#19. The State of Libya

Big dreams are a joke or stupidity to short-sighted people. Who was Muammar Gaddafi again? This hero was so famous even when I was still 10 years old. I only knew the name and so little about him until a decade later when I got to read literature with his name on the titles. His thoughts and ideologies teach me lots and I rank him high. I will of course get into the depths of the legacies of all my African heroes and heroins later.

Famous for Greek and Roman ruins compounded by very beautiful landscapes of the Sahara Desert, the State of Libya is located in North Africa, bordering the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Tunisia and Algeria to the west, Niger and Chad to the south, and Sudan and Egypt to the east. It is the fourth largest country in Africa and its capital is Tripoli. The current leader of the State of Libya is Mohamed al-Menfi, Chairman of the Presidential Council. Internationally recognized, based in the capital.

Following a series of insecurity cases in the country especially at its borders with other Saharan countries, it excites me to dive deeper into the survival tactics and resilience of the people of Libya. There is still beauty and a great aura of life in the country. Let us see the episodes behind the country's national identity.

Brief history of the Libya National Flag

From 1551 the area that was to be Libya was under Ottoman control and called Tripolitania. The flag featured a plain green field with three white crescent moons, (shown below).

It wasn’t until 1911 that Italy overthrew the Ottoman rule and the area became an Italian colony. Italian Libya adopted the green-white-red vertical tricolour with arms of Savoy that was the national flag of the Kingdom of Italy, (shown below).

Tripolitania gained independence from Italian Libya in 1918 and a flag that featured a plain blue field with green palm tree and small white five-pointed star at the centre was adopted. The independence did not last long; by 1923 Italy had control over Tripolitania with the flag of Italian Libya flying again, (shown below).

After being defeated in World War Two Italy lost control of all of the Italian colonies, which included Libya. Administration of Cyrenaica and Tripolitania was handed over to the British Military. The flag flown was the red, white and blue Union Flag, (shown below).

France took administration of the Southern Libyan territory of Fezzen-Ghadames. Rather than using the French Tricolour the flag was a plain red field with white crescent moon and white-bordered red five-pointed star, (shown below).

In 1949 Britain handed over Cyrenaica to Sayyid Idris and the area became the Emirate of Cyrenaica. A black flag with white crescent moon and five-pointed black star was flown, (shown below).

In 1951 the whole of Libya gained full independence and the flag of Fezzan-Ghandames, Tripolitania and Cyrenaica were merged to create a red-black-green horizontal tricolour flag of the Kingdom of Libya that also featured the Islamic crescent moon and five-pointed star at the centre, (shown below).

In 1969 Muammar Gaddafi lead a bloodless coup d’état overthrowing King Idris I creating the Libyan Arab Republic. The flag chosen for this era was a red-white-black horizontal tricolour, (shown below).

In 1972 Libya merged with Egypt and Syria to create the Federation of Arab Republics. The flag with the red-white-black tricolour with the Coat of Arms of the Federation in the centre. This was short lived because the countries could not agree on rules, (shown below).

In 1977 Libya broke free of the merger and became the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya. A plain green flag, the only plain coloured flag in the world, was chosen to represent Gaddafi’s political philosophy, (shown below).

When Gaddafi was overthrown in 2011 the United Nations chose the original flag of Libya as the national flag. It is flown and used in all diplomatic posts and situations, (shown below).

Meaning of the flag parameters

The national flag?of Libya consists of three unequal horizontal stripes of (top to bottom) red, black, and green, with a white crescent and star?centred on the larger?stripe. The stripes represent Libya’s three main provinces—Tripolitania, Cyrenaica, and Fezzan.?

For Arab countries such as Libya, white represents peace, while black means battle. Green symbolizes the pastures as well as Islam, while red represents the sword.

Black. It evokes the standard of the Senussi (a powerful Muslim brotherhood of Libyan origin). Additionally, the black flag that Prophet Muhammad carried inspired the black background. ?It is also a symbol of the dark days when the region was occupied by Italy.

