“Gaddafi is not clinging onto power because of greed but because he is a megalomaniac.”
A LIMERICK based Libyan national believes that Gadaffi’s regime is coming to an end and the people of his country are looking for their dignity back. “He is gone I think definitely, but it is a matter of time. The more time he is there, the more people will get killed”. The man, who is a professional in his 30s, did not wish to be named as he is worried about his family’s safety in Libya.
“It looks bad, Civil War is something I would be afraid of, to be honest because there are guns everywhere.
“Lots of civilians are using weapons and 40% of them are not trained at all”.
Originally from southern Libya he has met Colonel Muammar Gadaffi three times.
He last met the Libyan leader a year before he arrived in Ireland in 2002.
“I met Gaddafi three times at gatherings in my uncle’s house.He is a strong charismatic figure, but he was not as flamboyant as he is on television.
“During the international sanctions in Libya for 11 years, he had nothing to do, but travel around the country meeting people.
“I never had a problem with him to be honest I never hated him but since he started using mercenaries that’s very bad that hurts me more than anything else”.
Although the latest uprising has followed similar movements in Egypt and Tunisia, he said that the anger of the Libyan people has been there for a long time.
“It built up, people heard rumours about those who were killed in the Abu Shalim prison massacre. You would always hear about something going on in Tripoli or Benghazi, of people fighting and being killed, but it is the first time that these things have been uncovered for the people of Libya”.
He spoke about the extent of Gaddafi’s rule in his home country.
“It’s very complicated because for 41 years there is nothing only Gaddafi, he managed everything – for example this crisis has been going on for two weeks -you never hear the Prime Minister or the Minister for Foreign Affairs talking, just Gaddafi and his sons which means the rest of them have nothing, they are not powerful and they can’t make any decisions”.
He said that Gaddafi had been trying to win the favour of his people in recent times.
“Now, if you’re looking for a mortgage for a house, no problem, you get it straight away, before you had to wait three or four years.”
However, he believes Gaddafi is not clinging onto power because of greed but because he is a megalomaniac.
“Gaddafi himself, he’s not a money man he’s not looking for money. but his sons definitely are, they would kill each other for money, but himself he’s a power man, he’s looking for fame”.
As long as Libya avoids a brutal Civil War he believes that the country will have a bright future.
“Whatever happens, it’s going to get better. If we avoid a large Civil War it will be a paradise, I am very hopeful.
“There is a huge gap in the mentality of my generation of Libyans, who are highly educated and Gaddafi’s old fashioned mentality”.
The man is part of a small community of Libyans living in Limerick.
According to the 2006 Census there are 27 Libyans living in Limerick and East Clare.
