Hi All

  I don't really know where to start but it's fair to say that I will never forget the past 8 months. I know I spend the first 5 months of the Libyan  revolution in Canada, but I was following every single step and moment of the revolution. I am in Misurata since August1, and it is so different in here. Giving the fact that Misurata suffered the most, the city is amazingly recovering. I am working with a French company called Acted. It is a non-profit organization and they are really surprised about how organized  Misurat is. Since Qadaffi forces were kicked out from the city, there are lots of new activities and magazines. There are about 14 news papers most of  which are bi-weekly released.

Some of the beautiful seen that I witness in here is whenever the freedom   fighters,rebels, gain a victory in the ground, civilians go on the streets crying, hugging each other and waving flags. Women and children sprinkle rose water over the cars that pass, which is a custom usually reserved for  the bride and groom at weddings. I attended 3 lectures aming to improve the infostructre of Misurata and one lecture discussing the new constitution. It feels like all these people were hidden till the revolution started. as if they all were waiting for the revolution against Qadaffi to do something  for the country.

 I know I lost my only brother for this revolution. He was fighting with the freedome fighters after Qadaffi raped and killed so many people in misurata. He was protecting our familes/children and women from being killed or raped. We all die ,it is the way you die is what matters. People here think of people like my brother as heros. There are so many graffic and pictures of them in walls and cars. The names of the people being killed are written on one big wall, named the wall of the martyr.

 people here work as one big family, everyone gets involved in doing something useful. There are lots of stories to be told, but I honestly can not describe the great environment and the high spirit in here.

  As some of you may know, any sense of Libyan identity and narrative has been hijacked by the nightmare of the Gaddafi regime. In fact it had been the programme of the dictatorship to capture and corrupt even the minutest details of individuals' stories.

   For the first time in our history the idea of democracy is a real, tangibl idea, not a fairy tale. Revolutions aren't about negative objectives, about simply getting rid of people. the world is  about discovering who we are; and what it means to be Libyans.
 
 
 
   Munir
 

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Libyan revolution in Misurata

I don't write to about my community often, but this year is special because it's the Feb 17 revolution baby and many people don't know much about it.
 
Let me tell you a little bit about my story. I am living a couple miles from Tripoli street, and I was the kind of person who thought  local community doesn't matter anymore if we've got the internet and tv. The only time I thought about my neighbors so seriously was when I hoped they wouldn't bother me with nonsense.
 
When the Tripoli street fell, I found myself talking to more people in the days after Feb 17 than ever before. People said hello to neighbors (next-door and across the city) who they'd normally  ignore. People were looking after each other, helping each  other, and meeting up with each other. You know, being neighborly.
 
A lot of people were thinking that maybe Feb 17 revolution could bring
people together in a lasting way. We didn't know if it would work. Most people thought it was a crazy idea -- especially because Qadaffi regime was designed to make people distrust one another and stay distanced  .
 

After the success of Libyan revolution, people in Misurata who were partners in the battle field are often happen to grow businesses and bands together, they teach and
motivate each other, they babysit each other's kids and find other ways to work together. They have fun and find solace together. They make friends and form powerful community. It's powerful feelings.
 
It's a wonderful revolution in local community, and it's thanks to everyone who sacrificed their life to stand against Qadaffi brutal regime.
 
 
Qadaffi didn't make us too scared to go outside or express our feelings to "strangers". Feb 17 didn't rip us apart. No, it was meant for us for building new community together!!!!
 
Qadaffi fell, but we rise up. And we're just getting started with building a new democratic and and just state.

I am loving in it!!

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