Red. ?This color pays tribute to the martyrs of the battles that took place between 1912 and 1943 when Libya was under Italian rule. It represents the blood that was shed in the quest for the nation's freedom.

Green. It is a representation of wealth, prosperity, and the nation's agriculture.

White star and crescent. The Star represents the people's smiling hope, the beauty of aim and object and the light of their belief in God, in their country, its dignity and honour which illuminate. "The crescent is symbolic of the beginning of the lunar month according to the Muslim calendar. It brings back to their minds the story of?Hijra [migration] of their Prophet Mohammed from his home in order to spread Islam and teach the principles of right and virtue.

The National Anthem

"Allahu Akbar" was adopted as the official national anthem of the Libyan Arab Republic on 1 September 1969, by Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, showing his hopes of uniting the Arab world.

In?2011 when he died, "Libya, Libya, Libya" was declared as the new national anthem of Libya by the National Transitional Council.?

_______Libya! Libya! Libya!_____________

refrain__O my country,

O my country,

With my struggle and gladiatorial patience,

Drive off all enemies’ plots and mishaps

Be saved, be saved, be saved, be saved all the way

We are your sacrifices

Libya, Libya, Libya!

1__O my country, You’re the heritage of my ancestors

May Allah not bless any hand that tries to harm you

Be saved, we are for ever your soldiers

No matter the death toll if you’ve been saved

Take from us the most credential oaths, we won’t let you down, Libya

We will never be enchained again

We are free and have freed our homeland

Libya, Libya, Libya!

2__Our grandfathers stripped a fine determination when the call for struggle was made,

They marched carrying Qur’an in one hand,

And their weapons by the other hand

The universe is then full of faith and purity

The world is then a place of goodness and godliness

Eternity is for our grandfathers

They have honoured this homeland

Libya, Libya, Libya!

3__Extend on Idris the honour, the descendant of the conqueror

He is the symbol of struggle and Jihad

He raises our flag high

And we follow him, freeing our homeland,

He allows praise of his throne

And raises hope for Libya in heaven,

A free flag

Over a rich country,

Libya, Libya, Libya.

4__Extend on Al Mukhtar the prince of the conqueror

He is the symbol of struggle and Jihad

He raises our flag high

And we follow him, freeing our homeland,

He allows praise of his ancestors

And raises hope for Libya in heaven,

A free flag

Over a rich country,

Libya, Libya, Libya.

5__O son of Libya, O son of lions of the wild

We’re for honour and the honours are for us

Since the time of us being honoured, people thanked our generosity and honourableness

May Allah bless our Independence

O Libyans, seek the dizzy heights as a position in mankind

Our cubs, be prepared for the foreseen battles

Our youths, to prevail

Life is only a struggle for homeland

Libya, Libya, Libya!

_______________________________

The National Anthem of Libya was written by Al Bashir Al Arebi and composed by?Mohammed Abdel Wahab.

Libya has no national motto.

"Our cubs, be prepared for the foreseen battles" is my favorite in this comprehensive anthem. First, because I am a young person who strategically looks up to a great tomorrow not only for myself but for my generations in Africa. Secondly, because I am an inter - generational enthusiast. I strongly believe in the passing of batons from one people to another across time, and even scale. There are things that our long gone people did and wrote to help us who are living now. The only way to be true to our rich histories is picking the best lessons and building a better today and tomorrow for everyone.

It is okay to lose to gain. Some of the risks we take in life are necessary if at all we are selflessly pursuing a better welfare for everyone in and outside our circle. Libyans are generous and kind people, loyal and true to their motherland. There might have been huge losses and a great price paid in search for one piece of gold, and it is worth it. Hints of insecurity in the country are not a guarantee of a faded beauty of the land. There is lots of Hope.

Dear Libya, see you soon in the beautiful landscapes.

And to you my esteemed reader, see you in the next country.

Refs: seekflag.com, flagmakers.co.uk, the a-z animals.com, world population review, hymne-national.com

?Girl of the African Soil.