To stay or to flee

To those of us who have never had any relatives working in Libya, it is very difficult to comprehend what would make anyone want to continue working there in the current volatile atmosphere.

And yet, when interviewed, two Maltese nationals who arrived on Friday night, said that “they planned to go back once things started returning to normal.”

I realize that giving up one’s livelihood is not an easy decision to make, and yet as I looked at these two fathers pictured with their young children, I couldn’t help but wonder whether any job, no matter how well-paid, is worth risking one’s life over.  Apart from that, at this point, what constitutes “normal” for Libya, anyway?

In an uncanny dejà vu of what happened in 2011, we find ourselves once again debating Maltese workers embroiled in a Libya crisis, but this time the stakes are even higher in the light of the kidnapping of Martin Galea, and accusations by relatives of Maltese who work in Libya, that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was not forthcoming with just how gravely the situation had escalated. It is difficult to unravel whether the lack of official information was deliberate in order not to raise undue alarm and for Galea’s own safety, or whether it was, as many are claiming, a sign of governmental incompetence.  As Carmel Cacopardo rightly pointed out in his blog, what was to be gained by making Galea’s kidnapping public at such a delicate time? Not much, although I also agree with Cacopardo that the Opposition should have been kept in the loop.

Many are also saying that Minister George Vella had misled the public by saying on 16 July that there was no need for an evacuation. However, on that same day, a Crisis Centre was set up with helplines and it was reported that hundreds of Maltese workers in Libya had been contacted and urged to leave.

Now, I have read several conflicting reports on this with some people saying that the government should have initiated a full-scale evacuation and not expect those living in Libya to pay for commercial flights to leave.  Minister Vella in Parliament said that any evacuation had to be co-ordinated at EU level according to an agreement between EU countries.  I have also read complaints that no one was answering the helplines and that the Embassy was closed. Is this correct? This is where the Minister has to be clear and forthright in his statements to the public because otherwise the speculation and confusion will only increase.

Obviously, in a country such as Libya, you do not have to be an Einstein to read the warning signs that something is terribly wrong, and if it were one of my relatives, I know that I would have had no hesitation but to tell them to just forget about the money and get back home. Actually, I think I would have been pretty alarmed way before that, once the news broke that Tripoli airport had been seized and was out of action.  Stuck in the middle of nowhere in the Libyan desert with the main airport closed down?  Personally, I would not have needed any Minister to tell me to evacuate, I would have just got out of there by any means possible.

But, of course, that is me, speaking from the comfort of my home and not having a clue about what it’s like to live and work in a North African country - those who have experience of it will probably tell me that the infighting between the various factions is a way of life which one gets used to. To each his own, I suppose.

Having said that, the trouble has been brewing for a while now, as can be ascertained by a cursory Internet search.  The rebels had been systematically seizing strategic oil ports, they refused to recognize the new Prime Minister and assassinated the Libyan security chief in Benghazi - that was way back in May and led to the first travel warning by the Maltese Foreign Ministry. Further searches bring up stories which go back to January of 2013 when Air Malta cancelled its Benghazi flights because of the violence.

Meanwhile, as I am writing this, another report has come in which states that six Maltese nationals are expected to arrive on a plane from Mitiga on a commercial flight organized by the Maltese government. “The government said it had been in contact with all Maltese nationals in Libya and that it had organised commercial flights out of the country. ‘These initiatives will continue. The foreign ministry is in constant contact with Maltese nationals in Libya. Those who are still there are doing so out of their own choice.”

It is one of those situations where one does not know who to believe. All I know is that if my life or that of my family were in danger I would not be quibbling about having to pay money in order to get the heck out of a dangerous, war-torn country.