Middle East & North Africa Telecommunications

A DOWNED mobile network and a busy landline system made it difficult for people in Bahrain to get in touch with friends and relatives in Lebanon as Israeli attacks continued yesterday.

Lebanese Karim Miknas said he had been trying to call his family in Tripoli and Beirut since hearing about the attacks.

“I haven’t gotten in touch with my three aunts and five uncles living in Tripoli and an uncle in Beirut,” he said.

“Unfortunately, all the lines are jammed and there are currently no working mobile phone lines and the landline network is busy.”

Mr Miknas, who is the Seven Leisure Group general manager, said that his relatives were probably safe, but he was worried for his country.

“This brings back memories of the war in the 80s,” he said.

“One of my uncles moved to Beirut two years ago with his Norwegian wife, to take over the McDonald’s business there.

“That was a huge investment and he did it because he believed things in Lebanon were getting better and that there was going to be a great future.

“Now, we just don’t know.”

Mr Miknas, who was in Lebanon three months ago, does not understand why any country would want to hurt the Lebanese people.

“The group Hizbollah does one thing and the retaliation is 300-fold,” he said.

The summer months from June to August are the busiest when it comes to tourism in Lebanon.

“Tourism is one of the country’s main sources of income and the busiest season is summer,” said Mr Miknas.

“Who is going to go to Lebanon now?

“With the international airport closed, what is going to happen?”

He said that Lebanon had over the last few years done a great job improving its image, by building international ties and boosting its tourism.

“In one day, look at what has happened…”

Bahrain-based Saudi journalist Hassan Al Husseini was amongst those trying to find out about relatives currently holidaying in Beirut.

He managed to get in touch with his brother and in-laws after a few attempts on the phone.

“They are fine and are staying calm. They said that things where they are at appear to be normal at this point,” said Mr Al Husseini, who is also the editor of the GeoArabia Journal of Middle East Petroleum Sciences.

“They heard about the bombing of Beirut International Airport and they said that this time nobody was panicking.

“Everyone is waiting to see what will happen next.

“What is worrying is that Israel has reportedly put a blockade on Lebanon, not only by air - through the destruction of the airport’s runway - but also by sea and land.

“Frankly, we are very concerned for the welfare of our families there.

“What is going to happen to them?

“To me, it looks bad and it looks like it is going to get worse.”

Mr Al Husseini was last in Lebanon two years ago, but his family only went to Beirut for a holiday two months ago.

He said that many Saudi families favoured Lebanon as a family tourist destination, with some owning properties and many parents opting to send their children for further studies at top universities there.

“I have nephews and nieces who go to university in Lebanon and one of my nieces, who goes to university in Canada, was actually supposed to join an archaeological dig in Saida as part of a project,” said Mr Al Husseini.

“They all live outside of Lebanon, with the majority living in the Eastern province of Saudi Arabia.

“They often come to Bahrain when not in Lebanon for breaks.

“With what is going on in Lebanon now, I don’t know for how long they would need to stay there.”

Mr Al Husseini said that he felt that the people of Lebanon had suffered too much.

“The Lebanese are a very hard working and wonderful people. They really don’t want war.”

He said that Israel’s action against Lebanon was against the Fourth Geneva Convention on Rules of War, which was adopted in 1949 by the international community in response to Nazi atrocities during the Second World War.

The international treaty governs the treatment of civilians during wartime.