South Asia: Reactions on the New Beginning of Libya · Global Voices
Jehan Naseem

This post is part of our special coverage Libya Uprising 2011.
The death of Muammar Gaddafi marked the end of more than four decades of autocratic rule in Libya. People from all over the world are expressing their views on  his reign, the way he died and the new beginning it promises to Libya. South Asian bloggers were also quick to express their opinions.
Shiv Aroor, a journalist from Indian news channel Headlines Today, described his account of a day in Bin Jawwad, Libya. He was only a kilometer from Gaddafi's forces with his colleagues, trying his best to survive:
It was bitterly cold that night. While rebel ack-acks continued to fire sporadically through the night, the whipping Mediterranean wind would make it one of our more uncomfortable nights. We drove back to the hospital, and asked Dr Altarash if he was sure he could accommodate us, since we didn't want to stay at the hotel. “Don't even think of staying at the hotel. That's the most dangerous place around here. Stay the night here with us. You can eat what we eat, sleep where we sleep. If we have to die, we die together. We are family,” he said. And he really meant it.
Indrajit Samarajiva from Sri Lanka writes:
Ah, Muammar. One of an older breed of amusing psychopaths, something like the Mervyn Silva of the international stage. If you can ignore the torture, the murder, the corruption, the terrorism and the general FAIL, he was a funny guy. Zenga Zenga. Now he’s dead.
Tunisians and Libyans celebrate the demise of Gaddafi in front of the Libyan Embassy in Tunis with the Libyan flag. Image by Hamideddine Bouali. Copyright Demotix (20/10/2011)
In my own blog, I highlighted my family's experience of living in Libya in the beginning of Gaddafi's rule:
Libya would never be the same under General Gaddafi’s rule. The Libyan Constitution ceased to exist. Whatever words he would utter, with immediate effect, become the law. No one had the choice to refute it, what he said, was as good as done. Since he had severe ambivalence towards any “western” foreign influences, all foreign languages were removed from the local schools. This was exceptionally difficult for my eldest sister’s education.
Pakistani blogger Kashif Aziz at Chowrangi wonders where the recent revolutions in Arab world will lead to:
I take this recent wave of revolution in Arab lands, labelled as the Arab Spring, as another phase of the New Middle East proposal floated during Bush regime. The wave that toppled the governments of Tunisia and Egypt, shook Bahrain and Yemen and spread anarchy in Syria while Iraq has already disintegrated, Libya has recently fallen down and Pakistan is in the crosshairs.
So what’s next? and to what this chaos and mayhem will lead to?
Indrajit concludes his post with:
From Prabhakaran to Bin Laden, terrorists are being found and killed. While I take no particular pleasure in this, it is probably a net good. War is never good, but wars that end and enable a better future can be. I wish creatures like Gaddafi would never emerge in the first place, but here’s hoping that we’re entering an era where such obvious douchebaggery is either weeded out or never takes root. Good luck Libya. You’re gonna need it.
As the world prays for the Libyans so they can have a start, they battle for their daily lives; hoping that their future generations can have a new beginning with ease.
This post is part of our special coverage Libya Uprising 2011.