2nd Degree Sunburn
Covering political events is usually more work than fun, and covering the Hezbollah side of the prisoner exchange event wasn't exactly the most pleasant day of work I can remember. The excitement started the night before when I found out the call time would be 9 am, which meant leaving Beirut by 6 am to make the drive (which isn't that long) and pass through all the military checkpoints (of which there were many).
At a little after midnight, I got a reprieve in the form of a message from my driver saying the event had been pushed back to noon. That was good news in terms of my phobia of getting up early, but it had implications on the other end--that presumably meant that the festivities at the airport and the giant Hezbollah party in the south of Beirut would be pushed back as well, and that would bump up against my 6pm departure to Damascus.
Anyhow, my driver picked me up, and we made it to Naqura with little hassle. We pulled up to the scene of the event, which was essentially the main road from the Israeli border that had been blocked off with grandstands on either side and a red carpet down the middle. By 10:30 am, the press grandstand was already close to full, and spectators were packed into designated areas on either end. Dignitaries were starting to arrive on the other side.
However, we were in for a long wait. Word at that time was that Hezbollah had handed over the bodies of the two Israeli soldiers, and the question then was how long it would take for Israel to ID the bodies. Full DNA testing could mean hours or even days before they would release the prisoners. At that time, there it was clear nothing would happen before 3pm. So, we sat... in the hot sun... listening to Hezbollah songs over the PA system... watching a few people pass out from heat exhaustion.
I do have to say that there was a burlap cover over the press section and the dignitaries as well, and it helped, but the coverage was limited... I ended up with one of the worst sunburns I've had since 7th grade at Disney World.
Although we received little information and updates on the proceedings, I will say the organizers did an admirable job of providing sandwiches, water, and juice. We were OK in that department, which was critical given the heat and humidity.
Finally at 3:45, people sprung into action. Soldiers lined both sides of the red carpet. Music played. Vehicles approached. They opened the gates at the end of the reviewing stand, and two ambulances drove by followed by an honor guard, then a flat bed truck with 12 Lebanese flag draped coffins. The truck stopped, a man spoke for several minutes, then the truck drove on and the soldiers immediately went back into the shade.
It was clear that the live prisoners would not be showing up for some time, and I had a car to Damascus to catch. A number of other journalists left at that point as well, needing to meet deadlines, and frustrated by the fact that the main event had not yet happened.
I arrived back in Beirut at 5:30 and at that point we heard on the radio that the live prisoners had just been released at the border where the actual exchange was happening. I felt vindicated that they were released 90 minutes after I left Naqura, rather than 5 minutes after. Either way, it was frustrating from a journalistic perspective not to be able to be there for the main event, and then have to miss the celebrations in Beirut.
I did make it to Damascus in time to see the massive celebration on TV--took a little longer than expected because the border official didn't seem to like my journalist visa that had been issued by the Syrian Embassy in DC. 30 minutes of phone calls back and forth to Washington cleared things up and I was on my way. Had I been crossing alone without an Arabic speaking driver who knew how to get things done with the help of a few other folks, I'm not sure if I would be in Damascus right now. As numerous people said to me after the hassle (which in the grand scheme of things was extremely minor), "Welcome to Syria."
