Alumnus returns safely

Sena Schmidt / Roundup

Pierce College and Roundup newspaper alumnus, Alexia Underwood safely returned home to the U.S. recently after spending six weeks in Lebanon’s American University of Beirut’s Arabic summer program, during which time was under attack by the Israeli army.

After graduating from UC Santa Barbara in 2004 and later attending Pierce part-time for French and journalism courses, she moved to the United Arab Emirates and spent a year working for an American educational non-profit organization, AMIDEAST that promotes cultural and educational exchange between people from the Middle East and the United States.

There, she took on the position of Fulbright officer and Scholarship and Exchange Programs coordinator. In May 2006 Underwood returned to the States to complete a year of service with Americorps, a national service organization.

But with travel and adventure a normal part of Underwood’s life, she decided to return to the Middle East not long thereafter and attend AUB.

“I decided to go to Beirut was because I had been there for work the previous fall, and had fallen in love with the country of Lebanon and the city,” said Underwood. “The first thing I noticed was how friendly the people were. From my taxi drivers to my work colleagues to the bus boy at my hotel, I was met with kindness, interest, and hospitality.”

But not long after Underwood eagerly arrived in Beirut and settled into her comfortable studio apartment in the Hamra district which she subletted from a Lebanese student, the city fell under attack because of the recent political tensions between Israel and Lebanon.

“I went to sleep one evening to general rumblings about a possible encroaching conflict due to the kidnapping of Israeli soldiers,” Underwood said. “Some rumors had been flying in my Arabic classes and I’d had a few brief discussions about what could happen with other students, but I remember distinctly thinking that things would blow over and that by the time I woke up in the morning the conflict would have resolved itself or died down.”

“I woke up, started brushing my teeth and preparing for class and turned on the news,” Underwood began. “The first lines I heard out of the CNN news anchor’s mouth were: ‘And Israel is now attacking Lebanon by air, land, and sea.’ I was so shocked that my jaw literally dropped, for probably only the second time in my life.”

She added, “Then I headed straight to the internet cafe and emailed my parents and friends that despite what they were hearing on the news, I was ok.”

After the bombing began, Underwood’s usual daily itinerary became a feat for survival.

“After the shelling and the blockade began, began my daily routine changed,” Underwood said. “Classes ceased, and the hours were passed wandering around campus, eating anxious meals with other students, checking email on my laptop, and watching the news with the other Lebanese students left on campus in the dorm lounges.”

During this time there was also an Israeli airstrike on the airport and it was closed. There were about 50 other azscreen recorder students: graduates, undergrads and professionals in the AUB summer Arabic program suffering the same tension and anxiety Underwood herself was feeling.

“Many fled to Syria by taxi,” Underwood said “while the Yale and Harvard students were bused out by independent contractors hired by their Universities with in the first few days of the siege. Some found spots on the French and Swiss evacuations, which left a few days before the Americans.

Underwood was lucky enough, however, to be residing on the campus of The American University of Beirut which was considered one of the safest spots to be in the city. But everyday after a mid-day nap she would frantically search for anyone on the campus for news of their fate and whether or not she would be the next to evacuate.

“Since the blockade had started, there was no guarantee that we wouldn’t run out of food and water in the future, or how long the siege would last,” said Underwood solemnly. “I remember looking out at the bay and seeing a line of Israeli war ships blockading the port, at mile or so intervals, although it was hard to tell from so far away.”

Eventually, Underwood, along with the rest of the AUB students evacuated Beirut via Swedish-chartered cargo ship to Cyprus.

“We were told to leave all our luggage behind and only take what we could carry on our backs, leaving our arms empty ‘in case we had to climb something’,” Underwood reflected. “We boarded the HUAL and spent 12 hours crossing the Mediterranean, docking with another ship in the middle to get food rations.”

“After we reached Cyprus we were greeted by American Embassy personnel, given a sandwich and a bottle of water, signed in, passports stamped, and then were on our own.”

Now, back in the U.S., Underwood is currently coordinating a literacy tutoring program that utilizes college students and other community members to give extra reading and literacy support to at-risk children (children whose literacy skills are below grade level) in a local Santa Rosa elementary school. But she will never forget her life-altering experience abroad or the kind and accommodating people she was forced to leave behind. Yet despite the terror she encountered during her stay, she is eager to one day return.

“I want to reiterate that the Lebanese people could not have been kinder or more hospitable to me despite current political tensions,” Underwood clarified “and I have yet to visit another country whose population measures up to this wonderful warmth of character.”

“Leaving my friends and teachers and their families behind in Lebanon cemented this huge, glaring disparity for me and it will stay with me, I hope for a long time,” Underwood added. “While I’m enjoying life in Santa Rosa, and settling in to my apartment and new job, I don’t want to forget the useless killing of innocent people that progressed from those sparse weeks of violence.”

“It would be shameful to forget.”