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| Libya's place in the world. Bordered by Tunisia and Algeria on its West. Niger and Chad on its South and Egypt and Sudan on its East. To the north is Mediterrean sea as well as Malta, Sicily and further north is Italy. In the southeast the Great manmade river, an underground aquafier that provides fresh drinking water to Libyan households and has helped to irrigate farmland. It's strategic location is one of the pull factors for the migrants racing towards Europe on boats. |
Afrisynergy News interview with Jaballah Shebani, MP representing Tawergha
Since 2011 Libyan civil war, Libya has been hurling downward to the hellish abyss in terms of societal and communal destruction of cities that were ethnically cleansed such as Targhewa, continue to be shelled and attacked by self proclaim revolutionary heroes and saviors such as Bani Walid, on the outskirts of Tripoli, Sabha and Kufra. The Libyan militias have refused to disarm and continue to feel as though all Libyans owe them the highest seats in Libyan government, in the profits and wealth of Libyan oil regarded as the best crude in Africa along with Nigeria's sweet crude and infrastructural development at the expense of other towns. As mentioned before, Libya unofficially has two rival governments. The National Unity government based in Tripoli and the militia backed government in Benghazi led from the shadows by Khalifa Haftar.
Human smugglers and trafickers have taken advantage of the exhausted migrants by pplacing the migrants and their families (the few who are fotunate to travel with their children and spouses) onto overcrowded danghies and boats to their final destinations in Italy and Sicily, Greece and from Morocco to Spain. Some 4,000 people have died crossing the Mediterrean Sea. Many hundreds of been returned to Libya or halted by the militias under funding from the Italian government or other joint EU funding for anti-trafficking and keeping the migrants out of Europe. Yes, Gadaffi also prophesized that Europe would turn Black over time with the continued migrant flows. It should be remembered too that Africans both modern and ancient have been going by boat to Europe for centuries. African migrations to Italy, Malta, Spain and Greece is not new. The Carthigians went into Spain and found the city of Cartegena. In Sicily, the moors left behind their DNA (also in Iberia and Italy too) and architecture.
Migrant workers who had been stranded in the African country after 2011 NATO backed civil war have faced unspeakable horrors ranging from slvaery, human trafficking to rape and frequent burning as cruel punishments under power hungry and money blinded militias. The continual flow of West African migrants, Sudanese Syrians, Afghans and other migrants has racheted up the cruel violence and abuses by the Libyan militias looking to vent their anger via bodily harm of innoncent migrants who are only passing through Libya. Keep in mind that Libyans are Africans much like Sudanese, Nigerians and Moroccans. Libya had the highest human development index out of all the African countries. While Libya did have some crumbling infrastructure in Benghazi, many migrant workers came to work on contstruction sites and made up bulk of the manual labor within the Libyan workforce from Sudan, Egypt and Mali and further way from Bangladesh, Turkey, Pakistan, China and even Russia. The migrants included Coptic christians from Egypt. Libya was relatively peaceful after the 1986 bombing of Libya. Gaddhafi was commited much like the now former Zimbabwean leader Robert Mugabe, toward a United Africa, with a gold back dinar and helping to financial multiple infrastructure projects across Africa .
Sudanese migrants have not been spared from the beatings firey torture by Libyan militiamen. Despite the fact that the Sudanese government particulary President Omar al Bashir fool heartedlt supported the NATO war and bombings on Libya and Gaddhafi. Sudan has gone along with the gulf monarchies Saudi Arabia, UAE and Kuwait which showed no remorse or emphathy for ordinary Libyans caught under th NATO destruction and now the militia choas. None of the mentioned countries cared for Gaddhafi nor supported him politically or fiancially. By the time he was excuted by militia, Gaddhafi was seen as a joke by the Arab League particulary Saudi and its do or die allies including Sudan and UAE. Gaddhafi had warned the Arab League members on numerous occassions to be weary of Western intervention in the region. He also emphasized that bickering between member states was causing more harm. Much like the West, the gulf monarchies dismissed his prophetic warnings of pure bluffs even laughing to his face. Nevermind that the 2003 Anglo Americna invasion of Iraq was prelude to the current choas in North Africa and Mesopatamia region. It is only after Syri's own war and ISIS invasion and destruction began that the gulf monarchies finally opened their eyes and lament that Libya was a precursor to the fracaso in Syria.
Tawergha revival: A return home after 7 years
Taweghans have been displaced for the last 7 years in IDP and refugee camps in Tripoli, Benghazi and the outskirts of other cities. Many Taweghan families have protested in front of the Tripoli based Prime Minister's office against Misruta milita who destroyed their town on false rumors that Targhewans were mercanaries hired by Gaddhafi to attack and destroy the city of Misruta. After 7 years, the Taweghans will finally be allowed to return home on 1 February 2018. The announcement comes from Faiez Serraj head of the Presidency Council who negotiated for the return between representatives from Misruta and Tawerghans outside the town. The negative stereotype of African mercanariy for hire tearing up Misruta and other anti Gaddhafi rebels was broadcast by Western media as the truth when in reality most of the african soldiers fighting alongisde the Libyan government were Libyas themseleves and not from neghboring countries such as Chad, Sudan or Niger and Mali. Often times, the pundits in U.S. and Europe did little to research into the claims by Libyan militias or rebels aking the rumors as facts. The damage has had real and lasting consequences for dark skinned Taweghans who make up 50% of Libya's population and are a majority in Southern Libya.
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