I Agree with Saif Al-Islam

Despise me if you dare...

'We are not Tunisia. Nor are we Egypt.'

That's what he said. And I agree.

Okay, let me set this straight 'cause I sense a grimace on your faces.

It's nice that he was able to make a sound statement, but the thing is, we both looked at it from opposite dimensions.

We share the same continent with these fellow countries. We share a faith, Arabism, culture... we share a revolution. Yet we differ in the means by which we have been triggered.

Tunisia went ablaze when Bu Azeezi set himself on fire. Egypt managed to pull itself together and swiftly organized a date via facebook.

Shortly after Mubarek fell off the wall, Libyans almost coyly set out, allowing the winds to propel their sails. And with Allah's will, mere drops of rain turned into a massive downpour. And here we are living the dream. The Libyan Dream!

Saif Al-Gaddafi (in Arabic: Gaddafi's sword) had a different perspective. He said we weren't Tunisia or Egypt because he was (sadly) certain that their regime had us under control; their underestimation of the Libyan population was at its peak level. "They'll never do it. Never dare." Was their bet.

Which makes me wonder... How many bets had they won in the name of Libya? To what lengths are they willing to drag us?

We're facing hardship under this regime during peace and wartime... God damn it!!

This is it for us to glorify our history, to pick up where our great-grandfather Omar Mukhtar had left.

The past couple of months witnessed a remarkable force from the Libyan society both inside and out of Libya. A force that many declared to have taken them by surprise... in a delightful way. It was exhilarating.

Thousands of Libyans took to the streets to demonstrate, express and demand their rights. Thousands resorted to facebook, creating hundreds of groups where topics are being tackled. Though many members are obstinate in arguments, the majority have shown civility in their newly acquired freedom to speak their minds.

It is vital, in my opinion, that we Libyans reintroduce ourselves to the world by means of cyber space. Twitter, facebook and blogging are by far at the top by which we can step into the world and 'represent'.

This our time, our chance, to put our lives in check. Put pen to paper and jot down our priorities in order to pave a slick and efficient path for us to follow once we are back on our feet and ready to go. We don't want to be stuck in the middle of nowhere and say, "Okay... now what?"

It's not about fear anymore. We have unleashed the power within.

We are the lions of the desert.

Till next time,

Hana S.