Who is this “Gaddafi” that everyone is talking about, or rather talking and posting videos and pictures of his brutal death. Gaddafi was the ruler of Libya for 42 years! Can you imagine being ruled by the same person, with the same rules and same way of life for 42 years?! This means that a middle-aged Libyan has seen only the rule of one person! So there are parents in Libya who have never used the phrase “The president that ruled in our generation…” to tell a story to their children because the president of their generation and that of their children has been the same.
Forty-two years! That’s four decades! That’s a long time for someone to have power! That is too much power! The only way this might be reasonable would be if Gaddafi had been a great ruler and met all the needs of his people. According to Libyans and recent events (such as protests), this is not true. Gaddafi was a terrible ruler who took advantage of his power.
Following in the Egyptians’ footsteps, the Libyans started their protests against their government on February 15th, 2011. Seven months and one day later, on the 16th September 2011, Gaddafi’s government was finally out of rule and replaced. For seven months, Gaddafi ordered his military forces to kill his people because they were fighting for their rights. He was merciless and cared about no one.
On the 20th of October, Gaddafi was captured by Libyan forces near his hometown of Sirte. Shortly after, he was shot dead. With today’s technology, who would not take out a phone to video an ex-ruler tortured to death? Four mobile phone videos show rebels beating Gaddafi and manhandling him on the back of a vehicle. These videos show he was sodomized, rolled around on the ground and had his shirt pulled off. He had wounds in the abdomen, chest and head. A rebel who claimed to have killed him says it took half an hour for him to die. The exact cause of death is still uncertain; there are many stories to how he died. Some say he was already wounded and it was his wounds that killed him. Others say he might have been killed by one of his own men. All that aside, his body was then taken to Misrata (a city in northwestern Libya) and placed in the freezer of a local market on public display for four days. Libyans from all over the country came and stood in queues to view it and many, of course, took pictures with their cell phones.
Gaddafi was a not great person. In fact, he was a horrible person! He killed innocent people without thinking twice. For seven months, the Libyans protested innocently to get him to step down while he didn’t allow anyone to get in the way of killing. But is it really fair that he died as brutally as he did? Is displaying his body for everyone to see and celebrate an ‘ok’ thing to do? Does posting videos of his death on YouTube sound reasonable? He should not in any way be respected or remembered but the way the Libyans approached his death, in my opinion, is against humanity. No one should die this way, but even if they did torture him after what he has done to them, the least they could do is bury him, not have his body put out for display in a refrigerator! Gaddafi should have been put in prison and killed by law. Sa’adi Gaddafi (the third son) said that he was shocked and outraged by the vicious brutality and the barbaric executions, and does not think any person affiliated with the previous regime will receive a fair trial.
The death of Gaddafi means a new, fresh, bright future for Libyans. It also gives hope to surrounding Arab countries hoping to prevail over their own unjust governments.
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