Libya
A year ago being an American and standing on Libyan soil was a crime. With the advent of Qaddafi’s 'glasnost' and 'perestroika' Michael J. Totten decided to travel to Tripoli to see what life is like in a socialist, Islamic dictatorship. It’s not surprising that the combination of military rule, combative socialism and Islamic fundamentalism made for a tragically backward country.“after walking around his [Qaddafi’s] outdoor laboratory and everywhere seeing his beady eyes and that arrogant jut of his mouth, it suddenly hit me. He isn’t merely Libya’s tyrant. He is a man who would be god.His Mukhabarat, the secret police, are omniscient. His visage is omnipresent. His power is omnipotent.And he is deranged. He says he’s the sun of Africa. He threatens to ban money and schools. He vanquished beauty and art. He liquidates those who oppose him. He says he can’t help it if the people of Libya love him so much they plaster his portrait up everywhere. Fuck him. I wanted to rip his face from the walls.”
Totten then recalls a shop keeper’s confessions about Qaddafi -
“We hate that fucking bastard, we have nothing to do with him. Nothing. We keep our heads down and our mouths shut. We do our jobs, we go home. If I talk, they will take me out of my house in the night and put me in prison.”
Towards the end of the article he tells us various French diplomats are staying in his hotel while Chirac cuts new oil deals with Qaddafi. Moral clarity Mr Chirac? This seems as morally corrupt as our dependence on the Saudis.
Perhaps the most important point made in the article is the reminder that “people are people” – the desire for freedom is universal. Despite the diet of anti-Americanism fed by the state media for over 30 years, the ordinary Libyans Totten spoke to hate Qaddaffi with a passion. When we hear people saying Democracy wont work in the middle east, or that the people are content to live under repressive doctrinal and even theocratic regimes, this is more than often not the case. Some interesting points to consider.
The article can be found here at LA weekly.
posted by Alexander Try @ 5:52 pm
3 Comments:
Tragically Backward?
Careful Lexy.
x
a country where there is no political opposition (by punishment of death), womens rights are oppressed and Qaddafi has syphoned off all the countries oil revenues for himself... seems both tragic and backward to me.
x
lol yes agreed, but emotive language like that leaves u wide open to criticism that wouldn't stand up otherwise. I think you make a lot of sense I dont want to see u discredited "" on something like that x
Post a Comment
<< Home