Did they think they were going on a 3-hour cruise on the SS Minnow?
How much did they pay for this ride and accomodations?
Do they think theywould have been happier/better off not making the trip and just staying in Lebanon?
Posted on 07/20/2006 10:44:13 AM PDT by SJackson
LANARCA, Cyprus — It could be a long trip to Ottawa for Prime Minister Stephen Harper if he decides to mix with the Lebanese evacuees he is ferrying home.
"It was a horrible trip," one after another describe their 13-hour voyage from Beirut to Cyprus when they disembark in the scorching heat here. "People were vomiting, there were no beds, the toilets with filthy.
"There was no air conditioning and they ran out of water," one young women told reporters before storming on board the waiting buses laid on by the Canadian government.
The arrival of the Blue Dawn, the first ship load of Canadians to be evacuated from war-torn Lebanon, was supposed to a joyous occasion.
Instead, the 26 people aboard the Lebanese-owned pleasure boat were disgusted by the conditions on board, particularly when compared to the ships that rescued French and U.S. citizens which loaded at almost the same time as them in Beirut on Wednesday.
The hold-ups began in Beirut when Israel refused to let more than one ship exit the harbour at a time and the complaints just got worse as the voyage continued for six hours beyond its expected arrival time.
About 100 of those on board the boat will fly home with the Prime Minister who diverted his Airbus from Paris to Cyprus to help out the rescue effort.
But even that gesture fell slightly flat when he failed to show up at the port Thursday to greet the evacuees or visit the welcome centre the Cypriots provided them.
Canadian officials said he stayed on his plane all night and through most of the day so as not to cause the over-stretched Cyprus government even more security problems.
Ingrates!
So stay there next time then.
Sheesh, people fleeing a war zone should be kissing the ground and glad they are alive. Where did they get the expectation that an emergency evac would be a pleasure cruise?
Poor babies... at least they are STILL ALIVE....
Yeah, lets bring out kids for a glorious vacation in the Bekaa! Then lets bitch about it when our plan to vacation in a war zone fall apart! Morons..
Ahem, those are my tax dollars and they got more than they paid for, dammit.
then dont vacation in F'ING LEBANON!
I'm utterly amazed at the ingratitude of the evacuees. I just hope their comments are not being spun by the press to make it appear this way.
"Ingrate!"
Exactly!
Wait, don't tell me, they had to drink Dasani instead of Evian? On second thought, don't tell me, I don't think I could bear hearing it.
War is heck.
What a sorry bunch.
How about" We are grateful, happy to be safe and while the conditions were a little rough- we knew it wasn't forever and we would be HOME SOON"
There seems to be some confusion on the part of these people on the difference between being rescued and going on a luxury cruise. If they pick up your a** from a war zone and transport you to safety, it is a successful rescue. Never mind the bad toilets.
Sounds like the summer camp I went to as a kid.
Did they think they were going on a 3-hour cruise on the SS Minnow?
How much did they pay for this ride and accomodations?
Do they think theywould have been happier/better off not making the trip and just staying in Lebanon?
The horror!
They were being evacuated from a war zone.
Were they being bombed or shot at on the ship?
No? Then be happy.
Seems like at least half of the population could just let nature take its course over the side of the ship if the toilets were that bad LOL.
People will NEVER cease to amaze me.
Speechless.
"So stay there next time"--Ditto that! I don't know about you, but I'm really tired of the whiners. They're lucky to be out of there and too stupid to realize it.
Oh, goodness. At least you're alive.
I work in the oil & gas industry, offshore in the Gulf of Mexico, and routinely take 12 hour crew boat rides to the job site. I'll bet the ship they were on rode a lot better than a 40 ft. crewboat.
Suck it up and thank God you're alive.
I guess none of these folks have heard of the Wilhelm Gustloff.
So the word 'refugee' has disappeared from the lexicon?
Most are probably Jihadst in training.
I think they may have been watching too many cruise ship commercials and were expecting round-the-clock buffets and salad bars, in between swims in one of the pools and visits to the saunas and hot tubs.
If they ever have to be air-lifted, they're going to insist on luxury helicopters with snacks and wine served during the evacuation flight.
Let me add my name to those who are sick and tired of people expecting their government to make up for their lack of planning.
>:-(
People really expect to be coddled these days, don't they?
"Lebanese-owned pleasure boat"
Gratitude is the least felt human emotion.
Canadians, Canadian government arrangements, Canadian Prime Minister.
