Fleeing Lebanese Christians See Town Forever Changed

The number varied of other houses damaged -- 10, 20, perhaps more. And in a town where houses represent families, and families represent centuries of history, residents said a part of Marjayoun was lost, too.

Water was scarce, an irony for a town whose name means "field of springs" in Arabic. "They had springs outside their homes, and they couldn't reach them," Farha said. Generators began giving out as gasoline ran short. And people decided to leave.

"Everybody will say: 'Why did they leave? How did they leave?' " Farha said. He called the question easy in hindsight. "Looking at the war with your eyeglasses on is easy," he said. "But when you're in the middle of it, it's much more difficult."

Farsan Kfouri said his family of 35, along with others, gathered at 8:30 a.m. Friday on the town's main street. They waited for permission through the day, as Israeli shells crashed down on Khiam and the outskirts of Marjayoun. There were negotiations and rumors about Israeli permission, and the convoy of hundreds of cars finally set off at 4 p.m., passing several miles in two hours along a dirt road with white smoke furling skyward sometimes 500 yards away. Short on gas, some cars were abandoned on the road.

"The cars were bumper to bumper, and the people were terrified," he said.

By nightfall, the convoy had split into small groups, making their way through the Bekaa Valley. At times, the road was lit by a full moon, tinted yellow, illuminating the nearby mountains. As they left the valley at about 9 p.m., near the town of Kefraya, known in Lebanon for the wine of its vineyards, some in the convoy saw flashes of light and heard blasts. Chaos ensued. People got out of the cars; the air filled with screams and cries. Others shouted for the drivers to turn off their car lights. Minutes later, a Lebanese soldier ordered them to turn the lights back on. Cars careened in every direction, trying to retreat. On her way out, Ronitte Daher, the correspondent for an-Nahar newspaper, who was riding with her sister, said she saw the body of a man she knew, Elie Salama, a baker in Marjayoun.

"We thought we'd go out of this region, and we'd be safe, but it was the opposite," she said.

The residents of Marjayoun were told the convoy had permission, but the Israeli military said that although a request was made for safe transit, it was never granted. It said it had mistaken the cars for Hezbollah guerrillas transporting arms.

"The clearance was not clearance enough," Hamra said bitterly.

With his family, Kfouri made it back to Rashaya and stayed with a family. He eventually made it to Beirut 24 hours later.

"Even if there was Hezbollah, they shouldn't have gone ahead and hit innocent civilians," he said.

In all, at least six people died -- two from Marjayoun, one from Deir Mimis, another civilian, a soldier and a Red Cross volunteer. Rumors swirled through the community of Marjayoun: who was hurt, who was killed. Some heard friends were dead who later turned out to be alive. Word spread slowly, since much of the convoy stayed put, the drivers too fearful to go any farther.