The current situation in Libya

One very smart young lady who had to flee Libya AFTER it became free has summarized the situation superbly well for us.

"while fighting each other and calling each other Jerdan & Tahaleb, (the crocodiles-Islamist) were so busy in organizing their selves, attacking cities or kidnapping people and call them Tahaleb so Rats will celebrate their achievement, and now the Crocodiles are dominating Libya, not because Libyans voted for them, but because they have weapons, in Libya now the power for the people who have weapons , thus there is no democracy, it is chaos" [source]


I urge you to read her post if you want to know what happened after we had been declared a liberated land.

My friend Iraqispirit once said back in November 2011 but you are now a country where extremist  will run free; and I told him no Libyans are not like that we do abhor fundamentalists and do not want dictatorships especially of the religious theocracy kind. But I sincerely believe given all the manipulations, egos, selfishness shown by many Libyans especially those who have been dreaming for decades to get to power that we are on the brink of the Islamic Emirate of Libyastan with the world's blessing and help as long as oil flows....I can't blame anyone but Libyan complacency. Any one trying to stop this train is being pushed under the railway tracks.

I endured 40 years of Gaddafi and did not want to leave my country, I did not want to be  a refugee during the war and now it breaks my heart that I may have to consider the option of leaving because I may not have another 40 years to live and wait for better times. It will be so unlike Highlander to do so but trust me it is easier to reason with Gaddafi it seems then with the new masters :)

Hoping 2013 will make the great promise glimpsed at the end of 2011 true

Signing off
Highlander

Decades of Missing Libyans and History

Now that Gaddafi is gone we are free at last to probe for all our missing and to ask questions about numerous panes of Libyan modern history shrouded in mystery because of decades of gagging by the dictator. Since Gaddafi took power Libyans took part in at least 3 conflicts at his orders : Egypt 1977, Uganda 1978, Chad 1980-1987.

The information about how many died, disappeared and were wounded is non-existent, anything Libyans know is hearsay from survivors and a few deserters who made to CIA headquarters in the US. I bet the CIA knows more than us.

These 3 wars need to be recorded and thought in schools as they directly affected generations of Libyans psychologically and sociologically. The Chad war has especially affected family make up and prospects in Libya making a generation of Libyan females unable to find partners.

To add to these 3 conflicts Libyans have been missing in action in Iraq after the US invasion, in Lebanon during the civil war, in Afghanistan since the fight to oust the Russians and now in the Syrian insurgency against Bashar Assad.

There are thousands of Libyans missing for their activism of whatever form against the Gaddafi region as well.

Recently we have to account for the Libyans missing and dead during the 2011 conflict in Libya and post conflict violence.

I'm hoping this project can help, and I'm hoping someone will get on with writing our history before it is lost.

We deserve answers, we deserve to know where are our friends, family and loved ones. We had so much trauma and still have it and we deserve closure - we still don't have closure even after Gaddafi's death.

RIP to American martyrs in Libya

In Libya we are today mourning and in shock over the deaths of the US Ambassador and a number of his staff during the terrorist attack on the consulate in Benghazi. Libya has declared three days of mourning and there will be vigils in a number of cities. This is a sad day for Libya, we did not stop the criminals when they destroyed our mosques and shrines  and infringed on our basic human rights and this had emboldened them to try and take over Libya by force after loosing the election in July. Late ambassador  Chris and his staff are honourary Libyans and will be forever in our heart. I will be going to the US embassy to deliver my flower and pay my respects and enough is enough we have to put the outlaws on trial.

The evisceration of Libya

[source] please note I could not find any copyright for this photo as I took it from the Facebook page in the link.

If you don't care about your history, you have no future and our history is now a pile of rubble thanks to our simpletons who listen to Saudi clerics as they are now 'free' to do so!
May God forgive us Libyans for burning our ancient libraries, desecrating our dead and razing our sanctuaries and mosques. If we have been able to do it then no one should be blaming anyone for 'offending' Islam.

