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Evacuated from Lebanon
have been lucky enough to say
that I spend almost every sum-
mer in my favorite vacation
spot, Lebanon. Lebanon is not only
where my parents were born and
all my relatives live, but it is also my
second home.
Igrewup listening to adults ban-
tering about politics and not really
understanding where all the ethno-
religious divides stemmed from.
After all, I never lived through
the hellish 20-year civil war that
my parents did. The only Lebanon
I was familiar with was the one I
called my summer utopia - full of
worry-free days spent by the beach,
falling asleep in the car while driv-
ing through the mountains and
savoring the flavors of Mediterra-
nean cuisine, all the while blanket-
ed in unparalleled hospitality and
friendliness.
It was around 9 a.m. on July 13,
2006 when that idyllic view was
disrupted. My family and I were
woken up by a phone call from my
uncle back in the United States ask-
ing if we were all right. We turned
on CNN and learned that the Rafik
Hariri International Airport had
been bombed by the Israeli mili-
tary.
After Hezbollah militants had
shot missiles at Israeli soldiers,
Israel retaliated against Lebanon
with massive air strikes, artillery
fire, and air and naval blockades.
My family and I were closed off
from the world - escape was virtu-
ally impossible.
Although the region we were in
was not Israel's main target, Leba-
non is such a small country that if
anything spun out of control, our
lives would be in severe danger.
MOMENTOS
From page 7B
journalism.
Representatives from each
industry attended the fair to give
advice to women about how to
prepare for careers in the field.
Students interested in airline
hostessing were told to prepare
with "study in geography, pub-
lic speaking, drama, psychol-
ogy and home economics." Other
representatives seemed to accept
the limits of women in the work-
There was nothing we could do for
10 fear-ridden days and nights but
listen to fighter jets, sonic booms
and distant bomb explosions.
My family, like many other tour-
ists that summer, contacted the
United States embassy for support
and insight as to when a cease-
fire might occur. After several
days, rumors surfaced that United
Nations countries were in the pro-
cess of negotiating a temporary
ceasefire so that their respective
citizens could be evacuated safely.
We received a phone call at mid-
night informing us of a naval evac-
uation later that morning. If we
wanted to be evacuated, we were
to arrive at the port by 4 a.m. with
only one suitcase for all of us. With
bittersweet excitement, we fit what
we could into our family suitcase
and drove down the ghostly moun-
tain to find thousands of Lebanese
Americans waiting to be herded to
safety.
After several hours, Lebanese
soldiers began to lead people closer
to the port in organized lines so
that American forces could proper-
ly check us into customs. We stood
in the same spot for over 12 hours,
baking in excruciating heat while
watching helicopters hover along
the coast. I tried to relax, but the
scene of Israeli battle ships block-
ing the horizon and the intense
shouts of Lebanese and Americans
were impossible to ignore. At that
moment, I truly felt like a refugee.
But when I finally spotted my
reprieve - a group of three U.S.
military ships waiting for us to
board - I began to feel a sense of
pride and excitement. I felt like I
was placed in a war film with fear-
place, like Laura Pringle, fashion
editor of the Detroit Free Press,
who advised aspiring journal-
ists, "Journalism is one of men's
most jealously guarded profes-
sions...the most opportunities for
women are in the society depart-.
ment."
It appears that Mortar Board
is the only survivor of the origi-
nal women societies. It's unclear
whether the other societies
merged with Mortar Board or
were simply lost with the chang-
ing times. Mortar Board has
changed as well, especially with
less U.
save th
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The
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They
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20 yea
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Afte
ted on
sibling
explor
S. intelligence coming in to vessel. We ran to the cafeteria, the
e day. But my own relief was navigation rooms, the bedrooms
contrasted with my con- and bathrooms. During our avid
r the Lebanese I had to leave explorations, U.S. Navy personnel
1. freely and willingly explained the
Lebanese did not have any uses of any technology we came
f being salvaged by a foreign across. They served us in their caf-
power. To them, the 34-day eteria and ensured every refugee
was a haunting reminder of had acot, mattress or bedroom.
banese Civil War that the About 6 p.m. on the day we
was still recovering from. boarded, we watched a helicop-
eard one Lebanese say on ter lower onto a landing pad and
release several disabled U.S. citi-
zens. It was an amazing experience
to see how well we were treated
low the U.S. and how accommodating our coun-
try was to all citizens regardless of
ilitary helped age, religion or physical abilities. It
was an all or nothing evacuation.
le escape the On day two of the evacuation, we
z lah arrived in Cyprus, where we were
ael-Hezbol h tobe transported to a refugee camp
two hours away. I imagined a dirt
W ar patch covered with tents, hungry
children and distressed parents.
But what we found were several
huge warehouses stocked with
al television, "Where is the food, toiletries, cots, pillows, blan-
ational Community? Where kets, international phone cards,
Security Council? Where wireless Internet and even a Pizza
U.N.? Where is the whole Hut. Although there weren't show-
We are under fire!" ers, the first class service exceeded
is embarking on an exciting the little expectations I had.
ure with the U.S. Marines, The refugees were divided into
friends and family were still smaller groups and taken from
mercy of a foreign power. Cyprus one at a time. Our group
were hiding in their homes, hitched a ride with an Air Force
their neighborhoods were cargo plane en route to the U.S.
'geted, preparing bomb shel- airbase in Ramstein, Germany.
at hadn't been used in about The plane was quite different than
rs and watching the death any commercial flight I had ever
e by the minute. taken. There were about 10 rows of
r we were finally admit- seating, with all the excess space
to the U.S.S. Trenton, my behind the seats used to transport
s and I excitedly began to cargo. The interior walls were
e every crevasse of the huge exposed wiring and machinery.
The engines were so obtrusively
loud that we were given earplugs to
mute the racket. After a four-hour
flight, we landed in Ramstein and
were given extremely strict rules
to follow. For example, photogra-
phy was forbidden to assure that no
confidential information about the
base was leaked.
The next day, a cargo plane took
us to a base in New Jersey. We then
took a bus to a commercial airport
where we were greeted by the Red
Cross - with warm, homecooked
meals, candy and stuffed animals -
and other friendly Americans who
were eager to hear about all the
details of our evacuation. It was one
of the most emotional days of my
life. I didn't think I had deserved
such treatment from our country's
national defense. Even though I
was enthralled by my country's
benevolence, I was also dismayed
by the fact that the majority of the
world's population does not have
the- same support. The thought
of leaving my family in Lebanon
vulnerable to raining bombshells
tormented me. Their government
couldn't provide their citizens with
any sense of security until the war
ended due to international inter-
vention 20 days later.
Because of the war, it had taken
my family and I over 72 hours, two
cars, one troop transport boat, one
Navy ship, two Air Force cargo
planes and one commercial flight
to get back home to Grosse Pointe,
Mich. Life returned to normal, but
I had a more profound appreciation
for both national security and the
ravages of war.
-Jessica Malouf is an LSA junior.
the acceptance of men in 1979
around the time of Title IX.
"Upon finding this informa-
tion, we realized what a rich his-
tory we have, and my hope is that
we can use this history to keep up
tradition and possiblyreintroduce
some traditions into the organiza-
tion," Mickey-Pabello said.
The groups' efforts to improve
the life of campus women, no mat-
ter how dated they seem, show
the determination of many over
the years to ensure females were
seen as equals and as assets to the
University.
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