84 SRI LANKANS IN A BEIRUT DETENTION CENTER WERE RELEASED TO PUT THEM OUT OF THE HARMS WAY
(By Walter Jayawardhana reporting from Los Angeles)
As Beirut was ravaged by Israeli bombs 84 Sri Lankans detained in a detention center were released to go to safer places for protection.
As they were being transported in two buses 24 detainess under the mistaken belief that they were being taken to other detention places became boisterous and escaped in search of friends a BBC news items said.
A Catholic sister doing social service in Lebanaon told the Sinhala service of the BBC that 24 detainees became “violent” and got down from one of the buses they were being transported. Speaking in Sinhalese the person named Sister Leela said out of the 84 original detainees 24 less arrived at the care center.
She said the Sri Lankan Embassy officials were busy arranging buses and sending these people out of the harm’s way from the area that were being bombed by the Israeli jets against the Hesbollah .
She said the Care Center is about 50 kilometers South of the place where the Israeli bombs were being dropped making heavy casualties.
She said that she had heard the people who walked away from the buses by “behaving in a violent way” had also abused the Sri Lanka embassy officials before getting in to the two buses thinking that they were being re-detained and being sent to another detention camp.
The people who were being held in the Beirut detention Center under the allegation that they had overstayed their visas or in the country illegally. They were being transported in two buses. It was only in one bus the passengers had rioted, she said.
Sister Leela said that she could constantly hear Beirut being bombed constantly.