I'm beginning to wonder if we may have  deserved Gaddafi for all our sins... His death may have been deliverance for him from our evil? His death has unleashed the sleeping virus. ( I won't say dragon as dragon is a noble creature).
Today as some of the pillars of Libyan identity are being extinguished one by one the feeling of helplessness cannot be described. The dark ages are upon us.

Libya: on the precipice of a civil war?

A number of Libyan cities and regions have been angry and disappointed by the  NTC and the interim government and also by their compatriots from other regions, first some of them called for federalism as I mentioned in my previous post and now one is  threatening secession .

" [If the NTC]  comes and discusses and negotiate with us  we might reach some agreement and if they say no then we will try to close our borders and defend our revolution then we will create a separate state in this region"

The video is not a translation as the interview was made in English, but I may have misunderstood the statement as the interviewee is not a native English speaker ? also it's a one minute clip so no idea what was said before or after so cannot judge but the statement sounded pretty strong and I cannot judge what is the percentage of the population that backs it up.


One down more to go ?wondering if the fight for Libya is already lost and if the Gaddafi curse is proving correct after all?

Is it a surprise? no

No further comments at the moment from my side, need to reflect more on this.

Thoughts are welcome of course

Libya and the unreachable and dwindling defrosted and frozen assets

"Efforts to release overseas assets tied to the Qaddafi regime have proved complicated and controversial. Releasing the assets will be both politically and legally complicated, because the frozen funds include investments and property owned by private individuals, such as members of Qaddafi's family. Not only has the new Libyan leadership claimed all the frozen funds as its own but American victims of Qaddafi-era terrorism have also clamored for compensation from the assets. [source ]

So President Obama just extended the sanctions on Libyan assets effectively delay business and payments etc..... but I don't think anyone was surprised reallly, it would have been too good to be true if  the money or whatever was in the assets was returned to Libya. First of all who has a legitimate claim to pick it up? I'm happy that no Libyan crooks would get their hands on it. But I don't think anyone of the Libyan people will ever see it again. It's a spoil of war and that is fashionable in the Libyan war of 2011 :P


My understanding is that the American victims of Qaddafi era terrorism have received their compensation why do they want more ? who are the other victims ? was this not settled? can people stop digging these old stories. Gaddafi is dead  I don't think any new Libyan government should be held at the barrel of a gun of the crazy past.


These assets are what the country is counting  on so as not be in debt and help with rebuilding...


In the same article the author states :

"the situation in Libya continues to pose an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States, and we need to protect against this threat "

Why is Libya a threat? it is a war ravaged country .... don't understand the posturing.
It shows there is something fomenting, we hope it is nice and not devastating to the Libyan people ! 


Wherever Libya is turning it's head  it's assets are either still under sanctions or in a black hole ( like the sovereign funds ) or supposedly released in a way that makes them useless though I am aware of the level of corruption in Libya which is appalling and embarrassing  so I can understand the foreign countries  are looking to protect Libyans? 
Also who would blame them for keeping unclaimed assets  etc.... there is recession at their door every where  you turn around.  


Meanwhile the fabled Libyan assets are 'dwindling'


I have not read the executive order so no idea when does this renewal end  maybe it's just until we have an elected government ? 


update 2 am : just read it and this is what it says :


"Therefore, in accordance with section 202(d) of the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1622(d)), I am continuing for 1 year the national emergency declared in Executive Order 13566."

A prophetic nightmare or just a dream in Libya?

With the uncharted rolling power cuts that we have been having in Tripoli for over a month now it's been disruptive to planning your day/evening and work, so sometimes you just have to manage ad hoc and take your naps when you can and finish some late work when you can too.

For example you are planning to work on  a report after dinner and when the house is quiet only to be 'surprised' by the electricity going off at 8 pm, since it won't be back before 11 pm at least and it's cold and you'rw freezing, there is not much to do really except go to bed.

