(Canadian) Exodus

I saw it with my own eyes last night on the news and I can only shake my head in disbelief.

The first boat load of Canadians evacuated from Lebanon landed in Cyprus yesterday. Did we hear relief to be away from the war zone? A thanks to the Canadian government for getting them out? No. All we heard were complaints: no food, no water, cramped quarters, filthy bathrooms, no air conditioning...Wait a minute! No air conditioning?!?!!?! You were just rescued from a war zone and you're complaining that there was no air conditioning?!?!!? Do you think this was a Mediterranean cruise on a five star ship? Next you'll be complaining there wasn't a show on the Lido Deck to entertain you.

Okay. There were problems. The Canadian government hastily put this evacuation together. You were the first boatload to get out. Of course it's not going to run perfectly. Let the government officials know where the deficiencies were so that they can correct it for future boatloads. But don't rant about it. There was one women complaining and when someone, presumably a friend or relative, who mentioned that she should at least thank the Canadian government for getting her out. What did she do? She just walked away. How ungrateful is that? Given a choice, would you rather stay in Beirut until the Canadian government can bring up The Love Boat? Your advising people that are still in Beirut to find other ways to get home? Easy for you to say, you're on a plane heading back to Canada. I'm sure there are thousands still trapped that would have gladly taken your place.

Lets get back to what the first guy said. No food and no water for an eight hour trip that turned into a 16 hour voyage. Okay, there should have been food and water, even if it was an eight hour trip. It was reported that the reason it took 16 hours is that the Israeli Navy stopped the boat twice for at least two hours each time. Although, one person from the second boat said they were eating the same kind of sandwiches for the past two days. Again, a war zone. Be thankful you had anything to eat! I don't think the Canadian government had much time to get Wolfgang Puck to cater the war. Cramped quarters on the first boat? Well, there were 261 evacuees on a boat that normally carries 100. Do the math. Some people are going to have to sleep on the deck. Filthy bathrooms? I think you can blame your fellow refugees for not wiping the sink with their towellette after they were finished, for that one. No air conditioning? Why don't you just give yourself a shake!

Last night, the media reported that an estimated 50,000 Canadian citizens are in Lebanon, with 38,000 registered with the Canadian embassy to be evacuated. The largest group compared to any other nation. People were actually trying to climb the fence to get crammed onto these boats that don't have air conditioning. Meanwhile, the media showed a scene of American Marines coming in with their landing craft onto a Beirut beach and picking up American civilians to take to their ship. Didn't see any Americans complaining about getting into that boat.

At this point, I have to say that Spirit of the West got it wrong. We ARE NOT Far Too Canadian. People readily vilified the Canadian government for their handling of the evacuation. The only bright spot was someone that was interviewed for the CBC newscast actually thanking the Canadian government for getting them out. Yes, I did it. I gave kudos to the CBC.

Since this operation is going to cost a lot of money, then maybe government officials should start taking names and start billing the evacuees. Of course, they would get discounts if there was no food or water, just like on a no frills airline. Simply stated, I would rather it not come out of my pocket, because I'm just disgusted with the ungrateful evacuees that I saw interviewed last night on the news. And it was out there for all the world to see...and judge us by.

Wings Over The World