Rebel fighters during heavy shelling by forces loyal to Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi near Bin Jawad, March 5, 2011.

Both of Amjad Murabit’s parents and two of his older siblings were born in Libya, the North African country currently in the grips of a civil war. And what he sees on the news today is a long cry from what Murabit saw when he visited in 2008.

“I knew even then there was some unrest about the government but nobody ever voiced it,” said the University of Saskatchewan sociology student.

Skip ahead three years and that unrest has become a full-fledged rebellion against the man who has ruled for over four decades, Muammar Gaddafi.

Only days after Egyptian protesters successfully deposed their longtime dictator on Feb. 11, protesters in Libyan cities started calling for similar things, such as greater freedoms and the ouster of their own leader. However, unlike Tunisia and Egypt, where violence was sporadic, Gaddafi responded by unleashing the military in full force to crack down on demonstrators.

Before long, the country was split between Gaddafi forces in the west, centred around the capital Tripoli, and the rebels in the east with Benghazi as their stronghold. One of the deepest pockets of unrest, however, was the city of Zawiyah, only 30 miles from Tripoli. Over the last week, Gaddafi forces fought ferociously to retake the city from the rebels and sent their most elite fighting force to get the job done.

Amjad Murabit’s family is in Zawiyah.

“No one’s really doing anything right now because the army has surrounded the town from all four sides,” he said. “Everyone’s just hiding out now.”

Murabit was surprised to see his father on British television being interviewed by a reporter for Sky News, calling it “a real eye-opener.” In the video, his father, who is trained as a doctor, is seen treating wounded people at a hospital. He has been in contact with his family since then and says they are safe.

“The whole idea of my dad’s trip was to be a vacation,” he said. “Instead, he ended up having to work and try to save lives down there.”

The majority of Murabit’s family lives in Libya now while he continues his studies in Canada. And despite Zawiyah having been retaken by Gaddafi’s troops, Murabit says the struggle to overthrow the dictator will likely continue.

“It’s just time for a change. And it’s scary but at the same time the people believe in it.

“Now it’s at the point that people are not going to back down from the revolution. They know it’s time for a change and, frankly, after 41 years, I don’t know how a guy would ever be able to retain his power.”

Murabit also said that Gaddafi’s intentions were good originally. When he came to power in 1969 in a military coup, he promised democratic reforms. However, they never materialized.

In time, Gaddafi became another strongman in the Middle East whose rule is characterized by widespread corruption and lack of political freedoms. Additionally, while the country’s vast oil wealth has bolstered Gaddafi’s influence in the region, it has not enriched the lives of average citizens.

Now that the people have risen up against the eccentric dictator, the movement is in danger of being crushed. Yet, many Western countries are shy about intervening in another predominantly Muslim country.

“The fear is for the United States and other countries that they don’t want resentment from the people and they’re scared that Libyans will hate them like Afghanistan and Iraq,” said Murabit. “Libyans don’t want that. They don’t want any armed soldiers in there. They don’t want anything like that. They just want some help in the air so they’re not getting bombed by planes while they’re fighting on the street.”

He also suggested more countries could follow France’s lead. When asked if that means recognizing the rebel council in eastern Libya, Murabit says that he doesn’t call them rebels.

“I call them revolutionaries. Rebels always sounds kind of negative and I don’t think that’s the right word for them. Revolutionary sounds positive — it sounds like they’re making a change for the better.”

U of S student’s father caught in Libyan civil war

– –
image: Flickr/Flickr