august 22nd, 2019 tunis, tunisia

“it’s my third day. tunisia is hot and sticky. the people are quite friendly. maybe in a good way. maybe they are too friendly. i’m always skeptical of people when they are nice and hate them when they are rude. i’m not too sure what i expect from this trip. clarity? on what though. it’s interesting how when i am at home nothing seems beautiful. it’s all so bland. everything is normal. but when i travel, even the most simple things are a miracle. the way a light flickers, laundry drying in the sun, someone smoking a cigarette, the way run down buildings still seem colorful as if everything holds a light. maybe this is just tunisia. maybe this is just tunis. maybe this is just north africa. maybe this is just my mind. even the birds seem more free here.”

booking my flight was very last minute and also a one way ticket. i didn’t even know where i was going to sleep. but it would be a great way to start making contacts for libya (if they ever give me a visa), and start doing stories about the impact of the conflict. these photos wouldn’t be breaking news. they aren’t going to win any awards. and they most likely will never be published. forever gracing my instagram feed and blog. most of my time was spent waiting. waiting for someone to email me back, text me, tell me they knew someone. when i go on assignment i always feel like if i’m not taking a picture, i’m wasting my time. of course, this isn’t true. making connections and hearing what people have to say is the biggest (and most important) part of the job.

libya’s conflict is extremely complicated, and one that is multifaceted. since april, i have been immersed in articles, reports, infographics, studying libya’s situation and history. speaking with fighters from the gna, with people who grew up on the frontlines as kids, from experts and researchers. obviously, i don’t know everything, i have a lot to discover and learn, and a large part of that will come if/when i go to libya. writing about a country i have never been to, is new for me and something i am actually a little uncomfortable with. but with the stories i have put together from tunisia, i think it is important in this first blog post to let people understand the conflict and be able to piece together their own opinion. i’m putting the research all in one place so you don’t have to spend hours (which you wouldn’t anyways) trying to understand what the fuck is happening and why. so for now, here are some anecdotes, some facts, and some sarcasm.

Circled in red on the left is the capital where haftar is trying to seize control of. circled to the right is the third largest city in libya, that is mentioned in some of these stories.

Circled in red on the bottom right is where ismael’s story takes place. circled in red on the top left is where the fighters are currently. To give perspective, I have included where libya and tunisia are in regards to italy.

Synopsis on the conflict in Libya

Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar is a Libyan-American citizen who has fought with and against nearly every significant faction in Libya’s conflicts and lived nearly two decades in Langley, Virginia. In 2011, he returned to Libya, providing a senior role in overthrowing the then-dictator, Muammar Gaddafi. On April 4, 2019, Haftar launched an offensive to take over the capital, Tripoli, with his self-styled military known as the Libyan National Army (LNA). Haftar’s ultimate goal is to seize control of the country. The Government National Accord (GNA) has been fighting to keep Haftar out of the capital and since his advances, they've been successful in pushing him back and holding their lines. the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (Ocha) has stopped keeping track of deaths since july 2019. the last known number of casualties was around more than 1,000 people. the U.s., france, uae, egypt, and saudi arabia are backing haftar’s offensive and turkey and qatar are the main supporters of the un-backed government (International Crisis Group. (2019). Avoiding a Protracted Conflict in Libya. Retrieved from https://www.crisisgroup.org/middle-east-north-africa/north-africa/libya/avoiding-protracted-conflict-libya).

since i have spoke about going to libya, people have asked,

‘why libya? do you know what’s happening there? do you know anyone? what could interest you there?”

i mean, asking me if i know what’s happening is a stupid question. but what originally sparked my interest was the elections that were planned on being held in june. due to haftar’s offensive in april, the elections were postponed. here are some questions i am asking myself:

how much longer will this conflict last?
how can they establish a free and fair election?
how does conflict impact political and electoral processes?
and most of all, how do these affect socioeconomic issues within libya? i.e. education, medical facilitation and supplies, water and sanitation, etc.

highlighted in orange the statistics talked about to the left.

let’s dive into more statistics regarding these issues.

