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As the country of Libya rises up against decades-long dictator Moammar Qadhafi, Libyans living in the United States say they feel almost helpless watching the situation from afar. KSMU’s Jennifer Moore talked with one local woman about how her life has been turned upside down since the unrest began…and we want to let you know that this woman’s memories include events that some listeners may find disturbing.
The Libyan president Moammar Gadhafi has unleashed a bloody crackdown against pro-democracy protesters in his north-African country. Much of the revolt has been in Benghazi. That’s the hometown of 41-year-old Hala, who now resides in Nixa, Missouri. Instead of giving her last name, which would identify her tribe, she says she’d rather just go by “Hala Benghazi,” out of pride for the people of her city.
She trembles as she describes what she’s going through right now. Her mother and extended family are still in Libya. Hala is the mother of a boy and a girl: ages eight and 12, respectively.
“They’re not asking too many questions. But at night, when we say our prayer, and we read a book, they will ask, ‘Will they be okay, Mommy?’ And I say, ‘They will be okay,’” she says.She says she and her husband, who’s also Libyan, talk to their kids on a child’s level.
Hala: “They’re not grown ups…and I will not have my kids mature so quickly as I did. I left my country in ’78, when he nationalized and started killing people left and right.”Moore: “‘He’ meaning Gadhafi?”Hala: “Yes, absolutely. He’s not worthy of the name. I matured quickly. And if you ask me my age now, I’m 100.”
And by maturing quickly, she says she saw more than a child should ever have to see—what she’s about to describe may be disturbing to some. She witnessed a public hanging of some political dissidents in the public square. She was eight.
“My sister and I were driving through town going home. And finally, all the traffic was diverted to a square, a large square. We didn’t know what was going on. The car was driving, and there were a ton of armed men with their automatic weapons. I turned around and I saw…I saw the bodies just still jerking in the air. And I started screaming. And my sister kept pulling on me. And she kept choking and holding on her sobs so they wouldn’t notice her and stop us,” she recalls.
Moammar Gadhafi decided to nationalize Libya in 1978; he insisted that all Libyan children attend the public schools, even though girls received a second-rate education. Hala’s dad, who had been a wealthy businessman before Gadhafi nationalized many businesses, refused to send her to a Libyan public school. Instead, he moved the family to Greece, where Hala’s private education continued. He lost most of his wealth overnight, she says.
Today, she’s watching the news from Libya almost constantly. She’s worried for the people of Tripoli, who are afraid to come out of their homes. Some protesters have reported being targeted by airstrikes launched by their own government; Gadhafi’s son denied those reports Thursday. Hala has only talked to her mom once since the revolt began, because she says she doesn’t want to get her mom in trouble. But the news continues to trickle in, including about Gadhafi’s hired forces from other parts of Africa.
“My husband’s relative in Libya said, ‘Yes, they were shooting at us. But we ran in masses at them, and we were faster than their bullets.’ There’s no magic here: it’s not that people didn’t die. They died. But there were a lot more running! But some of them got to those paid mercenaries and they overwhelmed them with their numbers,” she said.
Hala says she’s proud to be both a Libyan and an American citizen. She’s using the rights she has here to try to help her people back home. She says she’s very frustrated with the Obama administration for not taking action yet against Gadhafi, and feels that hesitancy is related to the US’s oil needs.
“You know, President Obama went out and said the Administration is ‘contemplating’ a set of actions. Don’t contemplate anymore! It is not time to contemplate. It is time to do something. A no-fly zone would be sufficient,” she said.
Hala says despite her frustration, she’s mindful that she’s only able to voice her opinions because of the rights she’s afforded here in the US. And she wants her fellow Libyans to experience those same rights.
“And the one thing I learned in this great country is that you never take what we have here for granted. And many, many people do that here,” she said.As the hours and days go by, she checks her phone to see if any of her relatives have posted something to facebook. Even if it’s just their daily horoscope, she says, she breathes a sigh of relief, because just the fact that they’re posting means they’re still alive.
For KSMU News, I’m Jennifer Moore.
[Sound: Arabic rap music]