Second Libyan Journey Part 2

A week before we arrived to Benghazi, 300,000 people had fled eastwards, looking for a safe heaven. Everybody was afraid of the invasion of governmental forces. The well-meaning Libyan citizens from Al Bayda did their best to accommodate and comfort them and give them all the moral, financial and social support they can.

On a more serious note, we found that most of the foreign workers, farmers, shop workers, nurses, doctors etc had already left, leaving a huge gap in the working force, from the grass root level to the intellectual level.

The estimated stock of food might last 2-3 months. Strategically, the presence of most INGOs cannot be felt in places such as Benghazi and Al Bayda, as they have pulled out for security reasons. Also strategically, there are still needs to be met:  nurses, doctors and food supplies.

I was very lucky to attend the first humanitarian coordination meeting organised by Libyan NGOs and INGOs. This felt like a positive step forward in Benghazi.

I felt even more fortunate to be invited to speak to community leaders in Al Bayda on topics such as:
1.    The role of civil society in building the social infrastructure of the country
2.    The role of women in civil society and the future of the nation
3.    The diverse role of international relief and development organisations.

During that day in Al Bayda, I met with the chairman of the local transitional government and I also delivered a speech to civil society organisations in the house of assembly about the need to build and strengthen civil society.

I discovered there is a huge gap, which could be filled by The Humanitarian Forum in building the capacity of CSOs and communities, as well as creating a good network between organisations, between organisations and the government and also internationally.