WITH HOTELS at full capacity and resources strained, the Cyprus government has expressed concerns that a sudden influx of evacuees who lack transportation out of Cyprus could develop into a serious problem.
Barely 200 kilometres by sea from Lebanon, Cyprus has become the central hub for the evacuation effort, with both Limassol and Larnaca ports daily admitting thousands of people seeking to flee embattled Lebanon.
Communications and Works Minister Makis Constantinides told the Cyprus Mail yesterday that the goal at the moment is to get evacuees flown out of Cyprus anywhere from four to eight hours after they arrive on the island.
As of yesterday, about 20,000 evacuees had arrived in Cyprus, with officials expecting an average of 4,000 new arrivals each additional day.
The Cyprus government has volunteered 25 schools in the Larnaca and Limassol districts to temporarily shelter those arriving from Lebanon.
But authorities were yesterday expecting an especially large influx of evacuees for the coming night and early morning, with six boats set to arrive in Larnaca carrying a total of 3,500 people and three in Limassol carrying 3,000.
Constantinides said that there would be a “real problem” if Cyprus becomes a final destination for evacuees rather than a transit hub, something the government fears might happen if there is a huge influx of citizens from developing countries.
Foreign Minister George Lillikas said that there has been a “dramatic increase in requests from a large number of non-European countries that are hoping to use Cyprus for the evacuation of its citizens.” Those countries include India, Sri Lanka, Mexico and the Philippines.
There have been no indications yet of any such problem. Just yesterday two Air India jumbos flew 600 Indians who had been evacuated from Lebanon via Cyprus to India yesterday.
There are up to 30,000 Filipinos and 90,000 Sri Lankans in Lebanon, many working as domestic assistants.
Complications could also arise if the situation in Lebanon continues to worsen and large numbers of Lebanese refugees arrive in Cyprus with nowhere else to go. But the foreign minister said there have been no requests yet made for Cyprus to accept refugees.
Lillikas also noted that other countries have been covering the bulk of the costs involved in evacuating their citizens.
At a ministerial meeting on Thursday, the Cyprus government requested other EU countries to open their borders to evacuees from Lebanon, as well as to send aircraft to Cyprus so that their nationals can immediately depart upon arrival.
Finland yesterday responded positively to the request, announcing that it will contribute 200,000 euros for a transport operation.
Turkey has also offered to serve as a transit point for evacuees, which will lighten the load on Cyprus.
The US and Canada have both said that they intend to use Turkey as well as Cyprus for the evacuation effort.
Several ferries and speedboats transporting Canadians and Swedes from Beirut have already docked in Mersin, Turkey, where they were met, curiously, with carnations.
The United Nations peacekeeping force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) has also joined in the evacuation process, hiring the Cypriot-flagged Serenade to transport more than 900 people from Lebanon to Cyprus.
Commerce Minister Antonis Michaelides yesterday rebuffed allegations by a CNN correspondent that Cypriot taxi drivers and hotel owners have been taking advantage of refugees and evacuees from Beirut.
Telecommunications giant CyTA has offered 1,000 £3 phone cards to be given to foreign citizens and refugees arriving in Cyprus.
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