Most schools give out letters to remind students about holidays or give letters to assure them when the date of the exams will be, but here in I.S.M, we get letters warning us about bringing bullets to school.
Ever since the 17th of February revolution, all of us have this new fascination towards guns, bullets, bullet shells, fire crackers, live ammunition, and things of such. Most of us stopped and got over the so-called '17th of February fever', but the rest of us still don't believe that it's all done. 'Libya is free' doesn't mean that we can run around with guns and weapons, it doesn't mean that we can do whatever we want. There's a big different between'Libya is free' and 'go do whatever the hell you want…free'.
Yet the school also prohibits wearing dead bullet shells in a necklace or bracelet. See, what they don't understand is that some of those bullets were given to us by loved ones who have died in the process of freeing Libya from the Tyrant that ruled before. Their excuse was 'the bullet may heat up and fire'. No, not in this weather it's not.
I wear a bullet necklace under both my parents approval, even if it somehow did heat up, its pointing downwards, due to the fact that its worn as a necklace (yes, using bullets in bracelets fall under this category too).
All of us have gone through enormous stress, personally, whenever I hear a 'BANG' that was only caused by a desk falling or two chairs colliding, I immediately accept the fact that I might die in the next few minutes, for that reason I disapprove firecrackers in school. Not to mention the kids in elementary, my sister has been scarred for life and she doesn't need jerks with firecrackers now!
"Sally, are we going to die?" Was all I heard my sister ask me for eight months while Libya was in transition, I don’t want her thinking it's all back. Yes, simple firecrackers have complete and utter power of doing this.
Overall, everyone should get over the fact that the revolution is over. No more screaming in the streets, no more wasting shots in the sky for no apparent reason, no more rhyming words that insult the Ghedaffi's, start planning the best for the new Libya and stop holding on to the old Libya, think of our future rather than insulting our past. We don't want a new Libya, we don't need a new Libya…
We crave for a new Libya.
We have to make a new Libya; it won't be made for us. We have to make a new generation that will sing about the ones who fought for Libya's freedom, a new generation that would stand proudly as a Libyan, as a free man\woman, as an independent individual. Come on, guys, let not the only difference we made be changing the anthem and the flag. Lets really make a difference, lets rebuild our country not out of scratch, but out of hope flickering in our eyes, love stretching the corners of our lips to form happy smiles, liberty that will make us strong, and freedom that we shall taste for generations to come.
Sally .R. Mgherbi 10B