That's why I'm awake now at  3 am, I slept from  8 pm till midnight when the electricity returned and then I played catch up with emails and such. But that's not the story....

While I  fell asleep, I started dreaming that I was having difficulty swallowing and something was choking me in my throat; so in the dream I'm there poking my fingers inside my mouth trying to find the obstruction. Moving around I discover a string which I start to pull at with both my hands just like a floss string that I'm pulling out of my throat it seems. I feel better each time a section of it is coming out and it's really long, black and full of dripping mucus, this keeps going apparently for hours in the dream as I'm aware of monitoring the process with a wall clock, until finally I kind of hit rock bottom with this and the string is pulling at something in my throat and this part is now painful so I look in the mirror to try assess what is it that is stuck to the string only to find out that it is woven or pierced into the uvula in my throat ( believe me I had to check this term online as I never knew it although from numerous Tom and Jerry shows I knew what it was supposed to look like :P ).
In the dream, when I see this I know that I can no longer remove this string on my own and will need some type or surgical assistance, just like removal of a piercing but I have the fear of loosing the string if I put what's left of it back in my mouth. I'm already gagging at the thought.. so I cut the string to a manageable lenght about a metre and leave it hanging out of my mouth and simply continue freaking about how did I ever get into this kind of situation anyway...and I wake up when the lights in my room are back because the electricity in real life is back!

Would anyone care to offer any interpretation ? Can't be an indigestion can it ? it's too vivid

Christmas in Libya

Two years ago, I vowed not to remember anyone's special celebrations unless they remembered mine. I was offended at how come I wished all my friends and acquaintances Christmas, Chanukah, Veterans Day, Independence Day, Nairuz etc... and those same people only remembered Christmas and New Year, no good wishes at all directed to the Muslim world.  I checked and checked on Facebook to see any reaction this year too and it was only from the usual suspects less than 3 people in total ( apart from the Arabs), who do remember every date. The others would remember silly birthdays but nothing more it was as if our festivities do not exist even my Asian friends who have a mix in their respective countries did not remember so I was not going to blame the other folks...

So for all the talk about multiculturalism and melting pots not sure it is working some people think they are superior. The only ones who turned to have the real spirit of multiculturalism were Arabs funnily enough.

And to prove it this is a first in Libya now that Ghaddafi is gone even the Tripoli Post is wishing readers Merry Christmas - go Libya GO ! well done !

So in the true spirit of Christ who originated from our part of world, I am taking my vow back and wishing everyone and not just the usual suspects publicly everything good  for whichever occasion is at hand. After all if someone is not a good person we do not need use the same style of treatment....and here is my first new year resolution...

Merry Christmas everyone !

PS have you wished Libyans a Happy Independence Day ? it was yesterday on Christmas Eve :P

Game Over Gaddafi

Congratulations to all my compatriots! Today the fighting ends officially in Libya.

A death is not  a happy occasion but  the death of Gaddafi  in particular gives a sense of closure to the battered hearts of Libyans all over the world. Libyans needed to see him die in Libya. His death in Libya provides a sense of satisfaction that a trial no matter how 'fair'  could not have done.
Such a clean cut is the best medicine for the wound that has been oozing in Libya for decades.


How he met his end is confusing that's what I'm trying to figure out and I do have some reservations about this, but it does not come as a shock. Some  say he was alive when captured and the videos  we saw on TV and online show that; others say he was badly injured, eyewitness seem to have conflicting accounts.

"Arab broadcasters showed graphic images of the balding, goateed Gadhafi -- wounded, with a bloodied face and shirt -- but alive.
Later video showed fighters rolling Gadhafi's lifeless body over on the pavement, stripped to the waist and a pool of blood under his head.Standing, he was shoved along a Sirte road by fighters who chanted "God is great." Gadhafi appears to struggle against them, stumbling and shouting as the fighters push him onto the hood of a pickup truck.He was driven around lying on the hood of a truck, according to the video. One fighter is seen holding him down, pressing on his thigh with a pair of shoes in a show of contempt." [ref]

However,  it  would come as no surprise that people would not hold themselves and would have finished him off  after capturing him as the overwhelming feeling in Libya was to cut him to shreds if one had the opportunity. It seems the same thing happened to his son Moatassim as well. Live capture and then death.

