Thousands of Libyans celebrate the second anniversary of the Libyan uprising at Martyrs Square in Tripoli. — AFP
Wil Crisp
TRIPOLI – Just when it might have been thought that after several days of massive celebrations Tripolitans would be exhausted and there could not be any more firework left to set off, Tripoli outdid itself Sunday evening in celebrating the second anniversary of the revolution.
There were even more people out on the streets across the city than the previous night. The noise of fireworks and car horns was deafening, constant and lasted well into the night.
Thousands of lanterns streamed across the capital’s sky. The source of many was Martyrs Square where tens of thousands congregated to share tea, blow air horns and set off fireworks.
Cars decked out in flags criss-crossed the city all day as Tripolitans tracked down friends and family in different parts of the city.
‘I’ve never seen anything like it,’ said one visitor from Tunisia as she stood in Martyrs’ Square watching the flag-waving and fireworks.
The capital’s residents shared food and drink in the square and launched a constant stream of Chinese lanterns. Not all made it out of the square though, with a number returning to earth to hit unsuspecting revellers.
Sunday’s celebrations conclude nearly a week of successful celebrations that many were worried would be tainted by violence.
Celebrations exploded Saturday in the Fashloum district of Tripoli. Fashloum, which was one of the first areas to rise up without fear against Gaddafi, cut a huge cake in the colors of the Libyan flag at the stroke of midnight.
Fashloum street, which is at least a couple of kilometers long, was totally closed from the Jamhuriya Street roundabout to the Jraba Street roundabout with men, women and children, letting-off fireworks, blowing car horns to blaring music and flashing lights – creating a euphoric atmosphere.
Dancing and singing in the street, to huge street-side speakers, was a familiar sight. Young boys distributed washeg (Arabic incense), sweets, chocolates and juice to walkers by and passing cars.
Women and families sat in family enclosures under street-side tents clapping and cheering every passerby. Fire flares, painted faces, face masks, florescent Gaddafi-like curly hair wigs, ornately decorated cars in the colours of the Libyan flag – all added to the carnival-like atmosphere.
Despite all the talk about security in the lead-up to the anniversary of the revolution, one woman enjoying the Fashloum celebrations mentioned how safe she felt in the street saying that it was for her “safer than any other day”.
During Gaddafi’s regime, people were forced to celebrate the so-called “popular revolution”. One passer-by wanted to emphasize that all the people that came out onto the streets were there because they wanted to celebrate the second anniversary of the 2011 Libyan revolution, “through their free will”.
It is also worth noting that the current Libyan authorities refused to set a budget for the celebrations, in contrast to the multi-million dinar budget that the Gaddafi regime used to set and pilfer for its celebrations.
In contrast, all of the celebratory paraphernalia was paid for by the public. Many streets organized money collections to create funds to buy flags, banners, street lights, fireworks and to hire chairs and tents etc.
It was truly a celebration by the people for the people. – Libya Herald
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