Washington, DC – Karam, a U.S. citizen stranded in Lebanon, says she feels like she doesn’t matter to the U.S. government.
Lebanon faces relentless Israeli bombardment – part of a US-backed campaign that has killed hundreds and displaced more than a million people, according to the United Nations.
However, in recent days the conflict has intensified, with the Israeli army launching a ground invasion into southern Lebanon.
On Monday, Karam called the U.S. Embassy in Beirut for help fleeing the violence. But she said she was asked to find a way to leave the country herself.
Karam, who chose to be identified by her nickname for fear of reprisals, drew a contrast with how the US State Department quickly chartered special flights and a ship to evacuate US citizens in Israel after the Hamas attack on October 7 last year.
“Americans of Lebanese origin have been treated as inferior American citizens to Israeli American citizens. It’s like we don’t exist,” Karam told Tel Aviv Tribune.
A flight
On Wednesday, President Joe Biden’s administration announced it had contracted its first flight to evacuate American citizens from Beirut to Istanbul, nine days after the start of the Israeli offensive in Lebanon.
State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said the flight carried 100 U.S. citizens, a fraction of the nearly 6,000 Americans who contacted the U.S. Embassy for information and assistance.
Miller said the U.S. administration hoped to arrange more flights, but added he would not announce them because they might not materialize “for whatever reason.”
He also said the U.S. government would rely on commercial airlines to fill any unmet demand. “We have been working to make seats available or to find seats available on existing commercial flights,” he said.
However, in past conflicts, including the 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah, Israeli forces have bombed the runways of Beirut airport.
And in recent days, the Israeli military has carried out air raids just blocks from the airport, raising concerns about the security of civil aviation in the country.
Since September 23, all foreign airlines have canceled their flights to Lebanon, leaving Middle East Airlines (MEA) as the only airline departing from Beirut International Airport.
MEA offers around 30 daily flights to destinations in Europe and the Middle East – far from meeting the growing demand from people looking to leave Lebanon.
Prices have also risen due to the crisis. For example, on Wednesday, the next available MEA flight to Istanbul was on October 27, priced at $310 one way. The other flights are full.
“Bombs everywhere”
Last week, Rep. Rashida Tlaib, who represents a large Lebanese community in Michigan, accused the U.S. government of failing its citizens abroad.
“Our residents keep booking these ‘available flights,’ and they get canceled repeatedly, and guess what? The cost of airfare for the only commercial flight available is $8,000,” she wrote in a social media post.
Our residents keep booking these “available flights”, and they get canceled repeatedly, and guess what? The cost of airfare for the only commercial flight available is $8,000. When I told @StateDept Regarding the cost barrier, their answer is “we will give them a loan”.
– Rashida Tlaib (@RashidaTlaib) September 28, 2024
Karam, originally from southern Lebanon, now resides in the mountainous area east of Beirut, which has been largely untouched by Israeli attacks.
But she said she was afraid to travel within the country or visit her son in the capital because Israel can bomb anything, anywhere and at any time.
While Israel has focused its airstrikes on southern Lebanon, as well as the eastern Bekaa Valley and the Beirut suburb of Dahiyeh, bombs have targeted other areas, including within the borders of the capital.
“Israel says it follows Hezbollah, but it drops bombs everywhere,” Karam said.
“The innocent populations of the south and Dahiyeh have paid the price. And we don’t know how long people will be displaced.”
The U.S. Embassy in Beirut posted notices calling for people to leave and set up a form to request help, but many people who filled out the form said they received no response beyond the instructions accessible to the public.
“Reflection” of American politics
Kamal Makki, a Michigan resident, said his father was stuck in Lebanon after his flight was canceled. Meanwhile, the country was being bombed.
His father received no help from the U.S. government to escape the violence, Makki added.
“Yes, commercial flights are available, but they are not accessible to everyone. There are only a limited number of people who can fly, so you have to wait and see when it is your turn – and if your flight is not cancelled,” he said.
Makki’s father, a U.S. citizen, was visiting family in Lebanon when the conflict with Israel escalated. On Tuesday, after days of waiting, he was finally able to get a flight to Baghdad, but during his layover, flights from Iraq were canceled due to the Iranian missile attack on Israel. Now it’s stuck again.
As Israel escalates its attacks in the region, critics say the U.S. government must engage in a serious effort to evacuate its citizens in Lebanon by land and sea, as it did for Americans in Israel in October last year.
Makki said the Biden administration was not treating Arab Americans fairly: “It was always thought that the lives of Israelis were more important than the lives of Arabs. »
Abed Ayoub, executive director of the American-Arab Committee Against Discrimination, said Americans stranded in Lebanon are experiencing confusion because of poor communication from the U.S. embassy.
He also argued that a single evacuation flight is far from enough, and stressed that the United States has the capacity and know-how to send enough flights and ships to evacuate its citizens.
“It reflects American foreign policy and American priorities, and Arab Americans and Muslim Americans are at the bottom of both of those lists,” Ayoub told Tel Aviv Tribune.
Other countries appear to have been more proactive in helping their citizens in Lebanon. Canada said Monday it had reserved 800 seats on commercial flights for its nationals in Lebanon, while Germany organized two evacuation flights that transferred 240 people out of the country.
Murder of Kamel Jawad
As Israel expands the scale of its bombing in Lebanon, advocates say more American citizens will be in danger. The Israeli campaign has already targeted roads and residential buildings – many of which house displaced civilians.
On Tuesday, for example, an Israeli bombing killed Kamel Jawad, a longtime Michigan resident.
“Our understanding is that this was a lawful permanent resident, not a U.S. citizen, but we obviously extend our deepest condolences to the family for their loss,” Miller, the spokesperson, said Wednesday. of the State Department, when asked about the incident.
But Jawad was not just a U.S. resident, but a U.S. citizen, according to his family. His daughter Nadine said he was killed in the southern Lebanese town of Nabatieh while helping elderly and displaced people.
“My father’s actions are part of a much larger movement of people who refuse to remain silent in the face of oppression,” she said in a statement.
“His life is one of more than 50,000 people lost to Israeli aggression across the Middle East. The fact that he was an American citizen should not make his story more important than the others. As Muslims, we believe that every life matters. If my father’s story strikes you, so should all the other civilians murdered by the Israeli regime.”
Ayoub, of the Arab American Anti-Discrimination Committee, said Jawad was a pillar of Michigan’s Arab American community: revered, respected and loved by all.
“He was a mentor to many. He gave back to the community. He was there for everyone. He raised an incredible family,” Ayoub said of Jawad.
He added that Miller’s “smug” and dismissive remarks highlight the administration’s views on Arabs and Arab Americans.
“It’s like they are intentionally trying to see our people killed, intentionally minimizing us and dehumanizing us,” he said.
