Out of sight, out of mind.

I have been in Libya for a month now and as far as I can tell, the vast majority of physical traces of Gaddafi's regime are gone. All the pictures that once plastered the country have now been removed and of course his fortress Bab AlAzizya crushed. Gaddafi is irrelevant here. Its so refreshing that there is a consensus amongst everyone to move forward and think only of the future. Very rarely do I hear people even discussing him. Conversations are filled with debates about the new governments composition or what the new Libya requires to thrive. No better way to put something behind you then to put it out of sight, thus making it out of mind. That is just what Libyans have done here with any remaining traces of Gaddafi.

Drive behind any car in Libya and you'll find one of two things: a license plate completely missing (which bothers me but I'll leave that for another post) or a license plate that has the words ''Jamahariya'' blacked out.

Libya Votes

Its been sixty years since Libyans were last able to lend their voices to shape the body that governs them. After a 42 year dictatorship and 1 epic revolution later Libyans are finally at the polls. Only 9 months after declaring complete liberation from Gaddafi's iron fist, Libyans queued in lines, single file may I add, for their chance to be heard. Although polls opened at 8am, lines began to form as early as 6am.

Zawia Part 2

The main battle for Zawia took place in the Meydan or square downtown. The damage around this area is nothing short of devastating. Buildings are in one of two states: demolished or beyond repair and need to be demolished. In the area of the Meydan I didn't see a single building that could simply be repaired, everything will need to be completely rebuilt.