Lebanese say they feel forgotten by international community

Published: 2006-07-20

FORDS, N.J. (CNS) -- As foreigners evacuated and destruction continued in Lebanon, Lebanese said they felt forgotten by the international community. Speaking by phone July 19 from Byblos, Lebanon, Maronite Father Toufic Bou Hadir said: "We need prayers. We need help, help, help." On normal summer days, the beaches of Byblos, an ancient coastal village north of Beirut, are teeming with local residents and tourists. During the Israeli airstrikes in Lebanon, thousands of displaced Lebanese from the south and Beirut sought refuge in Byblos, which was bombed twice the weekend of July 15-16. Father Bou Hadir said it seemed like "no one from the international community -- especially the countries we think of as our friends, especially the United States -- is doing anything." "They say: Never mind, let the fire go on," he said. "You have Iran and Syria on one side, and Israel on the other. They are making their war on Lebanon. Poor Lebanon is paying the price for the others' war," he said.

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