I was not waiting for his death to feel that Libya had been liberated,  the fall of Tripoli on August 20 was Independence day for me  and Gaddafi's killing has occurred exactly as I expected most of my adult life i.e. extremely violently. 

I've been grappling with bitter sweet feelings triggered by an acquaintance's  comment ( who is not Libyan) who told me last  night  that it was too fishy that just one day following Hillary  Clinton visits  to Libya Gaddafi gets killed :  "she probably ordered his assassination herself and was here to see it through- telling the NTC and any  NATO troops to finish with the Libya movie script". This friend told me now you will see Highlander, as soon as his death is confirmed NATO and the US will pull out of Libya as their mission has ended.
Why do some people insist on ruining the happiness of Libyans with these types of comments?  Just like most Arabs I love conspiracy theories  but not sure how to digest this one. I want to say that we are not dumb  we understand human nature and the self interest of  nations including the Western world ( who had helped and propped up the Arab dictators for decades  and then removed them when no longer useful)  but let us just have a small  time to savour the event - we have suffered incredibly for most of our life and especially these last 9 months, thousands of Libyans have lost lives, limbs and property for  freedom we deserve to grab some moments of celebration.

May the Libyan martyrs rest in peace not just those from 2011 but all those who died because of him and fighting him  throughout those 42 year.

Reflections on fourty years of leaking cyanide in Libya

This post is about answering a number of questions that you have posed to me in your emails. I tried to combine them all in one place. I  probably did something similar about five years ago  …. I hope it helps assuage the readers curiousity.

For the record, I am a native Libyan who has lived the majority of her  life in Tripoli with my family. Yes obviously the war has affected our daily life in Tripoli. The majority had a similar experience to what Khadijater wrote in her diary  of the past few months.

Not going to work meant  that I had a lot of time on my hand. At the end of February  beginning of March I passed through a phase of stupor where I would be sleeping a lot of the time during the day. I think it was a 10 day  period. Then I got myself together and realised there was no point in having a nervous breakdown because it was just not my style. I looked at myself in the mirror on that fateful morning and saw how my once black hair had turned white. It was not like having your first warning of white hairs no it was whole patches of white hair,  pepper and salt .  Now people tell me it's not really that much but I notice it is , the black does not look the jet black of old times because the white is tempering in. It was a shock for me. Not the shock of getting old, I know my age lol, but the shock of it happening overnight.

Life was never the same not only for us in Tripoli but for any of us in Libya. Before the uprising  most Libyans had stopped watching Libyan state TV ( there was not any other kind of  Libyan TV anyway) except for Ramadan when we liked to watch the Libyan programmes. But once the war started we would be checking the Libyan TV along with all the other satellite channels. The Libyan media was taken aback at the beginning but they quickly recovered and deployed all their arsenal. To be honest we have to give them credit for putting up that façade for so long. Six months is a long time to stand in the face of the international deluge and  giant media machine. 

Regardless of whether you were pro or anti Gaddafi,  those people manning the broadcasting station had the hardest job of all.  To be vilified by millions and yet keep having to do this job because it was a matter of not your own survival but probably that of your family members. Just check what  Ruwida has to say:

"i was afraid because not only me even every part of my family will be harmed , non of my relatives can live there normal lives simply and this anti Qaddafi stigma can be inherited too , and you cant get paper that you dont have any anti Qaddafi relatives"

She is talking about blogging but this applies to anything in Libya. This is someone who lives thousands of kilometers away from Tripoli  in Benghazi and can still feel the heavy arm of the Gaddafi regime so what do you think is the fate of those living in Tripoli where he has all his 'machine' with him ?

