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<p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:24.4pt;mso-outline-level:2'><b><font
size=6 face=Arial><span style='font-size:22.5pt;font-family:Arial;letter-spacing:
.25pt;mso-font-kerning:18.0pt;font-weight:bold'>Staying On<o:p></o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:12.5pt;mso-outline-level:3'><b><font
size=2 face=Georgia><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Georgia;
mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;text-transform:uppercase;letter-spacing:.25pt;
font-weight:bold'>Why I'm not evacuating <st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Beirut</st1:place></st1:City><o:p></o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><i><font size=1 color="#660033" face=Georgia><span
style='font-size:7.5pt;font-family:Georgia;color:#660033;letter-spacing:.7pt;
font-style:italic'>By <span class=SpellE>Faerlie</span> Wilson</span></font></i><br>
<font size=1 color="#666666" face=Arial><span style='font-size:7.5pt;
font-family:Arial;color:#666666;letter-spacing:.7pt'>Updated Friday, July
21, 2006, at 2:36 PM ET </span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span class=caption2><i><font size=1 face=Georgia><span
style='font-size:7.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></i></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:9.5pt;
font-family:Verdana'>BEIRUT, Lebanon—From my balcony this afternoon, I
watched as French, British, and American evacuees boarded chartered cruise
ships in Beirut's port about a half-mile west of my apartment. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:9.5pt;
font-family:Verdana'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:9.5pt;
font-family:Verdana'>And over the last few days, while bombs and artillery
pummeled the southern part of the city, I made the decision not to leave <st1:country-region
w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Lebanon</st1:place></st1:country-region>.
Explosions rock my building even as I write this, but I'm staying put.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:9.5pt;
font-family:Verdana'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:9.5pt;
font-family:Verdana'>I'm not crazy, and I harbor no death wish. This is simply
the rational decision of someone who has built a life in <st1:country-region
w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Lebanon</st1:place></st1:country-region>, who
believes in this place and its ability to bounce back. I choose to bet on <st1:City
w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Beirut</st1:place></st1:City>. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:9.5pt;
font-family:Verdana'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:9.5pt;
font-family:Verdana'>After five visits to <st1:country-region w:st="on">Lebanon</st1:country-region>
over as many years, I moved to <st1:City w:st="on">Beirut</st1:City> from <st1:State
w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">California</st1:place></st1:State> this
February. I'm a 24-year-old American with friends but no family here. But
Lebanese hospitality makes it easy to feel at home; it's a warm society that
exudes and embodies a sense of interpersonal responsibility. Live here for two
weeks and then go out of town, and you'll get a dozen offers to pick you up at
the airport upon your return.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:9.5pt;
font-family:Verdana'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:9.5pt;
font-family:Verdana'>So although I'm not Lebanese by blood, I have become <span
class=SpellE>Beiruti</span>. There are plenty of us who fit that description,
foreigners who fell in love with the place and its people. One friend, an
American college student interning for the summer with a member of the Lebanese
parliament, called in tears en route to the northern border to tell me her
parents had forced her to leave.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:9.5pt;
font-family:Verdana'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:9.5pt;
font-family:Verdana'>"I'm going to stay in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place
w:st="on">Syria</st1:place></st1:country-region> as long as I can," she
vowed. "In case things settle down and I can come back."<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:9.5pt;
font-family:Verdana'>Until the war broke out last week, this was to be <st1:country-region
w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Lebanon</st1:place></st1:country-region>'s
golden summer—last year's tourist season having been dampened by the
brutal car bomb that killed former Prime Minister <span class=SpellE>Rafik</span>
Hariri in February 2005. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:9.5pt;
font-family:Verdana'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:9.5pt;
font-family:Verdana'>This summer started off strong, with concerts by major
Western artists that allowed the Lebanese to hope their country was returning
to the prewar days when everyone who was anyone—icons like Ella
Fitzgerald, Marlon <span class=SpellE>Brando</span>, and Brigitte <span
class=SpellE>Bardot</span>—made regular stops in the country. Ricky
Martin and 50 Cent performed in May and June, respectively, Sean Paul was on
deck for July, and negotiations were under way to bring Snoop <span
class=SpellE>Dogg</span> later in the summer. But the most anticipated concert
was set for late July: the three-night return of legendary Lebanese diva <span
class=SpellE>Fairouz</span> to the <span class=SpellE>Baalbeck</span> festival,
