My Opinion Hasn't Changed

Phew! The last four years have been interesting to say the least, but I kind of predicted this in November of 2016 in my post titled: Not Enough Negative Adjectives or Expletives where I wrote: 

"I've always felt that the president should be someone you looked up to. Someone dignified. Someone, that if you invited them to your home, would be considered an honored guest. Is Trump that person? Not for me. I don't think I'd even want him out in my backyard with the dog."  

I still feel that way, maybe even more than before. The last four years have been such an embarrassing disappointment, culminating in an attempted coup, lives lost and probably much more to come if today's news reports come true. - this from the New York Times: Extremists Emboldened by Capitol Attack Pose Rising Threat, Homeland Security Says and from the Guardian: National terrorism bulletin suggests attack may embolden extremists and set the stage for additional attacks

Having lived in a country ruled by a dictator, gone through a revolution and suffered from the lasting effects of the war - even though the last few years I haven't been in Libya, my family, friends and heart and soul were there. Honestly, I can say that I don't think I will ever fully recover from all of that. The last few anxiety filled weeks have been frightening, triggering PTSD and nightmares (when I was finally able to fall asleep). 

What is next? There is a new president - one that I would definitely invite to my home as an honored guest. Not likely to happen of course. We will all watch and wait to see how things go. Meanwhile, I'll keep praying - for calm, for peace, for safety. 

I've got no time for the pandemic blues

I've been quietly hanging in here, staying mostly at home and wearing a mask and taking all precautions when I go out into the world. Just as things seemed to be looking up everything was turned upside down. My work is on hold until there is an improvement in the situation. Life seems to have slowed down to a crawl. 

For a while they had closed all of the beaches. It didn't make much sense because the parks were still open - what is the difference? They are both open spaces. I missed going in the evening to watch the water, birds, families, and most of all the sunset. Finally, after what seemed like a very long time, the beaches were reopened. Now, weather and time permitting, we head for the beach in the evening to watch the sun set. Of course we make sure to maintain social distancing and wear our masks when we're in the parking area and as we walk along the path to the beach. Once we have settled ourselves a good distance from any of the other families, off come the masks and we breathe in the fresh air. We are so blessed to have the beach nearby. 

Lately there have been scattered showers most evenings. Sometimes we go anyway and get rained on. As long as there isn't thunder and lightning we stay. The rain is usually over in a few minutes. This week we were treated to a rainbow followed by a gorgeous sunset. 

The pandemic has given me time to count blessings and I realize that life has not been all bad. The highlight of the summer has been Ibrahim's graduation. He has another year of an extended transition (a skills and training program)  after which he will get his diploma, but he walked in the ceremony this year. 

I'm so proud of Ibrahim. This summer he is working on a project for an internship program. It's keeping us both focused on something positive. We don't know what tomorrow will bring, but we are thankful for what we have and hope for our health and safety, the end of the pandemic, and a better future. 

Elhamdulilah!

Added a Link about Libyan History

I came across a Libyan themed blog recently. It's been around since September 2018, but for some reason I missed it. The blog titled The Colonial History of Libya is described as:



"Libya’s colonial experience was not typical. As one historian posits: “The Ottoman influence in the province in the first two decades of the twentieth century was unusually strong; the Italian colonisation of the province was unusually brutal; the resistance was unusually fierce, and its failure unusually devastating”.

Between 1911 when colonial rule began, and 1951 when an independent Libya was established, more than one million Libyans perished, many of them in concentration camps established by the Italian colonial rulers.

The purpose of this blog is to document the crimes perpetrated by the Italian colonial forces against the Libyan population."

You can find it here: The Colonial History of Libya 

I have also added it to my Link List. 

Situation in Libya: January 2020

I'll just leave this here....

Need to update

I haven't posted to my blog in a very long time. Hopefully I'll be able to get a post together soon.

Watch this space.....

Wishes for a Peaceful Ramadan

Wishing all my friends, family and those who read my blog a safe and peaceful Ramadan. 

Is it really the end of another year?

Another year has gone by. It's hard to believe that it is December again. Here is a bit of a synopsis for this year and some of my hopes/dreams/plans for the future.

Do I have any plans for 2019?  It's  hard to plan anything, but I have hopes and dreams. Hopefully I will see things sorted out in Libya (although I'm not holding my breath!). The problems in Libya have not only divided the country, they have divided my family. I'm here in  Florida with four of my children while my husband is in Libya with our other two children. They are mostly grown up now! I dream of a time that we can all be together in one place again. 

Meanwhile, I am here in Florida working a few jobs to keep myself afloat and doing some volunteer work when I can fit it in my schedule. I'm teaching English and doing an occasional workshop for the literacy tutors at the library. Additionally, I do some private tutoring, mostly IELTS preparation. Also, I'm doing a bit of writing and editing. This year I had a few trips for my inspection's work; a trip to Mexico City, I went twice to California, a trip to Honolulu, Hawaii, two trips to Ft. Lauderdale and a trip to Miami. I've also been doing some work with the exam center at the local college. 

I'm still volunteering with my city's Community Emergency Response Team (CERT), but not as much as I would like -  too often the times conflict with my work schedule, and of course, work comes first. One fun thing that is happening currently is that I was asked if I would display my pin and brooch collection at my local library. I spent a morning setting up the display which will be there until February. 

Another thing that I did this year was participate in an interview for a blog that is written by a Canadian/Swiss woman who is married to a Libyan. She is living with her family in Canada now, but lived in Tripoli in the past. The interview is on the blog, Dear Sister: Where diversity meets solidarity - Khadija. Don't just stop at my interview - the blog is full of interesting stories of women's lives and the experiences of the blog's writer.

More writing - both personal and work related. I am considering expanding my editing business, adding more services and doing more local work. More work related plans are to attend some literacy and teaching conferences and workshops this year. 

Personal plans for the next year: I'm going to focus on my health - eat better and find ways to reduce stress.  Most importantly, I pray that my family will be all together in one place. 

I'm counting my blessings. Even though it has been a stressful year, there are many many positive things that have happened. 

Wishing all my readers a  year full of blessings. 

Happy New Year!