Having an anti – Gaddafi stigma is non erasable even  if you have been informed it was forgotten and you were forgiven, they can still  throw it at your face whenever they want. Being neutral  was slightly safer until someone decided to  'out' you to the authorities  and then only God could help you. This poisoned atmosphere is how we lived for 40 years and it has increased a hundred fold by the first week of  February 2011. Is it any wonder why so many Libyans had heart disease, diabetes,  hypertension and even cancer or why are we on the top list of dangerous driving countries ?

Just some food for thought, there will probably be a sequel for this post  so much pent up stuff that needs to be released.

Message from Tripoli - Libya

Thank you to all who have prayed for us these last months!

Totally bewildered  and happy  that the nightmare is ending but sad at the loss of life in Libya and among family members.

 My immediate family is safe, cat is still alive, house thank God standing even internet is now back alhamdullilah.

So much has happened but now is not the time for stories I need to finally take a proper rest..

I promise to come back if internet holds in the upcoming days.

Best
Highlander

A morning drive into town

This morning (Monday) I woke up refreshed from a good night sleep (amazing how the body adapts to outside irritants). Having been scooped up for some time now at home I decided it was time to venture in town and forage for medical supplies for the elderly, stuff for the children and of course cat food. We must not forget our four legged friends who are also suffering in this crisis.

Each member of the family has a specific task, I did not really have to go, but I needed to get out of the house and it seemed like a nice, warmish, sunny and quiet day, I might not have the opportunity again...

It felt strange to dress for the street and not for work, I'd forgotten about jeans and sport shoes. My car was brown coloured from the recent sandstorm. I left our garage cautiously, the street looked normal enough, the only anomaly was me probably.

I drove slowly downtown taking in the sights, lots of activity, lots of cars, women walking, people talking on their cellphones. Some shops open though not all mostly groceries and bakeries. Still eerie though.

It felt like being in another dimension, in a parallel world almost, that is the best I could describe it. Banks were definitely open, in a way that was reassuring, many people were looking busy with a purpose, only I seemed idle, after all I only had some shopping to do. I had to think of practical things from the pharmacy not just medicine, things like shampoo, toothpaste, sanitary items etc.. I even managed to find cat food, and in way felt a sense of achievement.

It is sad that my happiness is now reduced to succeeding in obtaining items. Something that I imagined belonged to the communist era...

Despite all this frenzy of activity in the city, there is a deafening silence. The type of silence that precedes a hurricane. The moment just before the animals in the jungle start running.

There is no running away from destiny. Seen from this vantage point it does not look bright.

I'm a bit depressed today, maybe tomorrow I'll have another story to tell?

The final showdown?

Apparently today after Friday prayers will be a decisive day! Well we will find out soon enough it's just round the corner in a couple of hours....May God protect Libya.

I don't know what the 'international community' is doing seeing how there does not seem to be any coherent response; and to be honest I'm not expecting much as they should not have to worry about another country anyway.

I've read that the UK and the US where considering a military rescue action for some of their people who may still be stranded. Not sure I'm happy about that, yes they have a right to worry about their own but not to put our life in more jeopardy because of that. I have not heard that the Chinese or the Egyptians or other countries want to storm Libya to rescue their nationals....Not sure what to think these are just ideas I'm stringing here....

I don't look forward to more sanctions on Libya, the last time around it was ordinary people like us who suffered the most. Please UN, US, EU or whoever is considering sanctions can you weigh them carefully so that you don't add to the casualties here. We really don't look forward to be counted among collateral damage....

And one final thing for those who keep saying leave, I'm saying no, this is my country, I refuse to be a refugee! A real Libyan will never run when things get unsavory.

I have this hope that in less than a week we should be OK, just need to weather this storm and all will be well inshallah!

Week one over, what next ?

