So basically, alQathafi died, Allah yer7amo Inshallah. I say Allah yer7amo, because where he’s heading he’s going to need it. I kind of didn’t expect it to end this way. Dragged out of a drain pipe, barefoot and bleeding, hair straggled all over the place, pushed around, photographed and laughed at. And then eventually shot in the head and dragged on the road. The look of terror and despair on his face in that video is just… terrible. I wonder what he was thinking! Or if he was thinking at all. To be hungry and exhausted and crushed, and just know that you are heading towards an inevitable death at the hands of an angry mob that will not show you the mercy you denied them.
The strange thing is that he stood true to his words. He said he wouldn’t leave his country alive, and he didn’t. He stayed in that city of doom surrounded by airstrikes and gunshots, and stayed put. Right until the end. That I call either extreme bravery or extreme pig-headedness. And his son stayed by his side until the end. I don’t know but that was quite touching. If I should ever be in such a situation (God forbid), I would stick to my dad’s side until the end.
Here are some statistics from the great Wikipedia, which may I remind you is not a scientific reference and I place no claims to its reliability. Born 1942, ruled for 42 years. He has (had) 8 children, 7 of which were boys of various accomplishments and reputations. When he took over after the coup in 1969, he kicked out all the American and British soldiers, and demanded that the country’s share in the oil revenue be increased; raising it from 50 to 79%, putting Libya right up there with KSA in supposed wealth. Not a bad start. In 1973 he passed a law that prevented freedom of speech, and 20% of the country worked for committees that monitored any political activities, communicating with foreigners, etc, for which penalties ranged from 3 years in jail to public execution and mutilations broadcasted on national TV. Between 2000 and 2010, the country’s GDP rose 10.6%, the highest in Africa. Interesting enough, Libya also has the highest education index in the continent. Also not bad. 97% of the urban population has access to ‘proper’ sanitation; that’s 21% higher than the world average. During his rule, the number of doctors per 1000 citizens increased 7 times, hospital beds increased 3 times and infant mortality rate dropped from 125/1000 live births to just 15.04/1000; also the best in the continent; however not reflecting the level of patient care. There have been roughly 6 assassination attempts and plots against his life over the years.
The numbers go on and on, about his estimated wealth, estimated number of people killed over the years from his and how many other countries, estimated number of those missing, etc. His eccentricities, his many wars and support of ‘terrorist groups’. His ideological persuits. He did have accomplishments, that we know. However, if I had any doubt in my mind about whether he was a good person or not, I just remember what he did to all those people over the past few months. How he blew the suppression to smithereens, like they really were a crowd of rats like he called them, and not actual people. And those Libyans, they just kept on coming. Teachers and grocers and janitors and mechanics and thieves and taxi-drivers; everyone just picked up a gun and headed into the desert. Like death was nothing to them. Like it was the most natural thing in the world. They were fed UP. And eventually, the caught the man that had ruled them with an iron first for 42 years, dragged him out of a drain pipe at the age of 69, and shot him in the head. And then spent the night dancing in the streets with the joy of freedom.
The strange thing is that he stood true to his words. He said he wouldn’t leave his country alive, and he didn’t. He stayed in that city of doom surrounded by airstrikes and gunshots, and stayed put. Right until the end. That I call either extreme bravery or extreme pig-headedness. And his son stayed by his side until the end. I don’t know but that was quite touching. If I should ever be in such a situation (God forbid), I would stick to my dad’s side until the end.
Here are some statistics from the great Wikipedia, which may I remind you is not a scientific reference and I place no claims to its reliability. Born 1942, ruled for 42 years. He has (had) 8 children, 7 of which were boys of various accomplishments and reputations. When he took over after the coup in 1969, he kicked out all the American and British soldiers, and demanded that the country’s share in the oil revenue be increased; raising it from 50 to 79%, putting Libya right up there with KSA in supposed wealth. Not a bad start. In 1973 he passed a law that prevented freedom of speech, and 20% of the country worked for committees that monitored any political activities, communicating with foreigners, etc, for which penalties ranged from 3 years in jail to public execution and mutilations broadcasted on national TV. Between 2000 and 2010, the country’s GDP rose 10.6%, the highest in Africa. Interesting enough, Libya also has the highest education index in the continent. Also not bad. 97% of the urban population has access to ‘proper’ sanitation; that’s 21% higher than the world average. During his rule, the number of doctors per 1000 citizens increased 7 times, hospital beds increased 3 times and infant mortality rate dropped from 125/1000 live births to just 15.04/1000; also the best in the continent; however not reflecting the level of patient care. There have been roughly 6 assassination attempts and plots against his life over the years.
The numbers go on and on, about his estimated wealth, estimated number of people killed over the years from his and how many other countries, estimated number of those missing, etc. His eccentricities, his many wars and support of ‘terrorist groups’. His ideological persuits. He did have accomplishments, that we know. However, if I had any doubt in my mind about whether he was a good person or not, I just remember what he did to all those people over the past few months. How he blew the suppression to smithereens, like they really were a crowd of rats like he called them, and not actual people. And those Libyans, they just kept on coming. Teachers and grocers and janitors and mechanics and thieves and taxi-drivers; everyone just picked up a gun and headed into the desert. Like death was nothing to them. Like it was the most natural thing in the world. They were fed UP. And eventually, the caught the man that had ruled them with an iron first for 42 years, dragged him out of a drain pipe at the age of 69, and shot him in the head. And then spent the night dancing in the streets with the joy of freedom.