Lebanese Delegation Departs for Indonesia as Survivors Hope to Return Home
A Lebanese delegation led by caretaker State Minister Ahmed Karami left on Wednesday evening Beirut heading to Indonesia to follow-up on the Australia-bound boat tragedy.
The delegation will check-up on the situation of the survivors and on the bodies that were lost in the sea, as well as complete all pending formal diplomatic procedures with the Indonesian government, the state-run National News Agency said.
"President Michel Suleiman and caretaker premier Najib Miqati gave us very strict instruction to do the impossible in order to bring back with us the survivors and the bodies of those who passed away in the incident,” Karami said at the Rafik Hariri International Airport.
He added: “There are around 18 people alive that can return with us and we will do DNA tests to identify the retrieved bodies, after we had taken DNA samples from the passengers' families.”
International forensic adviser and DNA expert Dr. Fouad Ayoub announced that tests on the DNA samples taken from the families were completed.
"We have completed the DNA profiling of 16 families,” Ayoub said.
High Relief Commission chief Brig. Gen. Ibrahim Bashir noted that he had urged the passengers' families to “immediately” contact the Serail of the northern city of Tripoli and Judge Omar Hamze to give DNA samples taken primarily from the mothers, fathers and the children and send the results by email “as soon as possible.”
The delegation was supposed to leave Beirut at noon, but due to incomplete visa procedures, their flight was rescheduled to take place at 7:45 pm on Wednesday, radio Voice of Lebanon (93.3) reported.
Karami commented: "We received many conflicting information from the Foreign Ministry and from the Indonesian Embassy in Lebanon regarding the delay of our flight. We showed up at the airport at noon, but the delay happened anyway. I do not want to get into details.”
In addition to Karami, Ayoub and Bashir, the delegation includes a number of officials from the Foreign Ministry, a representative of the General Security, and DNA specialists.
Meanwhile, in Indonesia, the boat survivors expressed their desire to return to their homeland.
"I want to go back to my country and to my family as soon as possible,” Mohammed Ahmed told LBCI television.
"I hope this experience would be a lesson to everyone, to the state and to the people,” he added.
Ahmed Haddad remarked: “We do not know what is awaiting us and what is our legal status.”
The survivors were talking from their current residence at an Indonesian hotel where tight security measures were enforced.
The boat, which was estimated to be carrying between 80 and 120 Middle Eastern illegal immigrants, went down on Friday in rough seas off Indonesia's main island of Java. It was headed for Australia's Christmas Island.
Twenty-eight people have escaped alive.
The Lebanese foreign ministry said Sunday there were 68 Lebanese, including children, on board the ill-fated vessel and that 18 survived the ordeal while at least 28 were still missing.
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