The news that 70-odd Maltese citizens made it out of Libya is very welcome, as was the decision by Medavia to operate a charter flight to get them out of there. But there are still about 150 people who are stuck there and many of them want to get out.
This week, this newsroom was in direct contact with some of the people who were stuck there – and eventually got out, and we are still in contact with people who missed the relief flight from Mitiga Airport.
There are many facets to the spasms of violence that caused people to fear for their safety and made them seek to get out of the country. Libya was a volatile place under the iron grip of Gaddafi; and it still is. Now it is being held to ransom by rival militias from Misurata and Zintan – both of which were prominent in the uprising that eventually saw Gaddafi’s ouster.
Maltese in Libya were frightened at the way the situation escalated. One minute it was shelling and fighting at Tripoli Airport, but just a few days later, people reported bullets whizzing past their apartment blocks and columns of tanks driving down the street. But the fear really set in when the news broke that Tripoli Airport was defunct. It meant that there was no conventional way out and people would have to risk kidnapping if they drove across the desert to Tripoli. The only other alternatives were a catamaran operation from Tripoli Harbour, or a plane being sent to Mitiga Airport, which lies on the outskirts of Tripoli near Tajoura.
Those who got out were grateful that the government had set up a crisis centre to deal with enquiries. Some said they got all the help they needed, others said they did not. Others who are still stuck in Libya say they are still lacking information they sorely need in order to grasp the opportunity to get out.
The government – as the Nationalists did in the last administration – operates under a system where people in Libya need to give them their names and email addresses in order for information to be communicated to them individually. It might sound archaic, but unless one has been to Libya and experienced just how easily communication can break down at a moment’s notice, it is hard to understand. This is why the email formula is a tried and trusted mode of communication. Phone lines can go dead, internet (Facebook) comes and goes. But an email will still pop into your inbox. Although we understand that people were frustrated and stressed and frightened, it must be said that the government did try to communicate what information it could to those who are stuck there.
But it begs the question. Virtu Ferries have said that they are on standby to organise a trip to Libya to get people out. It is also clear that there are Maltese people who are still trying to get out of the country. So why not organise it? The government has also gone on record saying that it does not consider Monday’s Medavia flight to be an evacuation, but just a relief flight. Call it what you like, but if Maltese citizens want out, then the government should leave no stone unturned to get them out of there, whether it is by helicopter, plane or boat. The government might not want to fan the flames in Tripoli by calling it an evacuation, but that does not mean that it should do all it can to get people out. Libya is Libya – things might just calm down and blow over. But it could also worsen, and very quickly. As those who got out yesterday can testify, you have to have experienced pre and post Gaddafi Libya to get a proper picture of what is going on there.