First of all I want to thank Dhafer for baby sitting my blog for the past week just in case someone was still reading it; also a heartfelt thank you to those who asked about me.

Secondly seems that internet is more stable today. Not sure what that means and too tired to analyze it or really care anymore...sigh


In a way I believe that living the events is sometimes better than watching them from afar, and while utterly devastated at the loss of life on the ground I have absolutely no means to confirm the numbers. However, I can confirm that all sort of jets have been over the Tripoli airspace, but what they are I cannot identify. Also as I am no expert on ordnance I won't venture any speculation. I have heard explosions and live ammunition but because we do not have many high rise buildings sounds carry far here and so locations are difficult to judge precisely unless you were right there when it happened. All areas of Tripoli have some form of disturbance, the gravity is relative to which strategic hot point is in your neighborhood. One of the more recent posts from PH can perhaps explain it better. Many streets have self made barricades, burning tar barrels etc.. young men are trying to guard their areas with sticks, this is were I wish I had bought a bat when I had the opportunity to. The uncertainty of what form of danger can one be faced with is big factor in keeping the adrenaline running high this is where mistakes can be made when we need to keep a clear head. I thought of rounding up the young men and asking them to help with cleaning some of the mess around but I am sure that in these strange times it will be seen as asking for trouble.

Currently we live one day at a time, you worry about who is shooting at whom, about thugs and criminals ( there are too many after the recent prison releases), you worry about people who will use this situation to their advantage, about war profiteers in basic commodities ( and I have experienced them), about securing medical supplies to children and elderly people, about the possibility of rape and if someone would rescue you or not, about electricity and about being cut off from your family, friends and the world. Dying alone is not fun, dying alone and in a 'dark' loophole without anyone learning about it is worse.

Personally, we are more than 13 souls in this house and that's not counting the pets and it's a challenge at times to ensure everyone does not get on everybody else nerves. I have no news about my aunts, uncle, cousins etc.... because they live in different areas and I can't get them on the phones and none are internet addicts like me. But I am confident that whoever can contact the other first will do so as soon as possible. I may try and drive to where they live today and check on them but not sure it is a safe idea.

Every family in Libya is affected because we are a tight community and because we are a small population. The psychological toll will leave scars and I have not heard anyone in the media offer to help once our trials and tribulations are over, but I'm sure that the non-Arab foreigners who have already left or who are still stuck here will get plenty of psychological support on reaching their homes and I admit that this is somehow irksome to me.

However, Libyans have proven they are a hard nut to crack so inshallah all will be well!

Libya has always been in some way or another a front page news topic and once again we find ourselves in this situation. The world is holding their breath but I'm still not sure if it is caring about the Libyans or simply the cursed oil and the effect that such as crisis is/will be having on the world and honestly just watching all the economic reports makes me lean towards the latter.


Is there danger you ask ? yes but I believe we have reached the point of no return.

What will happen next? I have no idea but and I am praying that the outcome of this situation is to the advantage of our country and its noble people.

Please continue reading the links in my sidebar, they have more updates.

May God help us all.

Highlander

Incommunicado


This is Dhafer posting; communication is currently spotty and Highlander has asked me to let you know the following:


(1) You are on this blog because you watch or read the news
(2) Despicable rats are jumping ship
(3) It is at times like these when you know who are your friends
(4) Tienanmen Redux ...
(5) Please follow up with those who are updating here (whenever they can) and see my sidebar links, there is a lot to digest and we have a lot on our plate.
(6) For those who care, I am currently relatively safe
(7) To the news outlet who wrote - sorry it is not possible
(8) To my people and country may you always be safe, we are one soul.
(9) Until further notice this is Highlander signing off
(10) This must feel reassuring:
"[..] I do not however conclude that Britain or America or "the west" should be blamed for what is happening now in the Middle East, or should be intervening in some way. [..]" (source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/feb/20/libya-protests-oliver-miles)
(11) لا الله الا الله

RIP Gary Moore

I am very sad to learn that Gary Moore is no more and that I won't have more virtuoso guitar tricks to look forward to.