education
according to the ocha, the Number of school aged children (girls & boys) in need of education services are 72,000. and the number of school aged children (girls & boys) accessing formal/non-formal education services are 3,000 (OCHA. (2019). Libya 2019 Humanitarian Dashboard. Retrieved from https://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/Humanitarian-Dashboard_-(Jan-Jun)-v2.0-30July2019_Final.pdf).
health
the world health organization (who) the ocha reported that 144,000 people were in need of health related assistance in may 2019, of which this number has severely inclined. a total of 60,000 had been targeted with funding of $2.8 million USD needed to complete four main priorities (OCHA/WHO. (2019). Flash Appeal Funding Requirement Tripoli. Retrieved from https://www.humanitarianresponse.info/en/operations/libya/document/ocha-libya-tripoli-clashes-flash-appeal-april). These include:
1. Deployment of Emergency Medical Teams.
2. Procurement and distribution of emergency medical supplies and equipment.
3. Provision of Primary health care (PHC) services package to migrants in detention centres.
4. treatment of severe malnutrition.
water, sanitation and hygiene (wash)
around $9.7 million usd is needed to complete provision of life-saving wash services to conflict-affected persons. so far, only $400,000 usd has been funded (Financial Tracking Service. (2019). Retrieved from https://fts.unocha.org/appeals/712/flows?f[0]=destinationClusterIdName:"4494:WASH").
refugees, immigrants, asylum seekers, and internally displaced persons (idp)
in july 2019, The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (uhcr) released a report that stated around 6,000 individual refugees and 45,000 asylum-seekers are in libya (UNHCR. (2019). Libya: Registration - Fact sheet July 2019. Retrieved from https://data2.unhcr.org/en/documents/details/70740). for those unfamiliar with the difference between these terms please read below:
- refugee: “a person who has fled their country of origin and is unable or unwilling to return because of a well-founded fear of being persecuted because of their race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion.”
- asylum seeker: “an individual who is seeking international protection. In countries with individualised procedures, an asylum seeker is someone whose claim has not yet been finally decided on by the country in which he or she has submitted it. Not every asylum seeker will ultimately be recognised as a refugee, but every refugee is initially an asylum seeker.”
- immigrant: “a person who comes to live permanently in a foreign country.”
- idp: “Those persons forced or obliged to flee from their homes, in particular as a result of or in order to avoid the effects of armed conflicts, situations of generalized violence, violations of human rights or natural or human-made disasters, and who have not crossed an internationally recognized State border.”
  (UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), UNHCR Master Glossary of Terms, June 2006, Rev.1, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/42ce7d444.html [accessed 13 September 2019])

alright. enough of the facts and statistics, let’s get to the stories.

august 20th, 2019

posing for a picture here is ismael (32, his name changed for security purposes) was a fighter with the gna in libya. in january 2019, he received a call from a contact in misrata, a city in the northwest of libya (see above map), telling him haftar was planning an attack on tripoli, and they were gathering forces to oppose him. since fighting is his profession, it could’ve been just as easy for him to fight with the lna. his motive to fight for the gna was to oppose a militaristic ruling throughout libya. during the last day of ramadan, just before the muslim holiday eid, he and two of his colleagues were on the roof of a four-story building firing at the lna. despite the cease-fire both parties agreed on during eid, clashes were heavy that day. his ammunition was running low and he started to slow down his firing. as this happened, the lna fired back and hit the roof ismael was on, resulting in the death of his two colleagues. the gna forces eventually withdrew, concluding all three of them were dead and the lna forces advanced. when the gna fired back, it enabled them to collect the dead bodies. in doing so, they realized ismael was alive and brought him to a field hospital. he then regained consciousness in a hospital in tripoli. the injuries he sustained were a blow out to the left eardrum, two pieces of shrapnel on the left side of his neck, and internal abdominal injuries. only one piece of shrapnel was removed despite being in a clinic in tunis for two months, the other is still lodged in. he has been flown to germany to receive proper treatment. when asked if he was going to resume fighting after healing, he said,

“he didn’t want to because he felt the government wasn’t taking proper care of their forces.”

