IamA 20 something year old Libyan who was part of the uprising in Libya, was one of the first to storm Ghaddafi's compound when Tripoli fell and personally know smugglers transporting immigrants across the mediterranean. AMA!

What did y'all do to Ghaddafi? I heard some horrible things, like someone stuck a knife into his asshole and shit like that. Did y'all torture Ghaddafi? And if so, why would you do such a horrific thing to another human being?

Im not OP, neither Im from Lybia but I can tell that where Im from (Venezuela) years of political injustice and abuse of power can make people do horrible things. I dont know where are you from, but I think isreally hard for people from develop nations to grasp what people live through totalitarian goverments. Your question "why would you do such a horrific thing to another human being?" doesnt seem really crazy to me, coming from a third world country.

Yes, exactly.

I asked this question further down in one of your responses, but I really hope you can answer it. Do you think Libya is better off today in its current state, then it was with Qaddafi ruling? If so why? If not, why do you not regret participating in the revolution if it has only hurt your country as a whole? Sorry if my wording came out as arrogant, but I am trying to ask an honest question. Thank you for doing this AMA, and sorry for the xenophobia you seem to be experiencing in this thread.

I answered a similar question to this further down before. Libya right now is definitely not better than when Ghaddafi was in power. However, this is our first step towards democracy and I hope and believe that the violence will stop and Libya will be a much more stable, fair and secure country than when it was under Ghaddafi.

Again no answer to an important\ question. Obviously OP thinks it is worse. Bc now you can get kidnapped and bread and fuel are scarse. He was better than gangland

Answered.

What would you say is the biggest difference Libyans have seen in their day-to-day lives as a result of the revolution?

Did you score any good loot from Gaddafi's compound?

Well, under Ghaddafi most people lived pretty normal lives. You weren't threatened going outside or general unrest from violence.

Now things are different. There's the ongoing fighting between the different tribes of Libya and there's also fighting between the different clans in a region. You generally avoid roadblocks cause you might get robbed at gunpoint or, if they think you're wealthy, kidnap you. You can't go out at night. Buying bread and fuel is a problem sometimes as well.

So would you say that getting involved in the uprising/ the uprising itself was a mistake considering the life citizens had pre-revolution?

No, Ghaddafi wasn't going to surrender his power if it weren't for the uprising. What you may not know is that there were a number of uprisings throughout the years and the people that called for Ghaddafi to step aside were imprisoned or executed, so it wasn't all roses.

Can you explain tribes and clans?

So basically Libya is split between major tribes that differ somewhat culturally, like home traditions, small things. Leaders of the tribes are right now trying to organise their people and fill the power vacuum Ghaddafi left behind. The clans within major cities like Tripoli control districts of the city. The clans band together either because their friends are in the group or because they're driven by the same motives.

As a US Sailor that was deployed to the Med during the Arab Spring, how much help were the Tomahawk Strikes?

You have really good aim ;) We were happy with them, we enjoyed watching them lighting up the skies at night. If it weren't for you I think Ghaddafi would still be there.

Who got you involved in this movement / were there any incentives? Were there any leaders?

I got involved from general boredom to be honest. That seems stupid now but staying inside, not knowing what's going on outside got to me.

No incentives.

They weren't military at first, more like organisers. A little before Ghaddafi was caught though we were being directed by the military.

What do you make of the fact that Ghaddafi wanted to drop the US dollar and create a gold-backed currency for its oil exchanges? Generally speaking, do you think Libya is better off without him?

From what I know, the US wasn't too keen on him doing it. The country isn't better off right now but eventually I hope it will be.

Do you know how to shoot that thing?

Yes.

Describe, please, your life growing up in Qaddafi's Libya?

I'll answer this in a list to make it easier.

• There were pictures of Ghaddafi in offices and shops. He visited my school a couple of times and had a look around, like any other visitor would to the school.

• You wouldn't talk too much shit about Ghaddafi in public, but you could crticise a bit.

• Random street drifting sessions in the middle of a highway with people in the street was ordinary.

• If you're caught drinking or smoking weed by the police you could bribe him with about 10 euros.

• Petrol was cheaper than water. Most things were very cheap.

• If you knew the right people you could get away with murder, literally.

• If a Libyan woman were to leave the house without a scarf men would start cat-calling. It's seen as an invitation for attention.

• You could buy alcohol on the black market.

And you could only buy dildos on the black market.

Was the green book true? Free university and health care and housing etc

Yes, all true. University, health and housing for the poor was free. Electricity was basically free, in that it was really, really free. Water was also free, so you could take really long baths. :)

Could you describe what it was like, storming Ghaddifi's compund? That sounds intense.

Well, at the time I had a very small 8mm with me and only three bullets so I was a little nervous. As we were heading to the compound snipers on the roof were trying to pick us out. Someone then shot an RPG to the back door of the compound, the one closest to his tent.

Then as soon as we walked in there was a road of sorts that leads to another door of another wall. I remember it being sort of like a maze with levels and huge doors between each level. When we eventually got near the tent we hid for a while behind trees cause the snipers were still on us. People were saying there were landmines inside the compound as well but I saw no one blow up. I remember we got the the giant hand you see on tv and close by there were rooms full of ammunition, rifles, grenades, rpgs everything.

We eventually burned the empty tents and left soon after. I took a box of 9mm hand guns and a box of kalashnikovs. There were A LOT of weapons.

