Yalla!

Benghazi, Libya

You may have heard about it for the first time within the last few months when a spirit of revolution ,that would eventually catch on like wild fire throughout almost all of Libya, erupted there.

Benghazi is alot like most the communities many of you grew up in. Its filled with many young and many old with dreams and aspirations to make something of their life. They love their families and love to catch up with old friends. Girls have crushes on boys, boys have crushes and girls…(though most of them probably have man-crushes on soccer superstars Renaldo, Kaka, and Messi). They probably could share alot of the same joys and frustrations about life’s daily struggles and victories that so many of us experience.

There is, a lot that is different about the people of Benghazi and you though. Benghazi, until two years ago, did not have Internet access within their homes. They lived in a land ruled by a man who absolutely despised its inhabitants( just because they disagreed with some of his perspectives). They paid a dear price. The ruler was insistent on keeping the city from modernizing.  A city beautifully placed on the coast,  its surrounded by sandy beaches literally unused by the inhabitants due to the ruler’s (Momar Gaddafi) intentional pollution of the water there. For years locals express that he intentionally “abused” Benghazi, trying to limit development and quality of life. A city located in a country which was suppose to be rich with oil and the money that comes along that, never seemed to share in the riches.

 Decade upon decade, roads were in terrible condition, hospitals lacking supplies and doctors and nurses with specialized training, the education systems were in literal shambles, and most residents unaware of what most of the world would call “health/hygiene 101’s”. Universities limited to the information they could convey to eager young minds.

This is a new Libya though. The revolution seems to be successful. One demanding true democracy and equal opportunity. Emphasis on the  quality of education and access to the information that most of the world has benefited from for decades of not centuries. 

Minds have been set free, hope seems to be abundant, and life seems to have truly begun for Libyans everywhere. Many of these things you probably enjoy and probably and maybe even take for granted. Though these past few months everyday Libyans have seen, experienced, and been apart of things you could probably never imagine or may never experience in your lifetime, its a new day in Libya. The future is full of hope, dreams, and aspirations. And its in the midst of this new found freedom in which these Libyans are beginning to feel a sense of brotherhood not just among Libyans but among people like you, who stand for freedom and justice as well as partake in the fruits of its accomplishment and establishment within society.