The faces of the Libyan uprising

Real stories

Her pained face says it all. This beautiful woman is Galea, or Galia. She was interviewed by the BBC about the uprising in Libya, as she demonstrated in Benghazi, to try to and draw attention to the plight of people in Misurata. She implores the news crew to convey her message to the coalition, she tells them that she has been trying to call friends and relatives for days, but the phone lines are out.

She tells the camera the little of what she knows, there is no water and electricity in Misurata, the people are running out of food and Gaddafi forces continue to bombard the town while snipers continue to try and pick off resistance.

The blurry footage and screen grab does not do justice to the beauty of the woman. As she speaks eloquently and in measured tones, the passion on her face accentuates her good looks. She wears a traditional headscarf, yet from the way she speaks, it is clear that she is educated, possibly a teacher, or a doctor. She tries to keep her emotions under control, but she cannot quite manage it, she gets stuck in what she is trying to say: “I hope, I hope… I hope, the UN bombs him, so we can free Libya”.

“I am a software engineer. I have a wife and kids. Do you really think I want to be here with a rifle, fighting off Gaddafi’s thugs? No, I should be at work, providing for my family. If I lived in the West, I would be trying to work some overtime to save for a summer holiday, or to buy a flat screen TV. But no, I live in Benghazi and it is our time to throw off 41 years of dictatorship”

But like Galia, there are thousands. Their faces are with us today, but they will fade away into obscurity over time. Thousands of young men and women are taking up the struggle. Mohammed, 33, also spoke to the BBC. He tells the news crew that he did not want to take up arms, but cannot stand the sight of more innocents being ripped to shreds by heavy weaponry.

“I am a software engineer. I have a wife and kids. Do you really think I want to be here with a rifle, fighting off Gaddafi’s thugs? No, I should be at work, providing for my family. If I lived in the West, I would be trying to work some overtime to save for a summer holiday, or to buy a flat screen TV. But no, I live in Benghazi and it is our time to throw off 41 years of dictatorship,” he said.

The pleas are the same. The aspirations are the same. The grief is the same. We live just next door, and yet we are curiously detached from it all. Let us be completely frank, for all the declarations by Maltese politicians past and present, the Maltese and the Libyan people are not blood-brothers and sisters. But, we do share common aspirations of a better life, freedom of expression and for fundamental human rights. The woman I decided to use as the face for this article is one of many others with a similar voice and views. She is a proud young Libyan woman, probably aspiring to find a husband and build a family to raise in a free and secure environment. These are the people that deserve our help, our compassion, our support and action.

Boots on the ground have been ruled out, but we owe it to these people to give them a fighting chance to rebuild a free Libya. The fight will be long and hard, but if the Libyan people can retake Adyabijah and hold onto Misurata, then they will have a chance to fulfill their destiny.