Monday, July 17, 2006

Update one from Saida Lebanon

Saturday July 15, 2006

Dear all,

I just wanted to let you know that we are still okay. My family and I are all staying put and doing okay so far.

We barely slept for few hours last night, when we were woken up with planes roaming the skies above our heads and anti-aircraft artillery. We sat in the darkness as the electricity was still out listening and waiting to see what will happen. I also heard a helicopter flying over head. After a while, the planes raided few locations, the Zahrani bridge, the Hissbe (the major bulk grocery storage area), and few gas stations just on the southeastern entrance of the city (Saida - Sidon) and the western entrance of the Ein El Helwe refugee camp.

Now we are still hearing the planes flying overhead. They have been bombing many locations around the country with heavy artillery against villages on the southern border.
The Israelis so far have not been able to enter Aita al-Shaab to recover the tank that was exploded by Hizbullah and the bodies of the soldiers that were killed in the original operation (this is a main indication that the operation did take place on Lebanese soil, not that in my opinion it would ever be an illegitimate operation, but still the media has been saying that it was inside 'Israel' thus an aggression first started by Hizbullah).

Last night they told the villagers of Al-Marwahiyya, a village near Aita Al-Shaab to leave within two hours. Villagers went to hide in the UNFIL's base. The French group refused to let them in. They went to the other base near the village and the Fijians after many negotiations took their names and sent them back to stay in mosques and in husayniyya (which seems to be a death sentence given that Israel bombed a husayniyya near Baakbeck two days ago).

It is really crazy times we are witnessing where all this aggression and collective punishment is done against Palestinians and now Lebanese with no voice, no condemnation from anywhere. It is crazy times when our own f****ing governments absolve themselves from any responsibility towards our people. It is true as Sayyed Hassan said, the resistance has never relied on these governments. Our only support is the Palestinian and Lebanese people and Iran and Syria. In the history of the struggle with Israel, no one was every able to take down an Israeli battleship. Sayyid Hassan's statement reassured many of us, but the battle by all expectations will be long. I fear for internal strife inside Lebanon and the future of our resistance. There is no option but to resist and stay strong.

Zeina

(These are images of the destruction of the Awali bridge, the main entrance to the city from Beirut, that we took on Thursday evening)