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A trip down Kafala Alley - and Sarkozy Avenue? | A trip down Kafala Alley - and Sarkozy Avenue? |
(about 7 hours later) | |
By Tarik Kafala BBC News | By Tarik Kafala BBC News |
Forty years of Colonel Gaddafi's rule have been swept away in Libya this year, but when I returned to the country I left at the age of 10, I found some things had barely changed. | Forty years of Colonel Gaddafi's rule have been swept away in Libya this year, but when I returned to the country I left at the age of 10, I found some things had barely changed. |
"Wishwasha" is one of those perfect Libyan words. | "Wishwasha" is one of those perfect Libyan words. |
It refers to the people who inform on you to the secret police. | It refers to the people who inform on you to the secret police. |
The word is onomatopoeic - if you say it just right, with your hand shielding your mouth, it sounds like malicious whispering. | The word is onomatopoeic - if you say it just right, with your hand shielding your mouth, it sounds like malicious whispering. |
The word has not always meant informer - for older Libyans, it still means mosquito. | The word has not always meant informer - for older Libyans, it still means mosquito. |
Fear of the wishwasha is gone now. | Fear of the wishwasha is gone now. |
People come and go, meet and talk, criticise, complain and gossip with glee. | People come and go, meet and talk, criticise, complain and gossip with glee. |
By one count, in Tripoli alone, 500 new civil society groups have been set up - political parties, pressure groups, newspapers and magazines, environmental groups, even an animal welfare society. | By one count, in Tripoli alone, 500 new civil society groups have been set up - political parties, pressure groups, newspapers and magazines, environmental groups, even an animal welfare society. |
Everyone who is anyone is convening a conference to address some pressing ill. | Everyone who is anyone is convening a conference to address some pressing ill. |
All this politics is exciting and chaotic. Two of the conferences I attended ended in tetchy disarray, as debate turned to argument and then boiled over into shouting. | All this politics is exciting and chaotic. Two of the conferences I attended ended in tetchy disarray, as debate turned to argument and then boiled over into shouting. |
At times, Libyans seem drunk on their new freedoms. | At times, Libyans seem drunk on their new freedoms. |
Not everyone is thrilled with the make-up of the new government but many people I spoke to were proud that they have a government, and that the ministers could be seen nightly on TV, answering hostile questions and being hassled into doing something about what matters to them. | Not everyone is thrilled with the make-up of the new government but many people I spoke to were proud that they have a government, and that the ministers could be seen nightly on TV, answering hostile questions and being hassled into doing something about what matters to them. |
'The Mafia' | 'The Mafia' |
I anxiously watched the Libyan uprising at a distance, from England. | I anxiously watched the Libyan uprising at a distance, from England. |
The protests turned almost immediately into a war, with terrible acts committed on both sides, and eventually the bloody drama of Muammar Gaddafi's end. | The protests turned almost immediately into a war, with terrible acts committed on both sides, and eventually the bloody drama of Muammar Gaddafi's end. |
It took only nine months to undo four decades of rule by a family often referred to now as "the Mafia". | It took only nine months to undo four decades of rule by a family often referred to now as "the Mafia". |
But the fighting opened up existing fault lines in Libya and of course, where some Libyans are triumphant, others have been left vanquished, destitute and scattered. | But the fighting opened up existing fault lines in Libya and of course, where some Libyans are triumphant, others have been left vanquished, destitute and scattered. |
And there are so many armed men, everywhere you look there are guns. | And there are so many armed men, everywhere you look there are guns. |
One of the most startling and immediate effects of the revolution is to sweep away all signs - on the surface at least - of Gaddafi himself. | One of the most startling and immediate effects of the revolution is to sweep away all signs - on the surface at least - of Gaddafi himself. |
He was a vain man, and his image and slogans were everywhere, but the only place you see him now is in the gaudy graffiti. | He was a vain man, and his image and slogans were everywhere, but the only place you see him now is in the gaudy graffiti. |
He is often depicted suffering another gruesome death. | He is often depicted suffering another gruesome death. |
Nicolas Sarkozy Avenue | Nicolas Sarkozy Avenue |
Names are being changed too. | Names are being changed too. |
A huge tower in downtown Tripoli used to be known as Fatah Tower, in honour of the revolution that brought Gaddafi to power. Now it is Tripoli Tower. | A huge tower in downtown Tripoli used to be known as Fatah Tower, in honour of the revolution that brought Gaddafi to power. Now it is Tripoli Tower. |
Green Square in the centre of the city is now Martyrs' Square. | Green Square in the centre of the city is now Martyrs' Square. |
