When I stepped into the sunlight I saw about 10 armed men in the corridor in front of the hospital. My first thought was, that these were Israeli soldiers. Although their facial features suggested they were Arabs, their uniforms and helmets were definitely Israeli made. They were armed with M16 and AK47 rifles. When I looked closer I saw the symbols of the Lebanese Cedar on their epaulets and chests with arabic written around that I could not read. The men spoke Arabic. I then assumed, that these men were either Phalangists or Saad Haddad's militiamen. Both were trained and equipped by Israel.

While their spokesman talked to us, shooting started nearby and some of the militiamen began to walk in the direction of the firing. We were asked, where we came from. It seemed as if the militiamen weren't sure at first what to do with us. They deliberated and then told us we had to go with them with our passports. I went back in to fetch my documents. Back outside I noticed the camp's inhabitants were not treated friendly. They were being rounded up at gunpoint. One man, who wasn't walking fast enough, was grabbed and dragged out of sight.

When the militiamen said that all of us had to come, we protested and demanded that two of us remained behind to look after the seriously ill patients. They agreed.