Out of Anarchy

Sara Douha was evacuated from Lebanon in 2006.

Mike Chwalek was evacuated from Egypt in January.

When anti-government protests began to engulf Egypt at the end of January, Canada issued a travel warning advising Canadians to avoid all travel to the country. It also set about trying to evacuate the several thousand Canadians who were already there.

Four years earlier, a similar evacuation had had difficult repercussions for the government. The evacuation of 13,000 Canadians from Lebanon in 2006 was a haphazard process, according to some who were there. It cost the government tens of millions of dollars and resulted in several hundred non-Canadians entering the country.

A government report released after the fact, entitled, “How can we do better?” recommended immediate deployment of the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (DFAIT) staff in future crises and increased communication between Canada's embassies and Canadians abroad.

DFAIT made no direct parallels between Egypt and Lebanon, saying in an email, “Lessons learned exercises are conducted following each crisis response and are an important part of preparation for future emergencies.”

However, opposition parties have been drawing just that parallel. "Clearly, we've seen situations, in Egypt … [and] in Lebanon where we did have problems organizing ourselves and providing services to Canadians,” said NDP Foreign Affairs critic Paul Dewar in an interview with the CBC.

In our podcast, two Canadian evacuees—one from Lebanon and one from Egypt—reflect on their experiences and what the Canadian government can do to better handle these crises. 

Front page photo ©Muhammad Ghafari
Podcast music ©Kevin MacLeod