Summer Detour-JH

“War is a cowardly escape from the problems of peace.”
--Thomas Mann

The summer of 2006 would have been my first summer in Lebanon. I had just recently moved to this remarkable country and discovered its natural beauty. There is a lot of diversity to be found from Lebanon’s clear aired mountains, to its crowded city life. I decided I needed to take a break from the city to gain some independence from my family, so my family and I made the decision for me to attend basketball camp in the northern mountains. My plan was to go with three of my friends.

We all left prepared for days of adventure feeling filled with exuberance. While on the bus to La Reserve, the camp, many of us were eager to find out what lay ahead. All present in my bus had tugged open their rusty aged windows to feel the breeze, created by the movement of the bus rocketing through grass covered mountains. It felt liberating to escape from the stress of school and the fumes of the cars. The scent of the summer apple trees infiltrated the city smoke and filled my lungs, as I inhaled all that I could at a time. I was sure that the sun had winked and smiled at me.

We then arrived, and I stared in awe at the site. My eyes were locked on the view of the whole mountain. The sky looked water colored. The image seemed to be ripped out of a fairytale. I said to myself, “I can feel the presence of a great summer, and it doesn’t seem like anything could possibly go wrong.” At this moment I was my own person, and I was free to be whatever I wanted. I embraced the moment and felt empowered.

Later on in the day, we began our basketball camp; the sessions would last for 4 to 6 hours each day. After our training, we would have an adventure activity, which would then lead to a social gathering. The days felt as short as minutes.

Several nights into the camp, I received a call from a friend. “Thank god you’re okay! Did you hear all the bombs? Your parents have been trying to reach you. The south is being destroyed by Israel.”

“Calm down Lara. What’s going on? What bombs? What’s wrong?”

Lara then broke the news about the war. I felt her frightened emotions through each word she uttered. Lara had informed me about all the bombings. I told all my friends and asked if anyone knew family or friends they needed to call. We all were immobile and shocked. It felt as though everyone had drifted off into their own thought bubbles. Abruptly, a girl shattered the stillness of the room and dashed to the boys tent to tell them about the situation none of us had known about. The rest of the night we were restless and scared.

The next morning our camp counselors had to explain the situation to all of us. We found out the reason they had not yet told us about the war, was because they were waiting for more information. But to me this seemed like the right time. My immediate response to their speech was to call my parents and find out what our plan was. Through the excitement of the camp, and just the idea of getting a break from the city, I didn’t think about checking for calls until that moment. As I reached for my phone to call my parents, I found 15 missed calls from my mom and dad. This was the indication of how urgent the situation was. I was then told that an evacuation might take place, and I was needed to be retrieved from the camp immediately. All I could hear was a ringing in my ear.

My summer course had taken a detour. All the plans of a great summer had been shredded. This was an unwanted surprise. This all was all a nightmare! Were all my friends going to be safe? How long will this war continue? What was to happen to this country, and all its people, that I had learned to love so much?