Libya - Then and Now

It would seem that the whole world is waiting in anticipation for the downfall of that tyrant and military dictator, Colonel Muammar Muhammad al-Gaddafi, a man who has ruled with an iron fist the North African state for 41 years.

But this blog is not really about him but my reminiscences about Libya. It was around November 1985 when my contract with Huffco Indonesia came to a premature end. Working in Badak Gas Plant in East Kalimantan, Indonesia, was one of the most memorable experiences of my life. The money was great, a fantastic job with friendly colleagues (Overseas Technical Service), a great social life and the climate, amazing. But all good things come to an end. It was when I arrived at my hotel in Singapore, where I would spend the night, before catching a flight back to London Heathrow the next morning, that I was handed a telegram at the hotel reception. And it was? My next assignment; a one year contract in Libya!

I recall flying back on that flight to the UK and wondering what it would be like in Libya. And it seemed just like days before I would be boarding a plane to Tripoli two weeks later to take up my new assignment. Me and my colleague would initially be based in a hotel in Benghazi before flying down to the Sarir oil field where most of our work would take place.

My initial perceptions of Benghazi, which was reflected throughout Libya during this time, was a society and infrastructure in dire need of repair and rejuvenation. Most of the shops were half-empty, supermarket shelves sparse, streets strewn with garbage, crumbling buildings, and innumerable motor vehicles just seemingly several days away from the scrap heap. Even back then, when Libya was a distinguished oil producer, I often wondered, “where has all this oil wealth gone?” Answer? Well, not into the pockets of the people.

So I did my first trip of six weeks and then back home for two. It was sometime during my next working trip that there were rumours that America was planning bombing Libya for a myriad of reasons, mostly to do with funding terrorist organisations. However, it wasn’t until the 5 April 1986, when Libyan agents bombed "La Belle" nightclub in West Berlin, killing three people and injuring 229 people who were spending the evening there, that the U.S. decided to act. West Germany and the United States obtained cable transcripts from Libyan agents in East Germany who were involved in the attack.

I flew back to the UK during the last week in March - my colleague came up from Sarir to stay in the hotel in Benghazi - there was much paperwork to sort out befoe he went on leave in mid-April. I was sat having my dinner one evening, which must have been April 14, and watched news footage of American fighter bombers returning to their UK bases after bombing Tripoli and Benghazi. I recall the doom and gloom, fearing for the worst, and I was due to fly back to Tripoli several days later. Anyway word soon got out that there would be no more air strikes unless Gadaffi did something stupid. He never did. So, my company gave me the go-ahead to return to Libya. I will never forget getting off the plane at Tripoli airport. One couldn’t get moving for stern-faced security guards and dozens of armed troops patrolling every quarter of the airport.

Security guards and even local Libyans looked at us (mostly British oil workers) with disdain. They knew we weren’t American because Americans were banned from working in Libya. So they figured we were British and here the problem was because Maggie Thatcher gave Ronald Reagan the go-ahead to use British airbases for the attacks on Libya.

So getting through the airport was one of the scarriest of experiences but once outside, our driver was there to pick us up and drive us to Benghazi. It was then that many of us decided that the time was right to get out of that country.

And here we are, mid-August 2011, and what for Libya now? Watch out for another post soon, when things die down a bit.