Libyan-Americans in Southern California Fear for Friends and Relatives
Her voice shook as Libyan-American Dina Duella, 26, spoke about her friends and family trying to survive the chaos in the African country topping the national news.
“I’m certain I already may have lost friends and family,” said the Irvine woman. “It’s difficult to know the severity of the situation because of the media blackout.”
Duella and other young Libyan-Americans in Southern California are struggling to get reliable information as anti-government demonstrators try to topple Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi.
“There’s so little media there, rumors spread like wildfire,” said Motasem Benothman, 34, of Irvine. “Information just kind of sneaks through the occasional phone call, or you get something from a radio station in one of the free cities.”
One pirate radio station called Hurra offers some online access and some Libyans are able to access a Facebook page now and then to offer bits of news, he said.
The English language Al-Jazeera reports demonstrators have gained control of most of eastern Libya as of late Thursday, but the western part of the country, which harbors the port city of Tripoli, is vulnerable to Gadhafi’s efforts to crack down on the protesters.
The worst bloodshed was Thursday in Zawiya, 30 miles west of Tripoli. An army unit loyal to Gadhafi opened fire with automatic weapons on a mosque where residents had been holding a sit-in to support protesters in the capital, a witness told the Associated Press.
Benothman’s relatives on his mother’s side live in the eastern half of Libya, but paternal relatives live in Tripoli.
“Tripoli and the outlying cities are controlled by Gadhafi,” Benothman said. “There are soldiers everywhere in Tripoli and they’ve shot at anything moving. People are stuck in their homes. They can’t even look out the window.”
Benothman said there are unconfirmed claims of the soldiers cleaning up dead bodies and clearing out hospitals so Gadhafi can claim the city is peaceful.
“The concern is that soon enough, they may go into homes and start slaughtering people,” Benothman said.
Duella said she was able to speak to her family by phone Thursday and everyone is safe so far, except one uncle who can’t be found.
Omar Khalifa, 27, of the Antelope Valley, is worried about a co-worker on the Arab American Caucus for the California Democratic Party.
“He was abducted in Libya on Thursday (Feb. 17) and taken in for interrogation,” Khalifa said. “The family was allowed to see him once for 20 minutes in Tripoli. They haven’t seen him since and don’t know his whereabouts.”
Khalifa worries about his family, too, but declined to be too specific lest he put them in any more danger.
“The worry doesn’t stop,” he said. “It’s been an emotional roller coaster.”
Duella said she was trying to focus her efforts on being productive, and not watching the news.
“It’s extremely emotional,” she said.
This week, Duella and Benothman helped develop a 10-person task force. Benothman said they have a four-pronged effort that will concentrate on humanitarian aid, media, political aid and organizational outreach.
Benothman, who works in sales, will help with fundraising and followup to make sure donations go directly to Libya. Duella will be in charge of working with various media outlets. All of them will contact U.S. politicians to urge them to get Gadhafi prosecuted for war crimes.
“At the end of the day, the U.S. carries a lot of weight,” Benothman said. “I’m frustrated with Obama and I’m more frustrated with the multinational league and the U.N. It’s really sad. All they do is come out with some words. It’s time for action, with people dying left and right.”
Benothman said one of their task force goals will involve gathering, coordinating and distributing information for the Libyan people so they can continue with their efforts toward governing themselves.
“We’ll teach them how to fish rather than giving them a fish,” he said. “For example we’d give them information on, if you’re going to hold a protest, keep these things in mind.”
Duella is already working to link media outlets with contacts she has on the ground in Libya, but she feels conflicted. She said if Gadhafi’s soldiers learn her contacts have been aiding the resistance, it could be a death sentence for them. Duella said her associates in Libya assure her they are willing to take the risk.
“They would rather die than continue to live under a psychopath…”
Kim Lamb Gregory
Ventura County Star