Part 4: Evacuation from Tripoli

Part 4, Please read Parts 1, 2 and 3 before reading this entry.

                Inside the airport, the scene was subdued, the walls were grey, and the florescent lights made most things appear dull and drab. The temperature was very hot and the mass of people in the enclosed area raised the humidity making everything feel damp. The airport terminal was old and everything was worn or broken. Yet the walls also delineated the space and created a certain sense of security. Here, the airport staff was able to more or less control the crowd. There were long lines, but sometimes they moved, and some people were able to check in, get boarding passes, and then pass through to the boarding area. There was some progress and there was limited hope. No one wished to return to the outside.

We left this semidarkness and security to break out into the bright sunlight, deep blue sky, and the brisk fresh Libyan air and to the area outside the terminal. As far as we could see, people were crowding to the airport: men wearing tunics carrying great big boxes and huge blankets, ladies all in black with only their eyes peering through slits, other ladies with heads covered and tiny babies. It was as if the whole world were gathering here for some big announcement. The crowd easily tripled since we had gone in at about noon. Inside the airport, although seemingly chaotic and claustrophobic, there was sense of finite space and boundaries. Outside, the mass of humanity was immense.  It was like entering another dimension. I felt like those people in TV show Stargate, who step through a barrier into another planet in another universe. The outside was incredible; So many people spreading out as far as we could see!

Everywhere we looked, there were individuals holding up flags of different countries.  People were flocking to the flags. Laughing and hugging as they discovered friends and fellow countrymen. Katyann was amazing. Even at the age of six, she could easily identify more flags than I could. She knew the Egyptian flag, the Dutch flag, the Italian flag and many others. It was fun to see what countries we could identify. We searched for the American flag, it was no where to be seen. Our friend asked us about the American evacuation plan. I knew very little of their plans. Only a couple of days earlier at a special staff meeting, they had insisted that everything was fine.

We found one of my students with her parents. They were waiting outside to hear if they were going to get a flight. The company that had brought them to Tripoli was trying to evacuate them. They were hoping to hear soon that they would be leaving. It was great to see another familiar face. We laughed and shared our experiences. We had brought chocolates that were shared and enjoyed. I told my student she should expect twice the homework now that we were going to miss a few days. Being with friends in the bright sunshine was very pleasant. Surrounded by thousands, we were together in our own world. Things just felt better.

Our friend from the UN would not leave the airport until he knew his wife’s plane had taken off. We left Lenore and Katyann with our friends from the school to put our bags in his car. I returned to my family but our benefactor wished to check and see if his wife’s plane had departed. He returned to say that he had seen a group from the United States. I left with him hurriedly to meet up with my fellow country members. I assumed that the embassy staff was here like so many other nations, trying to help their citizens evacuate the country. Hopefully, they had arranged for a plane and soon my family and I would be joining the other teachers from the school on our way out of Libya to safety.

We saw two white vans. As we approached, several of my students let out a yell. It was great to see them all sitting in the van. My friend from the UN quickly asked who is in charge. An American I had never seen before said “I am”. We rushed up to him and I said “I am from the school”. He looked at me confused and said “What school?”. I told him that I was from the American School of Tripoli and that I had been staying there with the other teachers. He appeared not to know about the American School or the teachers. When I saw the two vans I had hoped that they were there to rescue my family. I had mistakenly believed that the vans and the embassy staff had been at the airport to provide assistance like the flag waving representatives of the other countries. In reality they were in the same situation as my family and the thousands of others trying to get out of Libya. They were probably just as lost and confused as I was. I suppose they had arrived at the airport expecting a plane that probably couldn’t land or was canceled just like mine. Feeling a little befuddled and embarrassed, I started to retreat.

The parent of one of my students came out of the van and greeted me. She explained that they had hoped to leave but that it did not look like they were going to be able to. She said that they were working on a plan. She said that they might get a ferryboat and that they were working on it as we spoke. I told her good luck and not to forget the teachers still at the American school. After this brief conversation, I said I needed to get back to my family and started away.

I left preoccupied for several reasons. First, I was concerned that the US Embassy did not seem to be any better informed than I was about the situation at the airport or even in the rest of the country of Libya. I was concerned that if the embassy staff had gotten their flight, what would have been the level of the US embassy concern for the teachers still stuck in the school? To some extent we teachers believed that the US embassy was looking out for us. At least that is what they had told us at a staff meeting. We had been informed a few days earlier that although we were not their official priority, the US embassy and the school had a special relationship and we would be part of their plans. Also, I thought, if they were just now, at this point, looking into arranging a ferry to evacuate, it could easily be several days before that could transpire. All the teachers, and most importantly my family could be in real danger.

Walking away, almost instantly, I began to feel guilty. I realized that I was so preoccupied with my own situation and that of my family, I had not spoken to my students. In this huge mass of humanity, I had come across my students, brushed past them, interrogated the Embassy officer, talked briefly to a parent and left without interacting with the students. Surely, they were probably concerned and interested in my situation. I should have stopped and found out how they were doing.  In all the other occasions it had been so gratifying even to talk with someone who spoke my own language. Of all the people I had come in contact with that day, my interactions with the embassy staff and students were the most fleeting, the most dissatisfying, and most surreal. We had met briefly, the interactions incomplete, leaving me with a deepening sense of insecurity.

Returning, I was glad to see my wife. I was glad to see my baby girl. We hugged. And even though I had real trepidations about our future, it was great to be with my family. The student and her family that we had bonded with earlier were like old friends. We chatted and joked. It was as if my encounter with the embassy had never happened. I was looking forward to getting back to the school and being with the rest of the staff at the school. I felt I needed to warn them that flights were going to be very difficult and that there were no guarantees, even if they had a purchased ticket. Also, I needed to tell them that we needed to stick together. The airport was too dangerous if you were by yourself. The US embassy ferryboat evacuation seemed a little sketchy and not too sure at that point.