the fighter was a small guy. older than i was expecting. 32 to be exact. he told me two of his colleagues were killed when he got injured. he said this without batting an eye, and that is the scariest for me. at first he was quite hesitant towards me. maybe the eye contact was too much. or maybe not enough. we sat for hours as i watched him smoke one cigarette after the other. finishing the pack by the end of the night. it started to rain and i could feel the drops of water land coldly amongst my skin. a relief in the humid weather. i took a step out of my body and observed this kind of ironic scene: a hardened fighter enjoying apple juice and cookies. it’s the simple things. the rain started falling harder and one by one we each moved under the porch. except for him. he said he enjoyed the rain. the interview is recorded on my phone and he asked me not to share it with anyone. i liked the idea of being the only one who can listen. it’s his story that he shared with me, and i’m selfishly keeping it that way. no one else can hear his voice talk about his personal experiences. the way his voice fluctuates as he speaks. the breaks he takes in between puffs of cigarettes. i can tell his story on paper, share his words. but no one else, besides the three other men with me, will know what he looked like as he recounted the story of losing his colleagues. of that first moment when he received a call to join the gna forces. or his soft smile when the apple juice was poured in his cup. only one picture turned out good. the one where he has leaves covering his face and it showed two scars and one freckle. two scars that if you didn’t know the story behind them, they wouldn’t mean anything to you. it makes me wonder how many people’s stories i am passing by everyday. during our interview it was dark. there were many mosquitos and my mind was happily focused on the cacophony of libyan arabic being sung in the air around me. i was enveloped in a bubble where i felt fulfilled. this was it. i am content. sipping our apple juice, i didn’t know what was being said, but i laughed whole-heartedly because i loved hearing their laughter. if that is any hint that i’m in the right profession, i’m taking it.

ahmed (24) poses for a portrait to show his injuries.

August 26th, 2019

Abdulaziz and ahmed (names changed for security purposes) i met at a restaurant in downtown Tunis. i seemed stiff when asking questions. i felt rigid. almost like my body didn’t completely know what to do with itself. I had done this once, interviewed people more times than i can count. so what was different this time? was it the fact that there were two instead of one? it went as it always goes when you talk to someone for the first time. a little awkward at first. but slowly each person became a little more comfortable. was it the fact that they spoke a tiny bit of english? we were all close to the same age. of course, me taking the title of the youngest in the group. i guess it showed the differences in all of us, how we are a product of the environment we grow up in. comparing our lives in both similarities and differences. unlike ismael, these two were volunteer fighters. they were fighting 1. because their mothers told them to and 2. because they were passionate about keeping haftar out of the capital. they both are dentists and grew up splitting their time in 2011 between studies and the frontlines. and now that they are older, between cleaning teeth and the frontlines. after the interview was over i was told to start taking pictures. i look around, it’s dark, nothing but buildings and people walking by. I asked for a few minutes to figure things out and see where i could take these portraits. across the road was some abandoned alleyway with one street light on, scattered around were empty plastic bottles and some half-dead plants. with ismael’s portrait, i had plants covering his face. i decided to stick with the plant theme and made it a detail in this series. almost loving this contradiction of soft, pink flowers with hardened fighters. the more i examined this small series of pictures, the more i had time to think about what the flowers represented. maybe that every person has a side to them that is vulnerable and fragile, no matter who you are or what you do. or maybe it means absolutely fuck all and you just like flowers.

Abdulaziz alGweiry (24) is an injured Libyan soldier with the GNA currently receiving medical care for his injuries while fighting against Haftar in Libya. In June 2019, during clashes, the LNA launched an airstrike that took out a civilian-populated building. Abdulaziz, ahmed, and other GNA soldiers were helping the evacuation of people from the rubble. The LNA intentionally shelled this location again knowing the GNA soldiers would be there. It was during this airstrike that Abdulaziz and ahmed were injured ( and his colleague had lost his life.

education

health

water, sanitation and hygiene (wash)

refugees, immigrants, asylum seekers, and internally displaced persons (idp)