DiploMentor 2.0's List: Gestione delle crisi

Our mission was to help over 13,000 Americans and their family members return  home safely and quickly. The priority for us was in planning a major effort that  would need to help many thousands of people, a much larger pool of people than  most nations need to help. So far, the United States has brought more than  13,000 people, 12,500 of whom are Americans citizens from Lebanon. We have  already sent over 10,000 people back to the United States. I would also like to  emphasize that countries around the world are banding together and cooperating  to assist departures from Lebanon. The first group of Americans who arrived in  Cyprus by boat, for example, arrived on a Norwegian-chartered ship. Similarly,  we have helped hundreds of citizens from other countries leave Lebanon  safely.

Could you describe how you handled such a huge evacuation because I heard  that over 12,000 Americans were evacuated from Lebanon? There are mixed reviews.  However, I believe it was handled well.

Ambassador Schlicher:

Thank you, Raphaella. The Embassy here had to start from scratch to respond  to this emergency. We have worked 24/7 for over two weeks and set up an  infrastructure to move thousands of Americans out of Lebanon and back to the  U.S. To meet the challenge, we enlisted the efforts of every single American and  Cypriot member of our local staff, plus the services of dozens of colleagues  “borrowed” from other embassies around the world. We set up command centers and  control rooms in Nicosia, in Larnaca, and in Limassol. We coordinated very  closely with our Cypriot government hosts, who responded with amazing compassion  and efficiency. We chartered large commercial ships to bring out thousands of  our citizens, while our Navy’s ships brought out thousands more. We used  military and civilian chartered aircraft – more than 50 large planes – to take  our folks back to America. We also s coordinated close with our military  colleagues, and this was a real success. There was also a smaller, parallel  operation to ferry some Americans out by helicopter. Here on Cyprus, we had to  mobilize bus fleets to take sometimes as many as 2,000 people at a time from the  ports to airports, or to the international fairgrounds in Nicosia, where they  stayed in an emergency shelter we had set up, until a flight was available. All  of these people needed consular assistance, from entering and departing Cyprus,  to lost passports and papers, to meeting medical needs, translation assistance,  and contacting their loved ones. I would also note that we saw extraordinary  volunteerism from Cypriot citizens and our local American community in taking  care of our people in need.

What has been the biggest challenge for the U.S. Embassy in Cyprus?

Ambassador Schlicher:

The biggest challenge was, undoubtedly, a multifaceted logistical task  undertaken on short notice at many levels on many issues: first, getting  sufficient airplanes to send our fellow citizens home and, secondly, trying to  coordinate the arrivals of ships, often carrying more than 1,000 Americans, with  the onward flights. We had to set up an emergency shelter at the fairgrounds,  where more than 8,000 stayed. We would move 1,000 out and take another 1,000 in.  We also had to find them food and water and medical support, set up security to  keep them safe, sponsor recreation activities for the children, and arrange for  onward travel to the U.S. We even set up a travel agency in the fairgrounds. We  provided more than 6,000 blankets; 4,000 sheets; thousands of towels and  pillows; 1800 cots; a 6-person shower unit; 50 wheelchairs; approximately 20  portable fans; hot meals as well as countless Meals Ready to Eat (MRE’s), and  health and comfort kits. We also installed phone lines, a DSL Internet line, and  a registration service on Google that allows families to track their loved  ones.