Human Shield Buses Stuck in Beirut, Seek Fare Home

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Two red double decker buses and a white London taxi that ferried anti-war activists to Baghdad to serve as "human shields" are stranded in Beirut with their owner short of the $5,500 it costs to ship them home.

The buses and taxi, dusty after a six-week overland journey that began at London's Tower Bridge, were plastered with signs saying "No to a war on Iraq" and "No to war, Yes to peace."

"The buses have to be shipped back. It's just not practical to drive them...I am not even really sure how much money I've got, but I'm sure it's not enough," said owner Joe Letts, adding that he would fly to London on Thursday to try to raise cash. [...]

Joe, I'd like you to meet someone I call Charlie Foxtrot...

[...] "We were taken to see some of the installations that the Iraqis thought were suitable for protection," he said, adding that he had feared a bombing campaign could start at any time.

"We painted a huge sign on the roof saying human shields, so when any planes bombed the target, they'd see they were killing us -- Englishmen and Finns and Turks."

That was nice to identify yourselve, but I'm sure your Iraqi minders didn't care where you were from.

Some 50 other Swedish anti-war human shield activists who had traveled to Iraq began to leave on Monday, saying they had wanted to protect hospitals and schools but had been forced out to refineries, power plants and water works.

You know, the stuff that might actually GET HIT.

Letts said about 200 human shields, including many who traveled on his bus, remained in Baghdad when he left. But he said that although he stayed on as a shield for a week, he had no intention of staying in Baghdad for the duration of a war.

"I own these buses and they are my livelihood and my family's livelihood. And all along I was there really to take the people down and then come back," he said.

Of the others on the trip, several noted that they had forgotten to turn off their stoves, let the cat out, or forgotten they had an overdue book from the library. One man said he thought the bus was on a holiday excursion to Dover, and was very angry at having missed several episodes of Kilroy.

When he left London, he thought he had enough money to pay to ship the buses home, but ended up spending his personal finances to help pay for the trip.

"I had promised my wife I would get the buses home," he said. "If I don't get them home, we're absolutely stuck."

(Scene opens--Michael Palin (or Terry Gilliam) dressed in wig and floral housedress, screaming into cell phone...) JOE!? JOE!! You silly git, why did you take the buses!! I can't get to market without the bloody bleedin' BUS, now can I?! An' we were supposed to go see my MUM on Friday! Anything to get out of going to Bristol--SHE was right--you ARE a smelly twit!! DID YOU HANG UP ON ME!?
posted by Terry at 10:57:00 AM