Sorry if the paragraphs are a little jumbled, I'm just typing as I recall.

What is the general attitude of people smuggling others across the Mediterranean? I hear horror stories about plastic boats daily. Is it really as money-driven and heartless as it appears?

for the smugglers its all about the money, and they make a lot of it. They bring them up from their own country to Libya and send them on with sinking boats.

From what I heard it's 5 to 10000 Euros to cross to Italy. And yeah, they don't give a shit.

What do you think of the fact that Libya is considered a "failed state"? Are you still in Libya? If so, what is day-to-day life like there? if not, what is day-to-day life like where you are?

I'm in Europe right now and started university. Since I had dual-citizenship it was easy leaving.

I'll be honest with you. I think that you may be pushing things by doing this AMA in that case. I don't mean to criticize or demean you. I'm just not sure that it is in your best interest, despite how careful and sparse you are trying to be with details. That's all I will say. I wish you the best.

Where do your concerns stem from?

You created a new account for this AMA and you've been sparse on details. My concerns likely stem from the same place your caution originates. Living in the West, I would very much enjoy hearing your perspective, but I'm not sure the risk to you is worth our curiosity.

There are no risks really. i just wanted to share without disclosing my identity thats all, I have no regrets nor will there be any repercussions.

So do to the fact that you say you have no regrets, is it safe to assume that you think Libya is better off today in its current state, then it was with Qaddafi ruling? If so why? If not, why do you not regret participating in the revolution if it has only hurt your country as a whole? Sorry if my wording came out as arrogant, but I am trying to ask an honest question. Thank you for doing this AMA, and sorry for the xenophobia you seem to be experiencing in this thread.

Answered above.

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;)

What happened when you stormed Ghadafis compound? I would love to hear that story

Answered above.

Are you happy with how this entire Arab Spring ended up? Are you or people in general happier now?

I answered a similar question above. Obviously no one is happy until the fighting stops and democracy is instilled.

A couple of questions but I think those are fairly important:

• What is the dual citizenship you are talking about?
  
• Were you a dual citizen before the 2011 uprising?
• How did you achieve the non-Libyan citizenship?
• How much time did you spend in Libya before 2011?
• How long have you been engaged in any local resistance groups before 2011?
• Were you aware of being directly or indirectly recruited for this operation?
• Did you have material assistance from abroad?
• How it was provided for you or your group - meaning through money transfers or hard goods?

I don't expect many answers to those but what you are doing is so clumsy and absurd that I really don't know what to say... It's actually quite hilarious but since I didn't pay much attention to Libya I might read something interesting.

These are more than a couple of questions :)

• I have a Libyan and European passports. I won't say what European country as I'd like to keep my anonymity.
• Yes.
• I'm half European, half Libyan.
• 11 years, left in 2014.
• No, I only joined when stuff started happening in Tripoli.
• I wouldn't say I was recruited. I left home looking to join.
• Red cross and UN helped a lot. Red cross helped families moving and with food and water, they were really great. I remember Nato dropping leaflets saying when the bombs were going to drop.
• I wasn't paid for fighting, in money or goods. The weapons I took I basically stole but that was all I took.

I don't quite understand what's clumsy though.

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I don't follow how you went from how women are free to refugees raping them. Could you provide a source on the rapes out camps in Germany?

I think the refugees being accepted in Europe are thankful of the help given to them, the refugees will adjust their mentality in days not generations.

Here is a source for the rapes and forced prostitution in german camps.

Well women in Europe are used to walking about by themselves, alone, at dark, maybe intoxicated, dressed lightly. This will of course lead to many many rapes when they encounter refugees from the most primitive places of the world.

From what I've seen and read many don't seem thankful at all.

I don't consider the daily mail a source. And I agree with nothing of what you said.

So when are you going to start to get your society back to normal by turning in your smuggler buddies?

Turn them in where?

Wow, team islamophobia are out in force today. And OP isn't even a muslim. Great job, racists of reddit.

OP, what was it like inside Ghaddafi's compound?

Answered above.

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Firstly, I'm not muslim. I know a lot of muslims though and none of them go out murdering people. The media actively seek to portray muslims as violent and are dishonest with their reporting. I saw a lot of news reports during the uprising of stuff which is supposedly happening outside my door but wasn't.

Dane here.

I'm an ateist and one of my best freinds Jewish, i was more or less raised by his parents. I also have 2 gay friends, one of them a cartoonist.

Where do we fit into in the version of Islam the refugees are bringing with them? Where do we fit in into Islam in general?

You guys just got a brand new mosque here in Denmark today,despite having one that already documented have supplied soldiers to ISIS, so it's only fair that i know what to expect?

Hello, fellow atheist. I can not tell you where you fit in Islam because I'm not muslim. However, I recommend going down to the new mosque and ask them.

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Trying is the best advice I can give you. All I can say is that I don't go out murdering people drawing Mohammed, nor do most of people I know.

Oh, I'm not saying you do. But Islam isn't exactly known to be terribly welcoming as far as new or outside ideas go. It's not high on the tolerance scale.

Refugees in Europe are quite thankful to be there so I can't see them unsettling their hosts.

Also, most people form their opinion from the media, which isn't a good thing considering the stuff they make up. I saw countless reports on UK media about the stuff supposedly going on in Tripoli and they were plain lies.