Americans fleeing Lebanon feel like 'refugees' in Cyprus

[tocqueville]

by Charlie Charalambous
27 minutes ago

NICOSIA (AFP) - Army blankets, a sea of orange camp beds and plain-clothed US marines patrolling the area. This is not a detention facility but a transit camp set up in the heart of Nicosia to process thousands of Americans fleeing Lebanon.

Families chat and kids play with donated toys or watch cartoons on TV. Some are visibly exhausted by their ordeal while others appear full of energy despite the 30-hour odyssey by sea from Beirut to Cyprus.

The harsh realities of Middle East politics touching ordinary Americans on vacation was hard for some to fathom.

"You see these situations on TV and feel sorry for the people. Now we are the ones that feel like refugees," said mother of two Brenda Fawaz, 41, from Tampa, Florida.

"My children were scared -- we stayed inside most of the time. In America you don't see things like that," she added.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20060721/pl_afp/mideastconflict_060721154444

[Waya]

1. Nope....

.....don't see much of that in the good ol' US of A.....we just ensure that other nations see it in their Country.....

[Benhurst]

2. But we sure stood tall when we were bombed.

We rolled over and let a group of fascist thugs put in office by a coup shred our constitution and destroy the Republic.

:patriot:

[Igel]

3. They are refugees.

Mostly temporary ones, but they're fleeing a war and seeking refuge. Fortunately, most have homes to go to.

[CottonBear]

4. An American woman evacuee said she lost her home to Katrina and now this.

She was interviewed on US cable TV this AM as she awaited passage to Cyprus. She had two small children with her. She seemed exhausted. :(

[Skidmore]

5. We have whole generations of people who have lived in

refugee camps and settlements in several areas of the world. Children who live daily in deprivation and have never known another way of life. Does anyone stop to think about those people?

[dipsydoodle]

6. At least they are out

and they should be thankful for that.

There are 91,000 Sri Lankans stuck there with little or no chance of help.

[msongs]

7. we "see things like that" in the US every day

neighborhoods where the people are terrorized by their own teen and adult kids, where testosterone fueled cowards mow down 3 year olds in the name of their criminal homies because they don't have the personal fortitude to do something better with their lives. then there are the neighborhoods where the police are no better than the criminals.

then there are the neighborhoods where volvo driving latte drinkers run rampant, burning flags and getting married to gays and lesbians who want to donate their embyros to stem cell research :-)

it's a tough world.

Msongs
www.msongs.com/political-shirts.htm

[gratuitous]

8. Cuttin' and runnin' are they?

By the Christ, I sure wish we had some of those steely-eyed, brave, patriotic Republican Representatives and Senators who lectured all us citizens about the dangers of cutting and running a few weeks ago in Lebanon so they could demonstrate for us all first-hand their resolve to stay the course. Real Americans never feel like refugees!

And dumbass freeper mode . . . off.