Dozens of militiamen in jeeps and armoured cars passed. They were staring at us. I looked back and saw them entering Shatila. I feared the worst. It was about 8 a.m.
We had almost reached the Kuwaiti Embassy roundabout, when we were told to stop and line up in front of a wall. Phil McKennon, a female Irish anaesthesist, expressed our feelings when she called out: "OK, it's the firing squad!", certainly when we were ordered to take off our white hospital clothes. I took off my white coat and stood there, my torso bare. Others did the same, but for the women among us it was difficult to strip, because they didn't wear anything under their white T-shirts. They refused to strip and the militiamen didn't react to it.
With armed militiamen lined up in front of us the whole situation was extremely threatening. We waited and waited. Trucks with benches on them passed by. A few meters away, on a hillock, stood an Israeli army half-track, affording excellent views of Shatila.
We had almost reached the Kuwaiti Embassy roundabout, when we were told to stop and line up in front of a wall. Phil McKennon, a female Irish anaesthesist, expressed our feelings when she called out: "OK, it's the firing squad!", certainly when we were ordered to take off our white hospital clothes. I took off my white coat and stood there, my torso bare. Others did the same, but for the women among us it was difficult to strip, because they didn't wear anything under their white T-shirts. They refused to strip and the militiamen didn't react to it.
With armed militiamen lined up in front of us the whole situation was extremely threatening. We waited and waited. Trucks with benches on them passed by. A few meters away, on a hillock, stood an Israeli army half-track, affording excellent views of Shatila.