Assistant Dean of the College Jay Ellison wrote in an e-mail to The Crimson Saturday that “the situation [in Lebanon] is very uncertain and we believe that it is best if students leave the country in as quick and safe a manner as possible.”
He added that he and other University officials are personally in touch with students in the region.
The evacuations are not mandatory for students and staff.
Ziad El-Zaatari ’09 wrote in an e-mail from Lebanon Saturday that “a bus left from north Beirut today for Damascus (the only way out of the country at present) and another one is leaving Sunday,” adding that most students “have left or are planning to leave the country.”
When emergencies arise abroad, Harvard employs International SOS, an international logistics organization that Ellison said “provides transport and whatever other support is necessary for all Harvard staff, faculty, and students.”
Reena Pabari, a spokeswoman for International SOS, said in an interview from London Saturday that the group is “working with clients on the ground” and that it is employing a “team of specialists” in the region.
She declined to say which clients her organization serves or what it is doing to evacuate people from Lebanon, saying that “this is quite a sensitive operation as you might imagine.” But in a statement, the group said that its focus is on “Southern Beirut, the Rafik Hariri International airport and the principal road between Beirut and Damascus.”
It was not immediately known if the bus that El-Zaatari reported had left from Beirut was International SOS-sponsored, how many people were aboard, or if all they were all Harvard students. At the moment, Harvard does not have plans to evacuate students and staff from Israel.
The conflict between Israel and Lebanon began Wednesday when Hezbollah, the militant Shiite group that operates out of southern Lebanon, crossed into Israel and attacked an Israeli military patrol, taking two soldiers as prisoners. Israel retaliated by launching major air strikes.
Since the kidnapping on Wednesday, Israel’s attacks have struck deeper into the country. The Israeli air force bombed and forced the closure of Beirut’s Hariri Airport; destroyed major roads leading out of the country; and attacked major ports, including the one in Tripoli, Lebanon’s second largest city.
Israel withdrew its armed forces from southern Lebanon in 2000 after a 22-year military presence there. Since that time, Hezbollah has continued to launch rockets at towns in northern Israel.
Despite the turmoil in Lebanon, El-Zaatari said that he has "chosen to stay with my family"—he returned to his hometown of Sidon, from Beirut earlier this week. Since he is "far from any zones where major bombing has been taking place" and travel on major roads has been dangerous for the last few days, he said, staying put "is the safest option.
In an e-mail to the Society of Arab Students open-list, El Zaatari described the chaos and uncertainty in the region.
"Not an hour passes without the sound of Israeli planes or news of a new attack not too far away," he wrote. "I don’t even know when I will be able to leave home safely or travel outside the country."
Travel to Lebanon and other places in the Middle East has been a contentious issue at Harvard in the past.
In the fall of 2004, the College put in place restrictions prohibiting students from receiving academic credit or funding for study in 26 countries—including Lebanon—under travel warning by the U.S. State Department, citing concerns about student safety and liability issues.
But under pressure from students and faculty, the College scaled back this policy last year, lifting the restrictions on Lebanon, Israel, Iran, and nine other countries. The College did, however, maintain its restrictions on travel to countries with the strongest State Department warnings, including Haiti, Indonesia, Pakistan, and Saudi Arabia.
—Staff writer Paras D. Bhayani can be reached at pbhayani@fas.harvard.edu.
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