An old woman from the southern city of Sabha has spoken out against the atrocities of warlord Khalifa Haftar’s self-styled army. The helpless woman spoke about how Haftar’s militia groups stormed her sons’ houses and looted the valuables.
The grief-stricken mom said “Israeli army would not do this if they invaded Libya.”
[VIDEO::https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TzY3gdqT2WI]
Here is a transcript of her complaint:
I hope what happened yesterday to my son won't happen to anyone else
They stormed the house chanting Allah Akbar
First, they handcuffed the men, Nasser and Abdul Basset
The doctor (her son) was coming down the stairs; he was seeing off some construction workers from upstairs, he was fasting
Mohammed wasn't here at first; he came later and found us in this state
They stormed our homes with their guns and heavy weapons
The doctor's wife was upstairs
They knocked down the door
She said she didn't realize what was happening until she found them standing in her bedroom
She asked them to respect her private space but they just yelled at her
They didn't spare anything, jewelry, money, the laptop, even her university's paperwork, they took it all
Then they went downstairs
They took everything they set eyes on
The gold, the safe, everything, even some jewelry they found on the dressing table, they took it as well
The doctor had a large sum of money in his house that he was entrusted with
He was building a house
They took all the money in the bag, even their passports, and their university's paperwork
His wife was terrified; they tied us up in the ground floor and then went upstairs
She has long devoted her time for teaching the new generation, and now, she found herself dealing with a gang
If this is the army we don't want it,
If there is an army, we would be the first to welcome it, we are not against it
They took everything, our cars and the safe that needs ten men to move
The poor woman, she was afraid for her daughters, she slammed the door
Even the bride's basket known as the "Alaqa", they scattered it on the floor
They even searched women's clothes
If they were an army, we will raise our hats for them
The army should protect us
The army does not attack women
Abdul Majeed has nothing to do with the ongoing fighting; he never went to the battlefronts
All he did is that he spoke loudly
Don't they claim that there is a freedom of speech?
Well, I'm expressing my opinion now, so come and arrest me
If there is a freedom of speech, we all want to exercise this right
Abdul Majeed didn't fight you in the fronts
If there was a law than leave the law to judge him, rather than coming here and attacking women, intimidating them, and taking their men away
They didn't leave us a man
Just Faraj
Faraj was dragged from his shirt all the way to here just like a sheep
They stormed into his house and ordered him to face the wall
Are these the acts of a government?
He quarreled with them; he refused to be treated this way
His wife has just come from work
They ordered her to take off her jewelry, they even took her earrings
Then, one of them grabbed her handbag and tipped it over, she had a small amount of money inside, just a few pennies, though, they didn't spare it
They stole a large amount of money from the doctor
They took the safe in Mohammad's house, including his wife's gold
His wife could no longer stay at her home after the attack
She's staying with her parents now
They raided Abdul Majeed's house and destroyed everything they found
They left nothing
Why are they doing this? Even in the "Fellagha" times this never happened
I am 60 years old now, but I have never seen such people
Are they hungry?
They broke into Ali's house and didn't spare anything... Even the food in the refrigerator, they ate it all
The things they did, even Israel wouldn't have done it
I sure say, that if Israel invades us it would behave better than them
We want our rights or give us a political asylum
We will leave them the country
Today, they took our men and left us alone
We have been insulted and beaten
We will leave them the country
What is a country without its men?
How dare they take away my sons
They filled five cars with our men
Are they "Fellagha"?
They didn't spare a television nor gas cylinders
They stole the generator
What did they leave us?
They left us nothing
If they were an army, and they came here to protect us, as they claim, we would lift our hats for them
We would be under their command
But they are not an army
They are a militia, in fact
This is the truth
Lying is prohibited
Are these the acts of an army?
We want to know the fate of our children?
Poor child, he was going for exams this Sunday
They took him away
Do you know why? Because he asked them to show respect for women and not to humiliate them
There was no one to defend us except for this child
They handcuffed Nasser
They handcuffed Mohammad, he was fasting
He was a good man; he fasts on Mondays and Thursdays
Hasbiya Alla Wa Nima Al-Wakeel
We want to know the fate of our children
Give us our rights if you consider us Libyans
If my sons have done wrong, then leave the law to judge them
What did the doctor do wrong?
He educates and teaches generations
His son is now suffering urination
I was beside him, when he got up trembling, he was crying out, "They're taking my father, they're taking my father away" They're taking Othman"
Othman is his cousin; he saw them ducking him in the car
If they were an army I'll be pleasured to put them on my head
If they were an army they would be welcomed
The army knocks on the doors
If he was in the house we will tell them so, and if he isn't in, they should leave us alone, and not attack us
How dare they attack and insult a woman in her home
Isn't there any respect for the privacy of houses?
Isn't there any respect for women's clothes?
They stole eight cooking gas cylinders
They took seven from here, and even brought the one attached to the cooker
They stole the generator
One of them threw it on his shoulder and took it away
The emptied the handbag of the lady and stole her belongings
Even her passport and her husband and son's passport too
Oh, son, we call on them, if they are really the army's High Command, we would put them above our heads, but give us our rights
We are with the army and not against it
We are eager to have an army that would protect and secure our country
We are eager to see the day that we could drive our cars without fear
But don't attack homes
Even our food has been stolen…..
