Urge to return?
First and foremost - Eid Mubarek to all! Kul sana waintum taibeen! I hope you enjoyed the feasting on this joyest Eid commemorating Prophet Ibrahim's (pbuh) sincere devotion to God in his willingness to sacrifice his son. May the guidance, light and blessings of Allah be with you always!
I wanted to ask you all - my fellow Libyan brothers and sisters - whether you also have the sporadic urge to return to Libya or not? Since I have never lived in Libya, I often feel very disconnected with the country and I often feel the need to return for a visit to renew that connection, which is already quite weak. But as I grow older, I feel an increasingly strong urge to live in the Arab/Muslim world. A few days ago I actually pulled up a map and started debating which Arab country I would live in. Given that many of my best friends are in the Gulf region, the area is certainly favorable. But then I stopped myself and wondered - in all of this debating - why haven't I ever seriously considered moving to Libya? I often just dismiss the thought as quickly as it arrives. But then...Why do I continuously need to be an outsider in someone else's land instead of contributing and living in my own? Perhaps it's easier to be an outsider in someone else's land than to feel like a foreigner in my own.
Do any of you have the same feelings? Have any of you had these thoughts and returned? If so, what were your conclusions.
posted by Nura at
9:01 PM
7 Comments:
Nura,
I lived in Libya for a very short time in my life yet Libya calls me home every day. Will I go? Probably not because of the cost, so it will remain a dream. If you have never been you must go at least for a visit and find out what it is that pulls your heart to Libya.
By
Anonymous, at January 03, 2007 7:54 AM
Thanks for your response.. I am curious, what is the cost???
I have indeed been to Libya - usually after two weeks I am more than ready to leave. :) That's the problem! I reason that if I go there for more than three months, I will have the time to adapt and potentially enjoy without a way out!
By
Nura, at January 03, 2007 11:33 AM
Hi Nura:
it's difficult decision,believe me the cost will be high ,we all agree Libya is for us ,and all of us for Libya.but Libya now in situation is difficult to understand it.may be you have dreams and goals u want to do them in Libya indeed better than another country but does the system will allow you to do ,i don't think so.u still young try to get experiences as much as u can,Libya exist from thousands of years and will be existing for another thousands of years.
finally i think the decision depend on where u see urself in the future.
By
Brave Heart, at January 04, 2007 6:06 PM
thank you Nura for this important topic.
I posted about it in my blog as a comment would be too long.
By
Anglo-Libyan, at January 10, 2007 9:24 AM
let's ask the Q in the other way !! how about living out side libya after living most of your life in it !!???
By
piccolina, at January 13, 2007 10:54 AM
Hi Nura,
I’d like to try and answer - or maybe just make comments without actually answering your questions
Also, since you seem to be very organised in outlining your questions, I’d like to do the same, and the best way to do it is to take your post, each point and point by point, and add my little comment to each one in the hope that if I fail to understand your question you’d at least know where and why ….
Another thing Nura, I will put your points between brackets like ( these ), and my relevant comment comes after …. Ok?
( I wanted to ask you all - my fellow Libyan Brothers and Sisters ) I agree with you, Nura, that, generally speaking there ought to be a distinction between male and female, especially with a topic like this one,
( whether you also have the sporadic urge to return to Libya or not? ) I think we all do
( Since I have never lived in Libya, I often feel very disconnected with the country and I often feel the need to return for a visit to renew that connection, which is already quite weak.) Nura, I am not trying to analyse your thoughts, but I really do hope that you agree on the fact that there are many Libyans living outside Libya, and some have NEVER been to Libya, and feel strongly connected to it.
I simply can not find these people and their feeling of connection to Libya credible. In other words, these people base their feelings on dreaming and wishful thinking – I personally could not take what they say seriously.
This leads me to say that you are very logical, and you want hard facts. Unfortunately there are none.
We are here dealing with our love to Libya, and if this love is strong enough to make us decide to move to Libya.
( But as I grow older, I feel an increasingly strong urge to live in the Arab/Muslim world.) I find this interesting
( A few days ago I actually pulled up a map and started debating which Arab country I would live in. Given that many of my best friends are in the Gulf region, the area is certainly favorable. But then I stopped myself and wondered - in all of this debating - why haven't I ever seriously considered moving to Libya? I often just dismiss the thought as quickly as it arrives. But then...Why do I continuously need to be an outsider in someone else's land instead of contributing and living in my own?)
Exactly Nura, (Why do I continuously need to be an outsider in someone else's land ??)
the answer to this question: it isn’t always entirely up to you
( Perhaps it's easier to be an outsider in someone else's land than to feel like a foreigner in my own.) again, another interesting point. If you want my thoughts on this, I really like to know what you mean by (easier)
( Do any of you have the same feelings? ) Yes I do
( Have any of you had these thoughts and returned? ) thoughts? Yes, of course, but I am a realist, and a guy , and (returned?) No way
See this it might explain how I feel. Libya for me is like my mother. I love her, naturally, and she loves me without a doubt.
But living with her needs more than love, unless I decide to make her life more miserable by seeing me suffering every single day.
By living away from Libya makes me feel I am doing her a favour. She suffers less.
We both suffer because we miss each other, we haven’t met for years, but this suffering is due to
1- my own decision
2- save ourselves bigger sufferings
( if I go there for more than three months, I will have the time to adapt and potentially enjoy without a way out!)
I don’t know if it is possible that you could actually adapt simply because you said (usually after two weeks I am more than ready to leave. .. That's the problem )
( and potentially enjoy without a way out!) ah, that’s like saying “ because I will know then that there is no way out, I will do my best to enjoy living in Libya” right??
I don’t know how to respond to that, but everything is possible , and I really do mean ‘everything’
[[ lol Wow, lol, I have checked this message and found it like an encyclopaedia lol, tooo long ,,, never mind ]]
Suggestions:-
Whatever you decide to do Nura, I am confident right now you are doing the right thing, which is talking about it.
Whatever you do, going back to Libya, or staying outside, it is your decision, and I know it isn’t easy simply because you want to know the future in advance
The nice thing though, it is your own decision and no one else. It is your own way of leading your life, and you will be the one who will go through the consequences and enjoy the benefits
I know I sound positive, this is because you appear to be level-headed, mature, confident, have clear thoughts, and lucky to have many options
One of them is visiting Libya one more time to carefully study the option of settling there
Another one is visiting one of those gulf countries, and see from a close range what your friends say, and how they live, why not make use of this option when you have friends and think seriously about this subject?
Another option: write another message on the same topic, but make it more relevant to girl issues, such as marriage, having children, etc etc .. I am not saying these issues are very important to you personally, they may not be, but at least the picture would become more clear and complete
[[ finally, I don’t visit Libyan pages that often but I saved this page, I intend to visit it again in the near future, inshallah ]]
salam and love to all libyans
By
Anonymous, at January 22, 2007 4:38 AM
In a certain sense we are all outsiders in the world, wherever we live, but you might try to make a list of all the things you might miss if you moved and all the things you might gain if you moved and decide how that looks.
By
Anonymous, at March 02, 2007 1:19 PM
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