I have not listened for a while to his albums as you need to be in a special kind of mood for that but he was always one to help me cure the blues.... Maybe it's high time to revisit that driving fast with rock music on ?

Owning my dream car at last !

After 4 years of dreaming and 32 comments about my dream car, I am finally the proud owner of the Toyota Highlander 2010 ....

Funnily enough owning my dream car has not filled my heart with the happiness I imagined back in 2006...why is that do you reckon? is it getting old? different preoccupations? or have I still not shaken the moody clouds that have gripped me since the saddest Eid of all?

I think it's probably the latter as I have not written about it yet.

Meanwhile that SUV is causing terror on the road.

Type rest of the post here

The Wolf and the Vampire

Just finished watching New Moon !

Being loved by a werewolf AND a vampire has been my teenage fantasy.
This movie made me feel 16 again... I can't make up my mind who I want : Jacob or Edward? They symbolizes two types of extremely attractive males....

I think I will be buying the books soon to relish the feeling...

Highlander & 2009

2009 was a very special year to me despite the Eid Al Adha fiasco which we will revisit soon but not today…

Last year witnessed some major changes on a personal scale, for the first time in decades New Year resolutions formulated at the start of the year have been fulfilled and are ongoing.


How many of you have stuck to your new year resolutions?

Out of five resolutions, I have undertaken four and have started planning the fifth. I succeeded in three and though the fourth was a failure, I count it as successful also because I broke the ice and did it. This means there is nothing to stop me trying again now. Number 5 is the path to the spirit …

I think that’s why regardless of the bad moments I still feel great and elated. Yes I do…. I am fitter and healthier than I have been for a long time.

2009 began sadly with the loss of our wonderful cat ; but shortly after I’ve met with my best friend in London and we enjoyed every minute; a visit that will be forever engraved in my memory. I met another great friend in Libya and it was such fun seeing him again.

This is the year were more friendships were hatched but others were lost, but this is the first time I no longer feel sad about lost friends because if they were friends they would not be gone. In fact what brought it home was a status message on Facebook “ I have trimmed my list of friends today” and one comment said “ I guess I made it”, well I made it too obviously because I was reading the message and the comments but it opened my eyes that I needed to do a major inventory in my own life. My address book was overflowing and sometimes I could no longer put a face to a name. So there has been an overhaul in that area too, and you know what ? It did not hurt one bit !!!! guess it gets easier with age or is it with maturity?

Did you revise your friendship database ?

This is the year I bought my own house, I don’t live in it but it’s still mine !

How many of you own your own house without being in debt?

I visited unexplored lands and revisited some old favourites.

Did you travel in 2009 and where ?

This is the year Highlander has stopped being starry eyed at work and is now very much office politics savvy. There is no stopping me and the sky’s the limit….

What are your feelings about your job ?

2009 brought a lot of blessings, parents and siblings and nieces and nephews are good despite a close call at a certain period. Hamdillah I am satisfied and grateful!

The year literally ended beautifully! Though the ONE is not yet here, it came as a surprise to be asked in marriage by someone who was born when I was in high school.

Did I accept the offer? Read on to find out .. He is Libyan, young, handsome, smart and has a good job, he has a house and a farm (Libyans will know what I mean), and his mum actually likes me. No he does not speak English and I never met him before but apparently he has been watching me and following me for a couple of months and he just thought I was full life and so cute (his words!). Then he spoke to a common friend of the family who told my mum. My mum told me and I agreed to see him. Then his mother made the first visit to us at home. The second visit he came with her and the common family friend to speak with me. He did not believe me when I told him my age, yet decided to still go ahead with the proposal. For a Libyan man this is surprising but also flattering to me. Because knowing Libyan guys they always go for the youthful pretty face. Even a 25 year old would want his wife to be a minimum of 5 years younger, while guys in their 40s were marrying girls straight from high school. The only exception would be if she was rich and loved him then it would be a marriage of convenience for him.