Stay tuned for Part 5 for the exciting conclusion to this story.

February 22, Trip to the Airport Part 3

Please Read parts 1 & 2 before reading part 3

My family, I knew, was huddled on the floor amongst the mass of people waiting for me to tell them which gate was ours. My wife was storing up her energy for what we knew was going to be another struggle. We would have to match our will against the masses of others fighting for a spot on every plane that was to take off that day. Every counter for every airline seemed to have a line of passengers at least a hundred people long waiting to get their boarding passes. Moments earlier, I had stood besides my family; listening to my daughter ask my wife if we were going to be OK and if we were going to be able to leave.  They had both cried; Lenore, asking Katyann to pray. I had left them with renewed commitment to find which check in counter was ours for the flight we had purchased on the internet the day before.  Now, I was contemplating how to tell them that our flight had been cancelled and that we would be back on our own in the bright Libyan sun in the middle of a civil war searching for a way back to where the rest of the teachers were hiding and awaiting their fate.

As I pulled myself together to tell Lenore about our cancelled flight and that we would probably need to walk back along the road to find a taxi back to our school, I heard the lady next to me speaking English. I asked her and found out that she truly had a ticket to leave; to what country wasn’t important. Once out of Libya, it would be much simpler for her to find a way home. What was important to me was that she was at the airport aided by her driver. She offered to have him drive us back to our school where the rest of the teachers were still waiting. Now, I had something better to tell my wife than the fact that we were stranded at the airport.

I made my way back to where my family waited. I explained the situation. We had never given up hope that our flight would be one of the ones that would eventually take off. The news that our flight was cancelled took the hope right out of us just like letting the air running out of a balloon. As soon as we entered the airport and could find someone to speak English we had discovered that many if not most flights were being canceled and that even the remaining flights scheduled for early that morning had been delayed by several hours. What we should have anticipated, the cancelation of our flight; should not have been such a surprise. Yet we had never doubted that we would eventually be on a plane, out of Libya, and back to a more normal world. We pulled it together because we needed to be strong for Katyann.

As I was pointing out the American lady to Lenore, I noticed a tall blond woman across the airport from where we were standing waiting in another line. It didn’t seem possible but it appeared to be the business manager from our school. We had thought that she had left days earlier, but there she was waiting in line, almost reaching the counter. I called out to her just to make sure. Again, the struggle to reach her across the crowded room began. When we could finally talk, she told a similar story to that of many in the room: flights cancelled and several return trips to the airport. She was waiting inline with her two children and husband. He was staying. He worked for the United Nations and had been through these evacuations so many times he could hardly remember all the countries. Still he was just as concerned as I was about getting his family to safety. Experience had taught him how quickly and unexpectedly things can change. 

We were glad to see each other in this sea of humanity, but she was obviously concerned for my safety and the safety of the other teachers still at the school. With familiar faces came new energy. Her husband offered to take us back to the school. This was great because he knew exactly where the school was and his connections with the UN made maneuvering around Tripoli so much easier. We waited another twenty minutes to make sure that she and her daughters made it through the gate to the boarding area. We imagined that beyond this gate was a simple matter of continuing to the gate area to await the take off of the plane. We would learn later that each new room brought another mass of people and another wait and struggle.

Our United Nations connection did not want to leave the airport until he was sure that his wife’s plane had gotten in the air. He also thought it would be best if we got out of the country as soon as possible. He insisted that I go check at the airline offices to see if I could get a ticket on a different flight while he stayed with Lenore and Katyann. Leaving the check in area meant that I would have to argue my way back into that secured after checking the airlines. Eventually, I found the office that British Midlands Airways shared with three other airlines. There was a small sheet of paper with British Midlands Airlines written and taped to the window of another airline. A large number of people gathered around the door to this office with the same intention as me. Men were holding up papers and yelling in Arabic. I patiently waited; eventually, not so patiently, I elbowed my way closer. Finally, I was close enough to forcefully ask about my BMI flight. Everyone stopped talking Arabic for a moment and looked at me and then resumed arguing and yelling.  I asked again and asked about getting tickets to some other country.  Finally someone said, “No tickets” and turned his back to resume his conversation. Everyone was trying to get tickets on airplanes that would probably not be leaving. It was very obvious that I was not going to get any tickets for my family from this or any other airline.

                As this was my first time stuck in a country at the beginning of a civil war, it is interesting to note that I wasn’t afraid of what was happening at that instant. With the chaos around us, the thousands of people panicked at every turn, my inability to speak Arabic, with the armed soldiers everywhere, still, I wasn’t afraid for that period in time.  I don’t think any of us ever expect to die. So in the moment we are fine. What caused me and causes me the most anxiety is my fear of what could happen in the future and my worry for my family. I could not and I cannot today envision living without them.

There were rumors everywhere that the airport was going to close. Even if it didn’t, getting in and out of it was becoming more and more dangerous. My concern again focused on what was going to happen once we returned to the school. How long could we hide out there? If the war escalated, what would happen to us teachers trapped in Tripoli. The US embassy had made it clear, that although they cared about us, we were not their primary responsibility. With these thoughts, I argued my way back into the check in area. The soldiers did not want me to pass, but I kept insisting, “My wife and child are there, I must get through!” Finally, they relented; I rejoined my family and our friend. Once rejoined, we made our way back through the crowd, out past the guards I had just argued my through, and into the sunshine and on to another place with more challenges.

Part 4 coming soon!