'We hear every bomb that falls'

Taking refuge in an area near downtown Beirut, Lebanon, IU student Huda Fakhreddine listens as just miles away in the city's southern suburbs bombs continue to blast away at the nearby Hezbollah power base and at the country's infrastructure. \nFakhreddine said his location is not too close in proximity to any terrorist or army bases -- his family presumed it to be safe. Their perceptions were changed a few days ago when he said an area just a short distance away was rocked. \n"It is very hard to know where is safe and where is not at the moment," he said in an e-mail. "The area I am in now is full of people who have fled from the southern suburb of Beirut and from the villages of the south. You can see people on the streets with no place to stay -- children and old people. It is very tragic." \nEntering the 13th day of Israel's offensive against the Lebanon-based terrorist group of Hezbollah, several IU students staying in the country during the summer are getting a firsthand experience of being in a war zone as they seek cover from the bombardment and try to stay out of harm's way. \nLike Fakhreddine, IU student Loubna El Amine has also been staying in the relative safety of downtown Beirut since the war started. He said this is an area that has thus far avoided being directly targeted, but he remains cautious as he said it might not stay that way. \n"We prefer to stay here," he said via e-mail. "Though we are ready to leave to the mountains or the north to friends' houses if the violence escalates in Beirut." \nStaying at home with his family, El Amine said he is worried about the safety of his other relatives who have not managed to evacuate the bomb-stricken areas of southern Lebanon. \n"My paternal grandmother has been stuck from the beginning of the bombings in the village of Shakra, which is further south and very close to the borders with Israel, and hence a very dangerous place to be now," he said. "We still can find no way of bringing her to Beirut." \nUnlike many others who have been held up in dangerous regions of the country, IU Student Katrin Jomaa managed to escape Beirut's southern suburb of Haret Hreik -- an area that's has been the target of concentrated air strikes -- and is now in a safer region near the city. \n"My (old) area is now almost like a deserted land," she said in a e-mail. "The destruction is immense; bridges, infrastructure, power plants, gas plants, houses, civilians." \nWith Israel's missiles continuing to hit the areas around Beirut, the IU students said they have seen much of the destruction up close, as well as on constant reports from the media. \n"You cannot imagine the horror we see every day on the news," Fakhreddine said. "We see pictures on the news from time to time of (my original) village (in the south). Many houses have been bombed and torn down. It is very hard to recognize the place, and we know that there are some people there who couldn't get out." \nEl Amine said because of the fear of attacks, his family is restricted to a small area around his house. He said except for some grocery stores, most shops have been closed as people are stockpiling food and necessities before supplies run out, causing large inflation for their prices. \nAs many international organizations and world leaders are calling the situation in Lebanon a humanitarian crisis that may get worse before it gets better, the IU students echoed these claims as they said food and aid cannot enter and the people in Lebanon cannot get out. \n"I don't know when and if I can leave the country now; it is closed by sea, land and air," Jomma said. "The Israeli monsters completely destroyed our airport and most of our sea ports and they keep bombing the land exits." \nThe attitude of holding Israel responsible for the recent conflict and destruction in Lebanon was a prevalent theme among the three students. \n"The Israeli government's reaction is totally out of proportion to the actual or potential harm inflicted on Israel," El Amine said. "But it is also misdirected, as the bombings have been targeting innocent civilians -- even as they flee from the attacks on their houses -- ambulances, food manufacturers and basic infrastructure." \nJomma agreed Israel has taken their actions too far and in effect is "massacring" innocent Lebanese civilians. She also stressed how many in Lebanon do not think of Hezbollah as a terrorist group -- as Israel and the U.S. Department of State do -- and instead justify the organization's actions out of neccesity by the way Israel is responding. \n"Hezbollah of course doesn't have the military power of Israel," she said. "Hezbollah mainly fights with (its) soldiers ... their bodies and their strong belief in justice and in never being humiliated by big powers and in their freedom as all Lebanese are. And that's why everyone in Lebanon is supporting Hezbollah." \nThe students also said they extended responsibility for the escalating violence to foreign governments, the United States and the international media for not doing enough to broker peace in the region. El Amine said most foreign media outlets are showing "a stark bias for Israel" and not paying enough attention to the plight or devastation occurring people in Lebanon. \n"I also cannot in any way comprehend how most foreign governments, especially the U.S. Government, have not worked to stop the war," El Amine said. "But have instead worked on evacuating their own citizens, leaving us to watch them leave safely, while nothing is done to protect our lives and livelihood." \nWith current estimates up to 300 total killed on both sides during the two weeks of fighting, and as anticipation rises of an upcoming limited Israeli ground invasion into Lebanon, the IU students were not optimistic a peaceful outcome will come about anytime soon. \n"A week has passed and there is talk that we are in for a more violent week to come," Fakhreddine said. "No one knows how long this will continue. But as I (said) each and every day, many many people are dying"