Oppressed by a vicious and arbitrary government, struggling to make ends meet in a stagnant, closed-off economy, the Libya people continue to suffer as another...
Wait. I've been in Tripoli for almost a week, and I'm still amazed at what I see. Life here is good. Business seems to be booming, and Libyans tell me they felt few effects of the global recession. Beautiful shiny stores are full of people, even late at night. The main market, which spills out of the medina and into the surrounding streets, is packed with people browsing, chatting, and playing foosball well after dark.
Immigrants from throughout Africa make the city more culturally diverse; I made my first-ever friends from Chad and Niger, and I had my hair cut by a nice guy from Ghana.
I have never felt more safe and secure anywhere in the world. In dark alleys, in crowds, on quiet streets late at night, wandering through the old city, I feel completely at ease. And while I haven't seen any American tourists, I tell the truth when asked where I'm from, and literally dozens of times, I have received the same response: "You are welcome." Indeed.
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3 comments:
Linked you on Varones. Nice report.
At the barber, did you get Ghana-rhea?
So where are the photos of the liveliness? So far it looks pretty bleak.
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