Yet more people tired of waiting in Beirut
More stories are surfacing of people who have given up waiting for their country's government to help them, and are taking matters into their own hands. Usually, for astounding amounts of money.
Law.com - Lawyers in Padilla Case Hop a Freighter Out of Beirut:
Three defense attorneys in a Miami terrorism case who were trapped in war-torn Beirut while interviewing witnesses got tired of waiting for the U.S. Marines to evacuate them. So they hitched a ride on a Norwegian freighter.
The attorneys -- Orlando do Campo of the federal public defender's office in Miami, Andrew Patel of New York City and William Swor of Detroit -- along with an Arabic-speaking interpreter they hired arrived in Cyprus on July 19 and caught flights home the next day.
"I'm just glad we didn't wait for the Marines," Patel said in an interview from home Friday. "I don't see why the U.S. government couldn't just bring a boat into the harbor like all the other countries did. Most other countries, like Thailand and Bulgaria, found simpler ways to get their people out."
The four men were among an estimated 25,000 Americans trapped in Lebanon when Israeli forces began bombing Hezbollah targets there July 12. The United States has drawn criticism for not coordinating rescue operations for its citizens as quickly as other countries did.