Posted on 07/19/2006 3:26:31 AM PDT by Clive
The first shiploads of Canadians to be rescued from Lebanon are expected to sail across the Mediterranean to safety today in what is being described as the largest mass evacuation the country has ever mounted.
The federal government has chartered seven commercial ships with a combined capacity of 2,000 passengers to ferry as many as 30,000 Canadians from Beirut to Larnaca, Cyprus, or Mersin, Turkey.
After the four-hour sea journey to Larnaca or eight-hour voyage to Mersin, they will be flown home on commercial jetliners chartered from Air Canada and other airlines.
"They will be used continuously, day after day to evacuate all the Canadians that want to leave Lebanon," said Ambra Dickie, a spokeswoman for the Department of Foreign Affairs in Ottawa.
The Canadian government will pick up the tab for the entire operation, although no cost estimates are currently available.
Foreign governments are scrambling to move their citizens out of harm's way by air, land and sea.
Hezbollah's kidnapping of two Israeli soldiers last week sparked the military confrontation that has left hundreds dead and millions running for cover in Israel and Lebanon.
Thousands of foreigners have found themselves caught in the crossfire of Hezbollah rocket attacks on northern Israel and Israeli air raids on Lebanese airports, roads and bridges.
As evacuations organized by countries from India to the United States began yesterday, Israel announced its military would provide cover for foreigners fleeing by sea amid fears of Hezbollah attacks.
"We control the waters," said Ofir Gendelman, a spokesman for the Israeli embassy in Ottawa. "There is a chance Hezbollah would use this opportunity to fire on the ships and blame Israel.
"Hezbollah is interested in escalating the situation as much as they can. Shooting at ships and blaming Israel would be an achievement for them."
He added Israel will do everything in its power to avoid causing civilian and foreign casualties in military strikes aimed at crushing terrorist Hezbollah.
"We are doing everything we can to avoid hurting civilians," he said. "We will do whatever we can to get civilians out of Lebanon safely."
Eight Canadians from one Montreal-based Lebanese family, including four children, were killed on Sunday when the house in which they were hiding in their ancestral village was hit by Israeli air strikes.
Israel has expressed regret over the loss of life.
Ms. Dickie at Foreign Affairs said Canadian officials have secured assurances of safe passage for their evacuees from the Israeli and Lebanese governments.
Though up to 50,000 Canadians may be living, working, visiting family or vacationing in Lebanon, she said the government was preparing to move a maximum of 30,000 people. That's the number who have registered with the embassy, but not all may wish to leave the country where many have relatives or business interests, she said.
Consular staff have begun to contact the first evacuees, telling them to arrive at the point of embarkation near the port of Beirut four hours before departure time.
Those who have not yet been contacted have been told to stay put and wait for further instruction.
The Web site of the Canadian embassy in Beirut tells evacuees to bring medication and essentials for a journey of up to 72 hours. Travellers will be restricted to one piece of luggage each, weighing no more than 20 kilograms.
The Canadian evacuation is to be centred on Beirut, where extra consular staff have been dispatched.
But many Canadians are believed to be stranded in southern Lebanon near the border with Israel, one of the most intense areas of the conflict zone.
"We are currently looking at all options to assist those people in getting to Beirut," said Ms. Dickie, who could not say where most Canadians were located.
The Turkish embassy in Ottawa said it would accommodate a request from Canadian officials to use the port of Mersin and Adana airport.
Some countries have already begun removing their citizens from the war zone. Spain, India and Australia bused a few hundred people to Damascus in neighbouring Syria before flying them home.
The United States and Britain have airlifted several hundred evacuees by military helicopter and have fleets of naval vessels steaming toward Lebanon.
The U.S. ships include helicopter landing vessels, amphibious transport docks, high-speed swift boats and aluminum-hulled catamarans.
Jack Layton, the NDP leader, criticized the government for not responding rapidly enough to his party's calls last week to evacuate all Canadians in Lebanon.
Garth Turner, a Toronto Conservative MP, also asked why the government is paying to ship thousands of Canadians with dual citizenship out of Lebanon, saying many seem to live there full time.
"It's not like they're accidental tourists."
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Am I the only one that's going to ask the question?
What the hell are 30,000 Canadians doing in Lebanon???
The same mindset that then criticizes government for "wasting money" by having assets on standby in case they're needed.
So Canada is a more likely destination than the US for those wishing to acquire a second or third citizenship.
Also the years of civil war and belligerancy between Lebanon and Israel have given many Lebanese grounds upon which to claim refugee status and Canada's refugee boards. It is easy for the refugee advocate industry in Canada to come up with boilerplate stories to coach claimants to tell the boards.
We have had instances of people getting refugee status and then promptly taking a holiday back to the place from which they had supposedly escaped so that they could show their brand new landed immigrant papers to all their friends and relatives.
Restorer: "The same mindset that then criticizes government for "wasting money" by having assets on standby in case they're needed."
Also see this article:
A reasonable escape route in 100 hours
Please send me a FReepmail to get on or off this Canada ping list.
GW: helen thomas GO FYourself!
doh wrong thread
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