Sietske, a Dutch expat living in Lebanon, fills us in on the latest developments in Beirut. “The Warden messages from the Canadian and American embassy are arriving more frequent now (Warden messages are messages from embassies to warn their nationals of (imminent) danger that may befall upon them).
“I even received one from the Brits this morning. They all basically state the same. ‘Avoid going downtown’, ‘Leave Tripoli’, ‘Do not frequent popular places’, Do not venture near Palestinian camps’, ‘Stay away from manifestations’, ‘Adopt a defensive posture at all times ‘etc etc’. These all add up to previously issued messages about not going down south, and staying clear of the southern suburbs. If this goes on much longer, and I would heed all messages, I’d end up barricaded inside my house,” she explains.