EVACUATIONS of foreign nationals from Lebanon through Cyprus continued until hours before yesterday morning’s ceasefire, with the island now bracing itself to act as a logistic hub for humanitarian aid poised to flow in to the country now that hostilities have ceased.
On Sunday, the Princessa Marissa, a Cypriot cruise liner chartered by Canada, on Sunday transported 864 Canadian nationals, most of them Lebanese-Canadian, from Beirut to Larnaca. The ship unloaded 55 tonnes of humanitarian aid before passengers were allowed on board. It was the first Ottawa-planned evacuation since August 3. The ship also transported 35 Danish and Russian citizens, including 13 children and pregnant women, whose passage to Russia through Syria was hindered by Israeli attacks.
Canada’s Department of Foreign Affairs stated that the ship had room for 1,200 people, but did not fill to capacity, possibly because the intensity of fighting trapped or scared off potential evacuees from leaving their homes. Sami Nakad, the Christian owner of a winery in the Bekaa Valley, called off an attempt to send his wife and daughter to meet the ship following the Israeli bombardment of a Shia mosque in their village of Djita
Other Canadian nationals who chose to stay behind cited their optimism about the UN Security Council’s ceasefire plan. For many that left, however, the continued violence on Sunday did little to convince them that peace and safety were at hand. One woman, speaking to Canadian network CTV, stated that the situation in Lebanon was still “very, very crazy. There’s no word to define it.”
Among the Canadian nationals on board the Cypriot vessel was Ahmed al-Akhras, who lost eight members of his Montreal-based family during the Israeli bombing of border-village Aitaroun in July, including his wife, son, daughter-in-law and four grandchildren. The Canadian-chartered ship was late to dock in Beirut due to Israeli naval blockades, much like the ICRC-chartered ship Giorgos K, which after being docked in Larnaca for two days, finally unloaded its 200 tonnes of humanitarian aid in Tyre on Saturday.
The Princessa Marissa evacuees were flown home directly on government-chartered planes. Another ship, also with a 1,200 capacity for evacuees, is said to be arriving to pick up more Canadian nationals on August 15.
Approximately 40,000 Canadian nationals were present in Lebanon when the violence started on July 12, making it one of the country’s largest foreign communities; 14,000 of them were evacuated on chartered planes and ships from Tyre and Beirut between July 19 and August 3.
Cyprus has provided a safe haven for 54,285 people from 75 countries, according the foreign ministry, with 22,000 being EU nationals, approximately 20,000 American, Canadian or Australian nationals, and 3,000 Indian nationals. Most of these people have now been safely transported to their home countries.
Reports said 587 Filipino evacuees returned home on August 10, bringing the total number of Filipinos to have escaped to 1,500, with 1,800 expected to be evacuated by plane from Syria shortly. While most Australians have escaped, it is suspected that 41 nationals remain trapped in South Lebanon.
Ninety-two US evacuees remain on the islands as a result of family members not having US passports or having been able to obtain visas. The US embassy has stated that it is working with the US government to solve 14 “problematic” cases, which are holding certain families back. Speaking to reporters at an assessment of the evacuation so far, Foreign Ministry official Alexandros Zenon stated that “the country responsible for bringing these people to the island is also responsible for taking them out.”
The mass evacuation from Lebanon since the fighting started is said to have cost Cyprus well over $1.5 million, with $220,000 having been spent daily to cope with the influx at its ports. However, Finance minister Michalis Sarris has said this has been offset by receiving about $44,000 a day in landing and docking fees as well as hotel profits due to those seeking accommodation.
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies has meanwhile revised its appeal for assistance to Red Cross and Red Crescent assistance programmes for those fleeing the hostilities in Lebanon. It seeks $4.1 million to replenish emergency stocks and support 65,000 evacuees currently in Syria and Cyprus, as well as prepare for possible population movements into countries neighbouring Lebanon, such as Syria and Jordan.
Malika A?t-Mohamed Parent, Head of the Federation’s Middle East North Africa Department in Geneva, stated that “since mid-July, the Red Cross on Cyprus has brought some form of assistance to an estimated 40,000 people, most of them in transit. It is vital that we support them to make sure people fleeing Lebanon have access to basic necessities, adequate medical care, psychosocial support and tracing services.”
As the stream of evacuees coming into Cyprus begins to slow, however, a UN logistics officer told AFP that the island is “expected to become the biggest hub for shipping humanitarian aid to Beirut once we get up and running.”
One Italian ship that arrived in Lebanon on Sunday via Cyprus contained a cargo of 13 SUVs, food and water, portable toilets, medical supplies and 200 tonnes of diesel fuel. A UN chartered vessel, Anamcara, is currently bringing the first batch of Russian humanitarian aid to Lebanon. The cargo, which includes over 2,000 blankets, 1,000 mattresses, 4,000 pillows and tents for 1,400 people, was delivered to the UN World Food Programme in Cyprus after arriving in Larnaca on a Russian transport plane on August 9.