Must be Bush's fault.
Life's Gonna Suck by Dennis Leary
This s a special moment right now,
We'd like to take this time to tell all the kids at home,
Send your parents out of the room this is a kid's song.
Life's gonna suck when you grow up,
When you grow up, when you grow up
Life's gonna suck when you grow up,
It sucks pretty bad right now.
Hey! If you know the words, Sing along!
You're gonna hafta mow the lawn,
Do the dishes, make your bed.
You're gonna hafta go to school until you're seven-teen.
It's gonna seem about three times as long as that
You might have to go to war, shoot a gun, kill a nun.
You might have to go to war, when you get out of school.
Hey cheer up kids, it gets a lot worse.
You're gonna hafta deal with stress
Deal with stress, deal with stress.
You're gonna be a giant mess
When you get back from the war.
Santa Clause does not exist, and there's no Easter Bunny,
You'll find out when you grow up, that Big Bird isn't funny.
(funny, funny, hahahahaha!)
Life's gonna suck when you grow up,
When you grow up, when you grow up
Life's gonna suck when you grow up,
It sucks pretty bad right now.
You're gonna end up smoking crack, on your back, face the fact.
You're gonna end up hooked on smack, and then you're gonna die.
And then you're gonna die-ie-ie-ie-ie.
Something for the kids,
Well, I think I smell a lawsuit in that one, What do you think?
I think they should hire a cruise ship and take them back to Lebanon in style.
Just sickening to see these complainers ... and to think the tax payer has to pick up the bill for these ungrateful brats ... I say we let them walk out of a war zone next time.
And we all thought Canadians were all patient, calm, polite folk!
Swhat-ya for vacationing in a war-zone.
You don't mean they ran out of Grey Poupon on your trip!? Horrible. </sarcasm>
Yeah, as far as I'm concerned anyone with Canadian citizenship stupid enough to move back to Lebanon (and most of these people are/were residents there) has NO right to expect the Canadian people to bail them out. As if anyone couldn't see that Lebanon sits in the middle of a very volatile region, with a very unstable government. The only people who have a right to expect to be evacuated from Lebanon are those who are there working for the Canadian gov't. And maybe tourists, although again choosing such a volatile place to vacation would seem to be a particularly poor choice.
What ship? I was attached to the Midway about one year afterwards. I was thinking about the stories some of my shipmates told about their part in the evacuation, like the VN Air Force Major making his first trap in a O-1 with his wife and five kids on board.
First, It is your choice to travel to, visit or live in a country other than your own. Part and parcel of that choice is the obligation to pay for your trip their and back, the judgment of your safety while there, the evaluation of your host government, and your own medical care while there. You are obligated to live according to the laws and customs of your host country while there. If you run foul of the law, you pay the price.
The only time that your home government is obligated to "bail" you out is when some circumstance changes where your citizenship is reason for your troubles. For instance, you are taken hostage because you are Canadian or American. If you are caught dealing drugs, for instance, you are on your own. However, if your punishment is more harsh just because you are American, then the USA can pressure to obtain treatment for you that is consistent with others.
Despite posessing Canadian passports, I don't think most of these people are really Canadians at all. They're Lebanese who found Canada a convenient place to escape to the last time their country went to crap. I wonder what proportion of the ones that are there now are Christians, and how many Muslim? There are a lot of Christian Lebanese in Canada, in Halifax, Nova Scotia for example.
Yes, like that! I can't recognize anyone from that photo, but I probably knew at least a couple of the guys in that shot.
Is this yours? It's really good. And I have a particularly annoying thirty-year-old "kid" in mind to send it to.
Thanks for posting it.
Thank you for your service.
Of course people were vomiting, it's a boat - many, many people are prone to sea sickness - it's quite common and expected. And no beds??? I'm aghast - but what does somebody need a bed for on a 13-hour trip? I know it's long, but did they hope to sleep through it? Sheesh. And filthy toilets? Lots of people in a confined space tends to create that condition. No worse than many a porto-potty used by people every day at sporting events and parks. Just the way it is.
I am sick and tired of these idiots. They should be grateful, and instead they are wallowing in a haze of nanny state induced whining.
My only question is, why would Karl Rove do it this way?
Anyone wanting to read about a real "sour trip" please go here.
http://www.navsource.org/archives/09/130242b.htm
I'll be quiet now.
Find a luxury cruise ship, take them back, and have them get their sorry a$$e$ bombed or shot.
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