Joy, fear and sadness are the emotions felt by two former RNW correspondents now that the end of the Gaddafi regime is near. Two personal views of the historic events in their home country.

Omar Elkeddi watches live reports from Tripoli all night long. “I’ve been waiting for this for more than twelve years,” he says. “That’s when I fled Libya, but even before that I was living in internal exile.” Until recently Mr Elkeddi worked for Radio Netherlands Worldwide’s Arabic desk. When the uprising began in Libya, he felt he had to contribute. He left RNW to become editor-in-chief at Libia al-Ahraar (‘Libya for the Free') , a rebel TV station based in Qatar.

But joy is not the overriding emotion. Mr Elkeddi realises there will be difficult times ahead after Gaddafi has gone.

“When victory comes, it is not just a time for great joy, but also a time for anticipation. Just like when a child is born, the new era will be weak and vulnerable in the beginning. It will need protecting. I can feel that in spite of the joy.”

Tears in his eyes
Libyans inside and outside the country are avidly following reports on the developments in the capital. They continually try to contact friends and family. They refused to believe the end could be near until the rebels reached Tripoli's central square last night.

Similarly former RNW correspondent Tareq Alqzeeri lost sleep last night. He keeps his website Jeel Libya up to date with developments in Libya. Mr Alqzeeri could be seen live on television when his current employer al-Jazeera announced what appeared to be the arrest of Saif al-Islam. There were tears in his eyes:

“Of course, his name, his very self embodies the monstrosity of this regime. And you know, in a couple of days he will be in The Hague.”  (This was before it turned out that Saif had apparently not been arrested after all.)

Return to Libya
“Right now I feel a cocktail of emotions,” says Mr Alqzeeri. Like many Libyans, he has paid a high personal price: his brother and five other members of the family have been killed in the fighting in the past six months, 20 others were injured.

  “When the end of the regime came into sight, we began to feel sadness. For our dead, as well as for those who have been injured or have become disabled. Hundreds of people have lost limbs. Countless people have been maimed or have become disabled as a result of this war.”

Neither of the two men can wait to see their families. Mr Alqzeeri has not seen his in ten years, because he has been living in exile. Mr Elkeddi also plans to return as soon as possible – for good. “To me Qatar is just a stop on the way to Libya.”
 

(nc/rk)