BEIRUT, Lebanon – Word Monday that the United States was sending a ship to evacuate U.S. citizens to neighboring Cyprus came with relief for Americans caught in the crossfire of a brutal fight between Islamic militants and Israel.
There are hundreds of Americans in Lebanon, many of them are students in study abroad programs. Oh, thank God the government is charging in to save the day, right? Not so fast.
In statements e-mailed to Americans in Lebanon and posted on the embassy’s Web site, the State Department has stressed “that the U.S. government does not provide no-cost transportation but does have the authority to provide repatriation loans to those in financial need. For the portion of your trip directly handled by the U.S. Government we will ask you to sign a promissory note and we will bill you at a later date.”
I remember contemplating a study abroad program when I was finishing up high school. I do not recall the brochures mentioning how much it would cost me to get out of the country when it became the middle of a war zone. Nowhere did it mention that I needed to have a small fortune ready at a moment’s notice so that I could pay my government to rescue me.
I suppose the leftover taxes from the “booming economy” have gone to pay for so many no-bid Halliburton contracts that we need the revenue to make ends meet. I wonder what the interest is on one of those “repatration” loans?
Never leave a man behind, unless he forgot his wallet, I guess.