Will Crisp reports from Libya one year on from the revolution. In the first part of the programme Crisp talks to Hisham Buhagiar. Crisp says, "When I met Hisham Buhagiar it was the day before the one-year anniversary of the Liberation of Libya, but Buhagiar wasn’t preparing to celebrate. He was concerned. He told me was he worried Libyans were losing faith in the revolution. The revolution was dramatic with decisive victories, but peacetime efforts to create a functioning government and institutions were proving to be painfully slow, and Libyans were becoming impatient."
Buhagiar looks like your every-day sharp-suited Arabic businessman but he had been waiting his whole life for the revolution. Back in the 80s he was part of the military wing of The National Front for the Salvation of Libya, an organisation responsible for several coup attempts including an armed assault on Gaddafi’s compound in Tripoli. When they were unsuccessful he turned his full attention to business, biding his time until February 2011 when he became one of the first Libyans to join the revolution.
In the second part of the programme Crisp speaks with Nader El Gadi And Abdul Rahman. Nader El Gadi and Abdul Rahman are both young Libyans who joined the liberation after spending time studying in the UK. Crisp met met them in the week of October 23rd, the one-year anniversary of the official liberation of Libya. He syas, "Nader ElGadi is a charismatic non-stop talker with a crazy laugh. When the revolution started he quit a foundation course in Brighton, headed home and joined the Tripoli Revolutionary Brigade. He’s impulsive and fearless and passionate about the values the revolution represents, values he believes are being betrayed by the National Transitional Council. I met him at Casa Café and he took me on tour of the central Tripoli.
Abdul Rahman came to Libya to fight after studying international business in Manchester. After fighting he worked with the NTC but like Nader he has became disillusioned with the government and committed himself fully to the Libyan Youth League, an organisation he co-founded."
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