No Exit: American citizens are caught in the crossfire in southern Lebanon while trying to flee the fighting
By Kevin Sites
TYRE, Lebanon - For the Chahines of Dearborn, Mich., spending summers in south Lebanon is a family tradition. It also helps to keep them in touch with their Arabic heritage. But this summer that tradition almost cost them their lives. The Chahines were in the village of Yaroun near the Israeli border when fighting began, sparked by a cross-border raid in which Hezbollah captured two Israeli soldiers and killed several others. In the two weeks since,
Israel has launched a fierce offensive against Hezbollah in southern Lebanon and Hezbollah has responded with missile assaults on towns in northern Israel.Â
Fear and frustration for Americans trapped in southern Lebanon » View
As casualties mount on both sides, Israeli troops are now engaged in a limited ground offensive in southern Lebanon, in a bid to neutralize deeply-entrenched Hezbollah forces. The suffering here in southern Lebanon continues to grow.
The Chahines spent a week moving from house to house in southern Lebanon, staying with relatives, trying to find a way out, the violence getting closer each day.
“I left my clothes in the trunk of the car,” says Mr. Chahine, who only wanted to be identified by his last name. “That night it was hit by an Israeli missile where it was parked. Everything burned. That’s why I’ve been wearing the same clothes for the last seven days.”
Today, along with 100 others in an eleven-car convoy, the Chahines finally reached the city of Tyre, a waystation in a long journey they all hope will lead back to America. They are all American citizens, either naturalized or born in the U.S., summering in the same village and now desperately trying to escape the violence.
They say they were told by the U.S. Embassy to go to a hotel in Tyre called the Rest House, where a small
United Nations contingent is based.
When they reach the hotel, nineteen-year-old Zeinab Chahine, a pharmacy student, is overcome by the stress of the ordeal.
“Make them stop, make them stop, people are dying,” she says, beginning to cry. “I’m American. I was born in America. Why do they do this to me, why?”
Zeinab Shahen, from Los Angeles, was also staying in Yaroun for the summer with her husband and four children. She arrived at the Rest House with the others, but says she had a close call when the Israelis fired a rocket near one of the vehicles they were riding in.
“Where the rocket hit it didn’t damage the car much, luckily,” says Zeinab. “They’re using bombs, phosphorous or something. It burns. It melts. They’re burning people inside their houses. They’re burning cars, they’re melting cars. No one can leave. We barely made it.”