UA professor returns safely from Beirut
Posted on Wednesday, July 19, 2006
URL: http://www.nwanews.com/nwat/News/42927/
University of Arkansas professor Adnan Haydar said he took many risks getting out of Lebanon. Haydar, a professor of Arabic and comparative literature, arrived back in the United States on Monday evening and held a press conference Tuesday morning on the University of Arkansas campus to talk about his journey.
In Lebanon for business, Haydar said he decided to risk the dangerous escape when the bombing started.
“ I took several chances, ducking at times to avoid being shot at, ” he said.
His brother drove Haydar and his two nieces to the border of Syria. After several hours at the overcrowded border, Haydar said, the three of them finally made it to Jordan.
“ The three of us had a very lucky escape, ” he said. “ We knew people who were able to help. Many Americans don’t have this kind of help we were able to get. ”
Haydar said he is worried about his American friends in Lebanon and angry with the American Embassy for not evacuating sooner.
“ Now the Israelis have bombed all of the sea ports. I don’t know how they will do it now, ” he said. “ You would think the U. S. has influence over the Israelis and could tell them to stop while they bring their ships in, but I don’t think they’re listening anymore.
“ Maybe they’ve created a Frankenstein and can’t control it anymore. ”
Haydar said he brings 60 to 70 students from the University of Arkansas to Lebanon each summer to study Arabic. This year, he inexplicably canceled the program.
“ I had a premonition, ” he said. “ I’m very grateful I did. ”
During the attacks, Haydar said, he was in a building located half a mile from a suburb of Beirut where the Hezbollah are concentrated.
“ The area has been under attack on a daily basis, ” he said. On Saturday, it was every five minutes.
There are bombs raining from planes and missiles coming from the sea, he said, and they each make different sounds.
“ I became an expert at knowing which was which, ” he said.
Haydar said he was with three American women, there to get certified to teach English. They became close and ate their meals together and tried to stay calm, he said. One woman was so scared, he said, she broke into tears every time a bomb went off.
After Saturday night, Haydar knew it was time to try and get out of the country.
“ I knew I could get out somehow, ” he said. “ When, I wasn’t sure of. ”
Haydar’s brother made the risky drive to the border — a trip that three hours longer than normal — and had to turn around and go back through the dangerous territory.
“ I spoke to him this morning and he is safe, ” he said. His brother lives in the mountain village of Brummana.
“ There are areas of Lebanon that are safe, ” he said. “ Those in those areas are the lucky ones. ”
Haydar said he has been in contact with University of Arkansas student Nadine Sinno throughout the ordeal. Sinno, 28, left for Beirut to visit family in early May and is due to return to Fayetteville on Aug. 8 to start classes. She is pursuing a doctoral degree in comparative literature.
“ Nadine is fine, ” he said. “ She’s trying to figure out a way to leave. ”
Because Sinno is not a U. S. citizen and only has a student visa, U. S. Embassy officials in Beirut have said there is nothing they can do.
Her fiancé and friends have appealed to congressman and anyone else they think might be able to help.
She is aware of the effort people are making here to help get her out of Lebanon, Haydar said. He applauds the efforts of congressmen, he said, but if the American government doesn’t make a move, they won’t be able to do anything for her.
Sinno is also worried about leaving her mother, he said.
Another student of Haydar’s, Sarah Gibson, was also in Beirut before the attacks started. She arrived on July 7, he said, and was there two days before he was able to help her get to Jordan.
The situation is very sad, Haydar said. Southern Beirut has no electricity or water and it is dangerous to get food and medicine to them.
“ It’s getting worse by the hour, ” he said.
Many of the Lebanese are blaming the Hezbollah, Haydar said.
“ Most Lebanese believe they had no right to make such unilateral action and bring about such devastation on Lebanon, ” he said.
Hezbollah militants seized two Israeli soldiers on July 12, sparking an Israeli military assault on Lebanon.
The Israeli reaction has been unbelievable, he said. This is not a war, he said, but one country having the upper hand.
“ They’ve unloaded every weapon of destruction you can imagine, ” he said. “ They’ve destroyed a country that for the past 20 years has slowly tried to rebuild since the civil war. They’ve spent $ 40 billion on infrastructure that has been destroyed again. ”