where she first earned her fame in the 1950s and '60s. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:9.5pt;
font-family:Verdana'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:9.5pt;
font-family:Verdana'>The after-party for 50 Cent was typical over-the-top <span
class=SpellE>Beiruti</span>, held at city's most decadent nightclub, <st1:City
w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Crystal</st1:place></st1:City>. Lamborghinis and
Ferraris crowded the parking lot; <span class=SpellE>plasticated</span>
Lebanese girls in short skirts and spike heels danced on tables as waiters
navigated the dance floor balancing trays laden with sparklers and magnums of
champagne for high-rolling Saudi tourists, while <span class=SpellE>Fiddy</span>
free-styled and openly smoked a joint.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:9.5pt;
font-family:Verdana'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:9.5pt;
font-family:Verdana'>Tourists from the Arab world, Europe, and <st1:place
w:st="on">North America</st1:place> flooded the streets of cities and villages
throughout the country. Gulf Arabs in particular have been drawn to <st1:country-region
w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Lebanon</st1:place></st1:country-region>,
especially in a post-9/11 era when they felt unwelcome in the West (and often
had trouble obtaining visas). <st1:country-region w:st="on">Lebanon</st1:country-region>
offered many of the same attractions as <st1:place w:st="on">Europe</st1:place>,
but in an Arab setting: temperate climate, good shopping, plenty of tourist
activities, and most important, heady nightlife and a liberal social
atmosphere. Tourists partied till dawn, stormed the sales at <st1:City w:st="on">Beirut</st1:City>'s
designer boutiques, and visited sites like <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place
w:st="on">Lebanon</st1:place></st1:country-region>'s ancient cedar groves and
the Roman temples at <span class=SpellE>Baalbeck</span>. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:9.5pt;
font-family:Verdana'>Now those magnificent ruins are surrounded by newer ones:
The city of <st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on"><span class=SpellE>Baalbeck</span></st1:place></st1:City>,
long a Shiite stronghold, has received a heavy share of the Israeli bombardment.
<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:9.5pt;
font-family:Verdana'>Falling bombs erase entire villages, fire and smoke cover
the horizon, and visions of that promised summer have, in just over a week,
evaporated. On the beaches of <span class=SpellE>Damour</span> and <span
class=SpellE>Jiyeh</span>, the foreign visitors aren't European sun junkies but
Israeli missiles. And the cruise ships docked in the port aren't bringing
tourists to <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">Lebanon</st1:country-region></st1:place>,
they're taking them away.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:9.5pt;
font-family:Verdana'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:9.5pt;
font-family:Verdana'>The contrast between <st1:City w:st="on">Beirut</st1:City>
today and <st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Beirut</st1:place></st1:City>
two weeks ago is so <span class=GramE>stark,</span> it would be unbearable if
it weren't so surreal. This isn't my <st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Beirut</st1:place></st1:City>.
This isn't anyone's <st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Beirut</st1:place></st1:City>.
The frantic, vibrant city has shrunk into a sleepy town, with empty streets and
only a handful of restaurants, bars, and shops open for business.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:9.5pt;
font-family:Verdana'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:9.5pt;
font-family:Verdana'>It's amazing how quickly you can get used to living under
siege. We've taped our windows, stocked up on supplies, and settled into a
perversion of normal life. Electric generators succeed where embattled power
stations fail. I've learned what times the electricity, water, and Internet
connection usually cut out, and I plan my days accordingly—an old
Lebanese ritual from the days of the civil wars.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:9.5pt;
font-family:Verdana'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:9.5pt;
font-family:Verdana'>Candles we bought as decoration are scattered throughout
the apartment, half-burned down from long nights without electricity. An
Israeli propaganda flier dropped on a university soccer field sticks out of my
roommate's copy of the now-obsolete July issue of <em><i><font face=Verdana><span
style='font-family:Verdana'>Time Out Beirut</span></font></i></em>, marking a
page listing exhibitions at art galleries that have since boarded up their
doors. The magazine only launched this spring, and it was easy to see it as yet
another symbol that <st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Beirut</st1:place></st1:City>
was finally being recognized as one of the world's great cities. <em><i><font
face=Verdana><span style='font-family:Verdana'>Travel and Leisure</span></font></i></em>
magazine listed <st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Beirut</st1:place></st1:City>
as the ninth-best city in the world for 2006. In this part of the world,
fortunes shift very quickly.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:9.5pt;
font-family:Verdana'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:9.5pt;
font-family:Verdana'>Smaller explosions and the rushing of Israeli fighter jets
