Moammar Gaddafi ruled Libya for decades with strong hand and was hated by many including the western world but for some at the same time, he brought development and stability to his country.
Seven years since he was overthrown in a revolution it appears Libyans are reeling under chaos and do not seem to be witnessing a peaceful democratic transition they had wished for.
Libya has an UN-backed unity government which has failed to assert its authority as the country continues to witness series of deadly attacks compounded by a struggling economy and a migration crisis.
AFP spoke to some Libyans who had wished for a different story seven years after the fall of Gaddafi but are now lamenting.
Hamdi al-Beshir, 17 told the AFP that “I can’t wait 42 years like my father did with Moammar”.
“I have no intention of waiting for them to steal away my youth and life,” said the teenager who works in a shop selling clothes. I’ll throw myself into the sea like the migrants, without looking back,” al-Beshir added.
Libya since Gaddafi’s overthrow has become a hub for slave trade as Africans hoping to cross the Mediterranean into Europe are subjected to inhumane treatments and sold in slave markets.
Efforts are however ongoing to ensure that the North African country holds presidential and parliamentary elections by the end of this year but the UN envoy Ghassan Salame has said that conditions are not yet ready for polling.
There are planned activities to mark the seventh anniversary of the protests held on February 17, 2011 that led to the toppling and killing of Gaddafi, but those celebrations are shredded in the shadow of insecurity among Libyans.
Source: Africafeeds.com
