Libya – The past, present and the Future.

As you people might know I am a Libyan, I’m proud to be a Libyan and I would like to thank God for giving us Libyans something worth living for. Last year, was a year Libyans will never forget, things likely to be passed on from me to my kids, and from their kids to their kids and so on. I would like to commemorate the Libyan people for gaining their freedom from this Tyrant of a man, this man who lead Libya with an iron fist for 4 decades, we must not abuse this fortunate occurrence and we as a whole must work together to make sure Libya is stable and determined to excel in the near future.

First, I will describe briefly about Libya’s last century, up until the point of 1969, where Libyans had to undergo treatment much similar to that of dogs. In the early 20^th century Libya was mainly colonized by the Italians. The following is pretty much reminiscent of what has happened in the past year for us Libyans. A man name King Idris rebelled against the Italians and soon enough on the day of Christmas eve of 1951 Libyans had acquired the sweet taste of freedom. However, all good things must come to an end.

In 1969, there came a man name Muammer Gadaffi, at the time the Libyans must have displease with King Idris, maybe he wasn’t as sinister as Gaddafi but he must have failed the Libyans in terms of commitment and perseverance. Gadaffi at the time was a viewed as a hero, but something sinister and dark was lurking inside. Gadaffi had made sure all the accumulated money went to him, he could decide what to do with it. He pretty soon enough turned from a young humble innocent fellow to a rumbling mad man. That’s what makes the story so tragic, if you compare the two, it’s very hard to believe that this man is the reason why the majority Libyans are unfortunately not educated well, unable to differentiate between the obvious and the vague. He had left Libya to rot and the people didn’t have the faintest idea about it. Gadaffi was a peculiar and mysterious person in the later stages of his life, with many mocking speeches and strange doings in life, his appearance was very odd in public and he liked to pitch up tents instead of staying at Hotels. He was trying convey he was a humble, modest person, unfortunates that was not the case, and many Libyans could now see into those eyes, the clouded judgement that lay within. Gadaffi was a psychotic unstable freak, people couldn’t tolerate it any longer. Any people however that tried to oppose him or plan any ideas to, were dispatched with easily, and soon enough the idea was pretty much out of the question. However, hope was still in the air, and in 2011 people started watching how Tunisia and Egypt had gained their freedom. Suddenly all Libyans rejoiced and planned for their freedom, they were motivated by the fall of their comrades earlier on, and soon enough they fought for their country, many brave souls died and now that Gadaffi is gone, we can hope that Libya will change for the better. But maybe I spoke to soon?

People, although they wish to keep it to themselves, are regretting the revolution ever happened. Inexperienced rebels are roaming around the streets with guns, from what my friends tell me back in Libya, it doesn’t sound too good, I, might be exaggerating it a little bit, but a lot of people have guns know, this is a problem, surely young teenagers with guns is a bad thing. The problem is the ntc has not acted fast enough, people are becoming inpatient and are wanting rapid change quickly. The want increase in Salaries, better house development, restore and order on the streets, As of today, none of that has happened. But patience is a virtue and Libyans, while some are impatient, know a lot about patience for they had to go on 4 decades living the worst days of their lives.

Libya, too much people’s surprise is a very wealthy country indeed. It has the highest Human Development Index in Africa and continues to boast good numbers at the Oil production sector. That’s why God gave Libya Oil, to ensure that the Libyans people’s wishes are fulfilled. I think us Libyans aren’t against the ntc, but they have to help us help them and vice versa. Libya is now going to enter a new era, the country’s Oil reserves won’t last forever and it’s important we make haste in the allocated time. Just like in 1959, when the first Oil and Gas reserves were located, Libya at the time was the richest country and 50 years later it still stands firm at the top. Although Oil production was affected during the Uprising, Oil Production is bound to start sooner rather than later.

I just hope all this wasn’t just a sham from the US government just to have a healthy supply of loot for the following years. For Politics is complicated and some things just appear too good to be true. Which is related to my point, Most Libyans can’t differentiate between the Right or the wrong. Gadaffi had left Libya in such a state of turmoil that when the Americans helped the Libyans out, they would be to naive to realise their mistake. Although Gadaffi was a mass murderer, he was unbelievably smart, so smart, that he predicted his rule would come to an end, and he had known the Libyan rebels would execute him on capture, the only reason he stayed in Libya, was that so he could die and evade capture and torture, thus keeping his secrets impossible to extract.

Libya will take a while to adjust to the new found freedom, the people will have to be patient and must respect the ntc’s decisions, I just hope that the people are willing to work together in allegiance and may God watch down on us as we hopefully become the country everyone has wanted over the last half century. That of one of closeness, loyally, modesty, trust and most important of all determination. We must never give up, I am a Libyan and proud to be a Libyan.

By Asad Mohammed.