Post by IQ on Jul 21, 2006 22:10:01 GMT -5
Locals Visiting Family In Lebanon Escape
WCCO) Dassel, Minn. Tony and Terry Saber have a home not only in Dassel, Minn., but also in the northern suburbs of Beirut. The Sabers and their good friends, the Klevens, were vacationing in Lebanon and spending time with family. They had been there only a week when they saw the trouble beginning to develop.
"One night looking out we could see the bombs going off. It was then I thought we need to leave," said Keith Kleven.
Immediately, they knew they had to come up with a plan to get back to America.
"The country was blockaded by air, land and sea. The best way was to go to Syria. The more complications," said Tony Saber.
Early Saturday morning, the two couples and the Sabers' daughter headed north for the Syrian border. The plan was to head from Syria to Cypress and ultimately end up in Europe, where they could then find a flight back to Minnesota.
"From the moment we left home, we didn't know what the next hour would bring," said Tony Saber.
They made it to Syria, but discovered no ships were leaving for Cypress anytime soon. They continued the taxi cab drive on to Turkey, where they finally got a flight out of the troubled area.
Tony Saber says they are grateful to be home after four nerve-wracking days of uncertainty.
"We were watched from above, everything went fine," he said.
Both families say they were upset that France, Germany, Canada and other countries all got their citizens out of Lebanon immediately, whereas the U.S. government's response was much slower, nor was the U.S. embassy very helpful.
The Sabers' family members in Lebanon weren't even that lucky. The Sabers say it's near impossible to get a U.S. visa for a Lebanese national because of the past and present political situations, so they had no choice but to leave them behind.
wcco.com/local/local_story_201005227.html
Video can be seen from the new program at the below link.
www.wcco.com/video/?id=18456@wcco.dayport.com
WCCO) Dassel, Minn. Tony and Terry Saber have a home not only in Dassel, Minn., but also in the northern suburbs of Beirut. The Sabers and their good friends, the Klevens, were vacationing in Lebanon and spending time with family. They had been there only a week when they saw the trouble beginning to develop.
"One night looking out we could see the bombs going off. It was then I thought we need to leave," said Keith Kleven.
Immediately, they knew they had to come up with a plan to get back to America.
"The country was blockaded by air, land and sea. The best way was to go to Syria. The more complications," said Tony Saber.
Early Saturday morning, the two couples and the Sabers' daughter headed north for the Syrian border. The plan was to head from Syria to Cypress and ultimately end up in Europe, where they could then find a flight back to Minnesota.
"From the moment we left home, we didn't know what the next hour would bring," said Tony Saber.
They made it to Syria, but discovered no ships were leaving for Cypress anytime soon. They continued the taxi cab drive on to Turkey, where they finally got a flight out of the troubled area.
Tony Saber says they are grateful to be home after four nerve-wracking days of uncertainty.
"We were watched from above, everything went fine," he said.
Both families say they were upset that France, Germany, Canada and other countries all got their citizens out of Lebanon immediately, whereas the U.S. government's response was much slower, nor was the U.S. embassy very helpful.
The Sabers' family members in Lebanon weren't even that lucky. The Sabers say it's near impossible to get a U.S. visa for a Lebanese national because of the past and present political situations, so they had no choice but to leave them behind.
wcco.com/local/local_story_201005227.html
Video can be seen from the new program at the below link.
www.wcco.com/video/?id=18456@wcco.dayport.com