@KimberlyjoneswaKimberly Jones
The Tears and Hopes of the Libyan People - Part 1
I was fortunate to have grown up in Saudi Arabia where my father worked for the Arabian American Oil Company, known today as Saudi ARAMCO. One of the perks of being an ARAMCO Brat, as the kids were commonly known, was being shipped off to a nice boarding school somewhere in the world. I went to Ecole des Roches in Bluche, Switzerland. The last year I was at Les Roches in 1975, I met Libyan boy whose family was trying to remove him from the the tyranny of Gaddafi. He was friendly, funny and spoke five languages. Over the years we reconnected.
Thanks to Skype we could talk with each other face-to-face. I was able to meet his wife and see his son crawl up on his lap to talk into the phone. We talked about his family, what he had been up to for the past 35 years, and we also talked about the impact Gaddafi had on his life. Only, it wasn't safe to talk about Gaddafi because the walls could listen, and text or emails were read.
So, we had to talk in a kind of code. Mr. G. made life miserable. The guy who live most of the time in Switzerland could be hope. Property was taken from the people. It was difficult for individuals to make a living and support their family unless they could get a job with an American or other reputable foreign company. My friend tried to do business with a couple of foreign companies which would have fulfilled his dream, but Gaddafi always hung around in the background making business too impossible. He felt sad that he could not provide for his family like he dreamed he would.
Finally, the people of Libya had enough and freedom fighters began their quest for freedom. Mr. G. Is gone and the guy from Switzerland is no longer a path to hope! As the fight stared, my friend decided he was too old to take up arms, but he went out on the streets and pulled wounded rebels to safety and onto the hospital. One day while trying to save a freedom fighter, he was wounded and had to spend time in the hospital himself. When I talked to him, he was depressed and sounded worn out -- not just from this battle but from a lifetime of tyranny and distrust that was bred from the rule of Gaddafi. As we continued to talk a couple of more times, and as the National Transitional Council took control of the country, my friend's hope began to return. He talked of the opportunities that would come once people put their guns down. His spoke of his hope of restarting his business.
The era of Gaddafi and his band of thugs is over. The people of Libya need the support of Europe and the United States to reconstruct their country and rebuild their economy. The positive to this is that Libya has the resources to pay for our help as long as we are fair traders.
Thanks to Skype we could talk with each other face-to-face. I was able to meet his wife and see his son crawl up on his lap to talk into the phone. We talked about his family, what he had been up to for the past 35 years, and we also talked about the impact Gaddafi had on his life. Only, it wasn't safe to talk about Gaddafi because the walls could listen, and text or emails were read.
So, we had to talk in a kind of code. Mr. G. made life miserable. The guy who live most of the time in Switzerland could be hope. Property was taken from the people. It was difficult for individuals to make a living and support their family unless they could get a job with an American or other reputable foreign company. My friend tried to do business with a couple of foreign companies which would have fulfilled his dream, but Gaddafi always hung around in the background making business too impossible. He felt sad that he could not provide for his family like he dreamed he would.
Finally, the people of Libya had enough and freedom fighters began their quest for freedom. Mr. G. Is gone and the guy from Switzerland is no longer a path to hope! As the fight stared, my friend decided he was too old to take up arms, but he went out on the streets and pulled wounded rebels to safety and onto the hospital. One day while trying to save a freedom fighter, he was wounded and had to spend time in the hospital himself. When I talked to him, he was depressed and sounded worn out -- not just from this battle but from a lifetime of tyranny and distrust that was bred from the rule of Gaddafi. As we continued to talk a couple of more times, and as the National Transitional Council took control of the country, my friend's hope began to return. He talked of the opportunities that would come once people put their guns down. His spoke of his hope of restarting his business.
The era of Gaddafi and his band of thugs is over. The people of Libya need the support of Europe and the United States to reconstruct their country and rebuild their economy. The positive to this is that Libya has the resources to pay for our help as long as we are fair traders.