But I told him, I don’t think it’s a good idea, maybe your immediate family won’t mind but the society would not leave you alone. He told me the Prophet PBUH married Lady Khadija and she was way older than him? Yes that’s true but I would not want something that started so sweetly to end as another statistic. You like me now and think I would probably be a great wife for you. But at some point I will grow old and will stop looking like this and you will still be young. Also we do not share the same interest that would bond us, our pasts are different, I could relate to your things, but you will not be able to relate to mine. Everything is kismet and nasseeb and yours and mine will come someday!

Do you feel and act your ‘supposed’ age?

My friends of course think I blew a good catch, but I don’t think so, you know why?

My ego was over the moon, it meant that right now I looked as I did back in high school, I know that’s narcissist but I would indeed be a hypocrite if I did not say I enjoyed the attention. It was also lovely that he still wanted me after knowing my real biological earth age.

That was God’s masterstroke, a grand finale to an interesting year. God has indeed mysterious ways but he sure knows how to get his message across!
His message was beautiful and full of mercy. It has shown me that if I had for any moment lost confidence in anything, He was watching out for me. I realised that what I thought were wrongs were merely thorns that prickled because I allowed them. What do you do with thorns, you remove them and throw them away and that was that. The little graze is not even worth a second look !

Welcome 2010! This is the year where I hope to visit God’s House, this is the year where I don’t have any resolutions because I have achieved them all. As for wishes we all have them but I won’t tell you mine those are secret and only the Most Merciful knows them.

Happy New Year
Love
Highlander

Christmas, Islamic New Year and a very a sad Eid



It's Christmas today! Around this time of the year I usually wish my friends who observe this feast a Merry Christmas or Happy Holidays to my American friends whose political correctness has rubbed a little on me because they actually feel uncomfortable when you openly congratulate them on Christmas. But funnily enough if they are Jews then they expect you to acknowledge that – no political correctness there – in fact they would tell me straight – I'm Jewish. Almost making you feel guilty that somehow you offended them. I'm never offended if someone wishes me Merry Christmas or Shana Tova, 99.9% of the time the non-Arabs that I know be it in business or a more friendly settings do never wish me a Eid Mabrouk or even Happy Eid and I don't really take offense but I'm revising my attitude and as I said above; from now on I will only bother about those who have actually at one point or another shown some attention. A few occasions will be coming up and those would be my yardstick – just give the same treatment, no longer trying to be better :).

Well this weekend it's Christmas and last weekend was Hijri New Year, no one brought this up on the Libyan blogosphere except for OTE , I think (thank you), and Happy New Hijri Year to Muslims on a global scale. This New Year dawned on me discreetly again some wondered which day it would be exactly, just like the Eid Adha this year 2009.

Flashback to older posts:" this feast is the most important one in the Islamic world. If they are not performing Hajj or pilgrimage to Mecca than the majority of Muslims will sacrifice a sheep on the first day and distribute most of it to the poor people. But the Eid is also very much a family day. Muslims go in the morning to the special Eid prayer and when it ends they return home in processions chanting Allahu Akbar (God is Great [.this is the Takbir.] After the prayers, the families who are making a sacrifice in honour of the Jewish Prophet Abraham who was ordered to prove his faith by sacrificing his own son and who was saved from doing this at the last minute by God.[…] However the Eid is only the culmination of the period of the pilgrimage or Hajj".


This year's Eid Adha was like no other, I was in a Mulsim country but could not hear the Takbir. On entering Mecca the Takbir was recited by the Muslims, and when I hear it on the Eid I am so overwhelmed that my skin tingles and my heart squeezes and I feel the faith being renewed in my soul.


I have not recovered since from this melancholic feeling.. I call it the saddest Eid of all and if you want to know why then come back to read me in couple of days…