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Pomona College Magazine is published three times a year by Pomona College
550 N. College Ave, Claremont, CA 91711
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Q&A/ Hala Masri '07
Out of Beirut
When Hala Masri ’07 first visited her family’s homeland of
Lebanon, she was 5. The year was 1990; the civil war had just ended. The
Masri family has made the trek every five years or so since. This
summer, Masri and her mother were there when the fighting broke out
between Israeli troops and Hezbollah guerrillas. With the assistance of
U.S. Marines on an evacuation that took them from Beirut to Cyprus then
Ireland and finally to Baltimore, the family safely returned to their
San Gabriel, Calif., home.
“Since the civil war ended in 1990, there hasn’t been a lot of instances
like this,” says Masri, a public policy major. “Every time we’ve gone
down, it
has never even crossed our mind. Hopefully this will resolve something.”
Where were you when Israeli military strikes began July 19?
“I was sleeping and did not hear anything, but my mother did hear the
bombs hitting the airport. … We were staying in Beirut. I was
volunteering with
a group called Future Youth. Usually we stay with our family in the
mountains.
Once the bombings happened, we went to stay with my uncles at their
house up in
the mountains.”
 What was your reaction to the bombings?
“Disappointment. In the last 15 years after the end of the war, Lebanon
had made so much progress. The country was almost rebuilt, and now all
that work
has been destroyed. I often wonder how much destruction and
discouragement can
one nation face.”
How did the people in Beirut react?
“The country has experienced a lot of war. Because of past experience,
they knew exactly what to do. The streets were empty. There was no one
walking in the streets of Beirut. If this happened in the U.S., I don’t think
we’d know
what to do so quickly, especially without government instruction.”
How were you and your mother able to leave the country?
“My sisters here (in California) contacted the state department. The
U.S. Embassy in Lebanon was evacuating thousands of people. The
evacuation process was long and tiring. I do not like to complain about
it because I do not feel like I have the right to. However, it was
physically and psychologically challenging. A lot of people, including
myself, could not handle the stress and the fatigue. It was easy to
surrender emotionally to the situation.”
How did you feel leaving?
“You’re leaving your family at a time of war. I’m going back to the
comforts of the U.S. But the price of food had shot up. The price of gas
had shot up. So we had become a financial burden. It was a lot of mixed
feelings. Evacuation is stressful. Thinking about your family.”
What is it like for you watching from here?
“In a way, it was good to be there. When you see the news here, all you
see is bombing, bombing, bombing. The bombings are concentrated on the
infrastructure and areas where Hezbollah possesses strongholds.”
What would you like to see happen in Lebanon?
“Being in Lebanon, I was able to see the complexity of the politics
because I directly saw the negative effects of both Israel and Hezbollah
on Lebanon. Definitely, Hezbollah, that wants to make the country an
Islamic Shiite state, will only harm Lebanon.
“What will happen to people who do not agree with Hezbollah, which
includes other Shiites, Sunnis, Christians (who make up 40 percent),
Druze and other ethnic groups that live in Lebanon? Hezbollah also wants
to rid the Middle East of the state of Israel, which will only result in
more death and hatred. “Concurrently, Israel’s attempts at controlling
Lebanon have led to countless deaths this summer and also in the past. I
don’t think either group is good for Lebanon, mostly because this is the
same story that has haunted Lebanon its entire history. Other countries
fight their battles on Lebanon’s land. The French, English, Syrians,
Israelis and the Turks have all occupied Lebanon. The U.S. military has
also entered Lebanon twice.
“Most Lebanese want their independence. Technically, Lebanon is an
independent state, but it’s very much controlled by Syria and other
forces right now.”
-- Interview by Jill Walker Robinson |
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