Evacuees arriving in Atlanta

[Kathryn41 3,205]

I thought you might be interested in this story in today's Atlanta Journal Constitution .

"Delta flies Lebanon evacuees from Cyprus to Atlanta

By JEFFRY SCOTT

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Published on: 07/24/06

They arrived to cheers from Delta Air Lines volunteers at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in the wee hours Sunday, weary after a 13-hour flight delivered them from escalating violence in Lebanon.

About 160 people came home Sunday on a flight from Cyprus, part of larger group of about 2,000 Americans the U.S. military evacuated from Lebanon a day earlier.

POUYA DIANAT/AJC

(ENLARGE)

Deborah Ghandour of Jacksonville embraces her brother-in-law, Anthony Ghandour, of Los Angeles, after he and other members of their family arrived from Lebanon. More photos

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After arriving, Fred Belman, 37, thrust his fist into the air just after midnight as a row of TV cameras recorded the scene.

"I want to thank Delta Air Lines for helping us get out," he said. "Without them, we'd still be stuck."

Others had trouble shaking the trauma of the last 12 days. Southern Lebanon has been devastated by airstrikes in the fighting between Israel and the militant group Hezbollah.

"It was terrible, it was terrible," said Nihal Wehbi, 47. "You could hear the bombs coming ... and then you waited to see what happened next, and then there was the explosion. You never knew where they would hit or how close. I had a nightmare about it on the airplane."

Wehbi and a dozen relatives had planned a six-week vacation in Lebanon. When the conflict began, they sought desperately to leave.

Delta flew the group for free from Cyprus, an island nation in the Mediterranean Sea, to Atlanta, said spokeswoman Gina Laughlin. In addition, the airline offered a 50 percent discount to people making connections, such as Wehbi, who lives in Los Angeles. She planned to get some sleep before flying home.

Delta arranged two nights of free lodging at the InterContinental Hotel in Buckhead for the travelers whose schedules had been upended by the fighting.

Belman and his family — wife, Eaman, 34, and sons Omar, 13, and Dena, 8 — have lived in Lebanon for three years. After fighting broke out and Beirut was targeted, they decided to stay with friends in Atlanta while trying to figure out their next step.

"We had to get out of Beirut," Belman said. "It was not safe anymore."

The Belmans were among nearly 2,000 people evacuated Saturday from Lebanon aboard the USS Trenton. In all, about 10,000 Americans have been evacuated. U.S. Consul William Gill said Sunday that U.S. evacuation efforts were nearly complete.

The trip from Lebanon to Cyprus took about 15 hours. Anthony Ghandour, 40, arrived in Cyprus aboard the USS Nashville three days ago with two sisters, a niece and a cousin. The ship was so crowded with evacuees that Ghandour and his family slept on the deck.

In Lebanon, Ghandour said, he and his family could see smoke from the burning airport in Beirut, and he worried about his mother and father who live there and stayed behind. "My heart goes out to them."

On Sunday, Ghandour wore a gray T-shirt emblazoned with the name of the Nashville, the ship that took him to safety.

"It's the best feeling in the world to be back," Ghandour said. "Hats off to the U.S. Marines and the Navy personnel. They were great."

— The Associated Press contributed to this article."

[tnh9479 1]

Thanks for the good news story. I am glad to see people are getting back to the States safely.

Twila

[PalestineMyHeart 1,897]

Major props to Delta. Their leadership shows true American spirit and compassion !

[iceyspots 0]

good luck for them getting through that POE ?

heard they werent nice to muslims.