There seems to be a plan to change Algeria Place into Qatar Place. Algeria offered no backing during the uprising, as far as the revolutionaries are concerned, while Qatar was actively supportive. | There seems to be a plan to change Algeria Place into Qatar Place. Algeria offered no backing during the uprising, as far as the revolutionaries are concerned, while Qatar was actively supportive. |
There is talk of a Nicolas Sarkozy Avenue - France was the first government to recognise the National Transitional Council in Benghazi. | There is talk of a Nicolas Sarkozy Avenue - France was the first government to recognise the National Transitional Council in Benghazi. |
That is another key word for the new Libya, everything is run by a council these days. The old regime was very fond of committees. | That is another key word for the new Libya, everything is run by a council these days. The old regime was very fond of committees. |
Then there are the inevitable ironies of revolutions. | Then there are the inevitable ironies of revolutions. |
The current government is doing its work from the building that once held the General People's Committee, the body that ostensibly governed the country. | The current government is doing its work from the building that once held the General People's Committee, the body that ostensibly governed the country. |
A grouping that is trying to fashion itself into a moderate Islamist party has set up shop in the office of Abdullah Mansour, the former head of Libyan television. | |
Childhood places | Childhood places |
While in Tripoli, I went on pilgrimages to some significant sites from my childhood. | While in Tripoli, I went on pilgrimages to some significant sites from my childhood. |
The Golf Club is now gone completely. | The Golf Club is now gone completely. |
It lost the golf course before I was born but retained the name, the clubhouse and a wonderful stretch of beach where most of our summer holidays were spent. | It lost the golf course before I was born but retained the name, the clubhouse and a wonderful stretch of beach where most of our summer holidays were spent. |
A few years ago, someone in power decided to level the clubhouse and dumped the rubble on the beach, leaving a huge mess that scars the seafront to this day. | A few years ago, someone in power decided to level the clubhouse and dumped the rubble on the beach, leaving a huge mess that scars the seafront to this day. |
However, my school (then the American Oil Company School) was still there, barely changed but a little shabby. | However, my school (then the American Oil Company School) was still there, barely changed but a little shabby. |
It has the same rows of lockers, the same classrooms separated by little lawns containing the same furniture, the covered walkway, the gym - exactly as they were but for a few coats of paint. | It has the same rows of lockers, the same classrooms separated by little lawns containing the same furniture, the covered walkway, the gym - exactly as they were but for a few coats of paint. |
I visited Kafala Alley, a short, narrow street on the edge of Tripoli's ruined old city that once housed my father's extended family. | I visited Kafala Alley, a short, narrow street on the edge of Tripoli's ruined old city that once housed my father's extended family. |
As a young boy, he lived in a classic Libyan home - three floors with small windowless rooms opening out on to a central courtyard. | As a young boy, he lived in a classic Libyan home - three floors with small windowless rooms opening out on to a central courtyard. |
And the home where I grew up, in a newer part of Tripoli, is still there - weathered and worn, lived in by some former army general who will not move out. | And the home where I grew up, in a newer part of Tripoli, is still there - weathered and worn, lived in by some former army general who will not move out. |
I peered through the gate into the garden. | I peered through the gate into the garden. |
The curtains in my old bedroom window were drawn closed. | The curtains in my old bedroom window were drawn closed. |
Now that my wife and family are finally going to get to visit Libya, I am going to teach my children some more essential Arabic. | Now that my wife and family are finally going to get to visit Libya, I am going to teach my children some more essential Arabic. |
That annoying thing that buzzes around your ear just as you are about to fall asleep will definitely be a wishwasha. | That annoying thing that buzzes around your ear just as you are about to fall asleep will definitely be a wishwasha. |
We're going to reclaim the word. | We're going to reclaim the word. |
How to listen to From Our Own Correspondent: | How to listen to From Our Own Correspondent: |
BBC Radio 4: A 30-minute programme on Saturdays, 1130. | BBC Radio 4: A 30-minute programme on Saturdays, 1130. |
Second 30-minute programme on Thursdays, 1100 (some weeks only). | Second 30-minute programme on Thursdays, 1100 (some weeks only). |
Listen online or download the podcast | Listen online or download the podcast |
BBC World Service: | BBC World Service: |
Hear daily 10-minute editions Monday to Friday, repeated through the day, also available to listen online. | Hear daily 10-minute editions Monday to Friday, repeated through the day, also available to listen online. |
Read more or explore the archive at the programme website. | Read more or explore the archive at the programme website. |