overhead don't startle or frighten me anymore. We are exhausted and have to
save our emotional energy for the moments where panic is needed. Still, when
larger blasts rattle my windowpanes and make the apartment shudder, I rush to the
balcony to figure out which part of my city is being hit. Sometimes, it's an
easy game: Three days ago, my roommate and I watched as Israeli warships struck
<st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Beirut</st1:place></st1:City>'s port. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:9.5pt;
font-family:Verdana'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:9.5pt;
font-family:Verdana'>I know I'm reasonably safe in my corner of <st1:City
w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Beirut</st1:place></st1:City>, and I have a
place to go in the mountains if that ceases to be true. Unlike people in many
other industries, I still have a job: The magazine where I work decided to
publish an August issue—although it will lose money—as a sign of
resistance and resilience. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:9.5pt;
font-family:Verdana'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:9.5pt;
font-family:Verdana'>There is painfully little we, the ordinary people of <st1:country-region
w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Lebanon</st1:place></st1:country-region>, can do
to help the situation. So, instead, we do what we can to help each other by
donating food and supplies, opening our doors to friends and strangers, and
trying to maintain some semblance of normalcy. We aren't giving up. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:9.5pt;
font-family:Verdana'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:9.5pt;
font-family:Verdana'>After the foreigners are gone, local wisdom predicts that
the fighting will only get worse. At the very least, there will be less
protective padding—a fear of foreign casualties that may have restrained <st1:country-region
w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Israel</st1:place></st1:country-region> to some
degree. Evacuating <st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Beirut</st1:place></st1:City>
would feel a lot like abandoning it. I know that my staying won't keep the
Israelis from intensifying their attacks, but at least I won't be complicit,
seeing events unfold on a TV screen from the comfort of <st1:country-region
w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Cyprus</st1:place></st1:country-region>.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:9.5pt;
font-family:Verdana'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:9.5pt;
font-family:Verdana'>So, I'll watch those ships pull away without regret. <st1:country-region
w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Lebanon</st1:place></st1:country-region> has
given me more than I ever could've asked: a home, a sense of belonging, an
almost indecent number of happy memories. But aside from any debt to <st1:country-region
w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Lebanon</st1:place></st1:country-region>, I
won't leave because I know how miserable I would be watching the war ravage <em><i><font
face=Verdana><span style='font-family:Verdana'>my</span></font></i></em> country
from the outside. As long as my feet are firmly planted on Lebanese soil, I
somehow <em><i><font face=Verdana><span style='font-family:Verdana'>know</span></font></i></em>
the country will survive.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:9.5pt;
font-family:Verdana'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:9.5pt;
font-family:Verdana'>People ask me if I'm scared, and I am—but for <st1:country-region
w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Lebanon</st1:place></st1:country-region> more
than for myself. This place and its people deserve far better than what they're
getting.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:9.5pt;
font-family:Verdana'>There's a sad, unstated "what will become of
us?" question floating around the Lebanese who are left behind. I need to
stay here, if only to learn the answer. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:11.25pt'><font size=1 color=black
face=Georgia><span style='font-size:6.5pt;font-family:Georgia;color:black;
text-transform:uppercase;letter-spacing:1.7pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:9.4pt'><i><font size=1 color="#666666"
face=Georgia><span style='font-size:6.5pt;font-family:Georgia;color:#666666;
letter-spacing:1.45pt;font-style:italic'><a href="mailto:faerlie@aol.com"><span
class=SpellE><font color="#0066cc"><span style='color:#0066CC;font-style:normal;
text-decoration:none;text-underline:none'>Faerlie</span></font></span><font
color="#0066cc"><span style='color:#0066CC;font-style:normal;text-decoration:
none;text-underline:none'> Wilson</span></font><font color="#0066cc"><span
style='color:#0066CC;text-decoration:none;text-underline:none'> </span></font></a></span></font></i><font
size=1 color="#666666" face=Georgia><span style='font-size:6.5pt;font-family:
Georgia;color:#666666;letter-spacing:1.45pt'>is an editorial assistant at<i><span
style='font-style:italic'> <a href="http://executive-magazine.com/"
target="_blank"><font color="#0066cc"><span style='color:#0066CC;text-decoration:
none;text-underline:none'>Executive</span></font></a> </span></i>magazine in <st1:place
w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Beirut</st1:City>, <st1:country-region w:st="on">Lebanon</st1:country-region></st1:place>.</span></font><font
size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
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