Tripoli Witness

I learned of Rana Jawad´s book early last year. I could not find it in Libya nor in Austria, so I ordered it through Amazon. It only took the short period of ten weeks from ordering it to its delivery, maybe they thought that time doesn´t matter in Libya ;-)
The book has two parts: At first a surprsingly long part (making up 3/4 of the book) about how life was in in Gadaffi´s Libya. From private life over how journalists were treated up to official events. I you only happen to come to Libya after the revolution, this is your "Dummy´s guide to Libya". For most of this part I could only nod my head and have sometimes a smile on my lips. Of course it also brought up many old memories about how life was at those times.
However, I must add one thing: Rana described the "Great Man Made River Project" as the "Great Man Made Boring", describing it as the most boring thing she had experienced in Libya.
I strongly believe that the whole project is an incredible piece of engineering work. Unseen anywhere in the world. Pumping desert water over thousands of kilometers, making the desert green, bringing water to the coast. Many experienced in late 2011 what the project meant when the water stopped flowing. At the same time I always felt, that from an economic as well as an environmental point of view, this project was completely crazy. A waste of ressources. An Austrian consultancy, entrusted the judge the whole project in 2010 could not believe what they encountered. Their assessment was that water would last only for another 70 years.
On a different note, I would like to add, Rana, that our neighbours Switzerland are not part of Northern Europe !
The second part, tells about the 6 months of the revolution in Tripoli. Interesting insight, however I would have loved to read more about that times. Especially the time after May 2011 is completely missing. I personally, having been in Tripoli end July 2011, found that this was the most fierce but also interesting time of the revolution. It was the time when Tripoli was half empty and you had a feeling of a belagered city while NATO bombs were falling day and night.
Finally I am missing a bit of "witness reports" of the residents of Tripoli. After reading the book, I feel like in Tripoli there were only revolutionaries and that everybody was waiting for the "zero hour". Hearing some reports from the other side would be equally interesting. But I guess the interviews for those people would have to be done in Tunisia these days.

Bilfinger Berger, MSEC

Bilfinger Berger, eine der größten europäischen Baufirmen hat auch in Libyen eine lange und bewegte Geschichte. Im Camp, unweit der Swani Road, tümmelten sich einmal hunderte Facharbeiter, Ingenieure, Elektriker, Köche, uvm. Man war weitgehend autark, fast schon so wie die Chinesen, die selbst ihre Konservendosen eingeflogen haben.
Die Einfahrt zu Bilfinger in Libyen, oder besser gesagt "Mediterranean Sea Engineering and Construction" wie das Joint Venture mit dem libyschen Partner heisst lässt die glanzvollen Zeiten noch erahnen.

... und wen findet man dort?
Echte Libyen Kenner hätten jetzt wahrscheinlich gar nicht das Bild links ansehen müssen um "Traugott Spiegelhalter" zu nennen. Wenn er sich auf englisch vorstellen muss, dann ist das eben "Trustingod Mirrorholder".
Ehrenbürger von Benghazi sei er geworden, wegen seiner Verdienste. Und deshalb trägt er auch die Benghazische Kluft anlässlich seines Geburtstages.
Er möchte auch jene Lügen strafen die da behaupten er hätte es mit dem Alkohol.
Nein, Wasser Marke "Safi" (nicht Salafi...) ist er zugesprochen. Das schmeckt ihm auch ausgezeichnet und hält ihn jung und frisch.

Ich sage ihm: "Traugott, das nehme ich Dir nicht ab", aber Traugott lässt mich einen Blick in die allerheiligsten Verstecke, den Eisschrank, werfen. Und siehe da: Von oben bis unten gefüllt mit Softdrinks aller Marken und Arten.
Da bleibt kein Auge trocken,und für gute Laune bei Traugotts Geburtstagsfeier ist gesorgt.
Ingrid, Traugotts Frau hat köstlich gekocht, mitunter auch unter erschwerten Bedingungen jene Lebensmittel herangekarrt die sonst schwer erhaeltlich sind.

Und wenn man einmal im Hause Spiegelhalter zuviel Zuckerwasser getrunken hat, bleibt noch immer der Gang in den Fitnessraum.