for, etc.
Now, the piece de resistance.... Premier McGuinty has graciously decided to wave the three month residency requirement so the people that have abandoned this country can take advantage of our generosity again.
I apologise for the rant, yet after watching the news and reading a few articles this morning, I'm a little pissed at peoples' reaction to this fiasco.
We are not the only ones lifting people out, but Australia does not seem to have the critcizm flying about and actually pretty calm about it all.
Massive airlift to save Aussies
From: From staff writers and wires July 21, 2006
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,10117,19861326-401,00.html
THE Federal Government is planning a major operation to airlift Australians out of Cyprus, swinging military and commercial planes into action to bring home thousands of evacuees from Lebanon.
As the evacuation from Lebanon gathers momentum, the Government has now turned its attention to what to do with the thousands of Australian citizens massing in Cyprus.
The island has been struggling to cope with a huge influx of people arriving aboard ships from Lebanon, which is under bombardment as Israel attacks Hezbollah militants in their southern Lebanese strongholds.
Another 100 Australians arrived in Limassol aboard the British warship HMS Bulwark today, and thousands more are expected to follow over the weekend on chartered ferries
More on link
Massive airlift to save Aussies
From: From staff writers and wires July 21, 2006
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,10117,19861326-401,00.html
THE Federal Government is planning a major operation to airlift Australians out of Cyprus, swinging military and commercial planes into action to bring home thousands of evacuees from Lebanon.
As the evacuation from Lebanon gathers momentum, the Government has now turned its attention to what to do with the thousands of Australian citizens massing in Cyprus.
The island has been struggling to cope with a huge influx of people arriving aboard ships from Lebanon, which is under bombardment as Israel attacks Hezbollah militants in their southern Lebanese strongholds.
Another 100 Australians arrived in Limassol aboard the British warship HMS Bulwark today, and thousands more are expected to follow over the weekend on chartered ferries
More on link
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Octavianus said:
Wow!, I guess some editor fell asleep at the switch there?? Some actual quotes from grateful people?? Uh oh, must be some right wing conspiracy
I watched a CBC report last night and nearly jumped at the screen in reaction to what some people were saying. Luckily I calmed down when they showed a few grateful people. One lady was quite satified with the accomodations because the 1st time she fled Lebanon she was in a sea container. Oh yeah, I also chuckled when a woman berated another "You want to be Lebanese stay where you are, if you want to be Canadian stay in line!" Nice.
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Octavianus said:
Well, what was it?? Was it hot? or was it cold?
So its not that there was NO FOOD & WATER, but that inconsiderate fellow evacuees were hoarding it for themselves. Hmmmmmmm.
Octavianus said:
F%^# Y&* !
George Wallace
Army.ca Dinosaur
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I wonder if they would have been as happy, had they been on the Beaches of Normandy in 1939 and rescued by rowboats, or had to march for miles to escape as many did in Europe in both World Wars, or those in the Phillipines, or Rwanda, or any of the many other war zones in past history. Would they have complained about the 'Cattle Cars' that many were in in many past occasions......
Ah! The privileged. The "spoiled" masses of demanding Canadians. Gracious at all times. :
Ah! The privileged. The "spoiled" masses of demanding Canadians. Gracious at all times. :
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George Wallace said:Ah! The privileged. The "spoiled" masses of demanding Canadians. Gracious at all times. :
Oh well, I think I am going to get a little cynical now.
I think its only a matter of hours before we see the first of a string of ingrates show up at a live "news" conference on CBC "News"world in the company of Montreal based ambulance chasers.... errrr... lawyers, announcing a multi-million dollar class action lawsuit for their horrible pain & suffering.
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