The Sense of Incompleteness

The legendary King of Kings?

It seems almost heroic. Students will marvel at pictures of vibrant Libyan rebels, hooting in trucks and waving flags of freedom, in their history books, for many years to come. They will look at the Revolution as a fairytale, something that can only happen in the past, something only the pages of a history book can contain. History can boast about few events as great as the Arab Spring, and the idea of being alive to witness the whole thing is an ecstatic feeling, in itself. When the Jasmine Revolution first broke out in Tunisia, few would have imagined that Libya would be next.

Satisfying. Not as satisfying as capturing Gaddafi.

The Libyan Revolution was prolonged and painful, with mass civilian casualties and ruthless manslaughter. It’s been almost eight months since the revolution started and today, the rebels stand victorious. The government has lost most of its firepower, Tripoli has been captured, Muammar Gaddafi has fled- that’s where you stop and think. So, the man behind it all, Gaddafi has not been captured, eh? As I said, eight months have passed and the rebels have triumphed, or have they?

When the Libyan Revolution first came to light, Muammar Gaddafi became a symbol of hatred- an atrocious man, murdering and tormenting his own people, all in the selfish desire to maintain his autocratic regime. Muammar Gaddafi was the face most commonly shown on BBC- the man with those suspiciously secretive Chinese eyes, the radical chin hair, the loose, musty clothes and the maliciously sadistic smile. The media taught us to loathe Gaddafi- we had to see him as a man who was supposed to be killed, a man who did not deserve mercy. The issuance of the international arrest warrant, the approval of NATO and the admirably heroic protest movements, added more substance to this ideology and further augmented our contempt for the ‘villain’, Gaddafi.

Today, the resolution of the movement has been achieved, the drama has ended, and we have reached our happily ever after, yet the villain has not been defeated. Fearing that the rebels threatened his dictatorial power, Gaddafi has fled, without anyone knowing when, what, how, and most importantly, where. Hence, even as the rebels click pictures with victory signs, sleep on Gaddafi’s beds, and chant slogans of success (with gusto and enthusiasm), there is a sense of incompleteness present in the whole thing. Gaddafi is set to have fled Tripoli through a series of covert underground tunnels below his compound. After all this time, Gaddafi can be virtually anywhere, from Sirte and Bani Walid to Algeria and perhaps, South Africa. Many of Gaddafi’s family members have found refuge in Algeria, but Gaddafi’s location is still as murky as his eyes. One finds it hard to believe that after all that struggle; the antagonist still roams free, hidden from the world’s eyes.

"I am an international leader, the dean of the Arab rulers, the king of kings of Africa and the imam of Muslims, and my international status does not allow me to descend to a lower level" Arab League summit, March 2009
Gaddafi is famous for making self-righteously boastful statements. Even though his regime has been dismantled and his leadership ousted, Gaddafi has not been as snubbed as it may seem. Even after all the persistent battles, Gaddafi remains camouflaged and unscathed. And we feel whether the man who thought so highly of himself, the legendary King of Kings, the sole survivor of the American 1969 bombings on Libya, the maverick political philosopher, was not so wrong after all?  

Unless Gaddafi is captured, how can the woman and children sleep peacefully, knowing that the criminal will never return? How can the government establish control, without fearing that Gaddafi may one day return, perhaps as a greater threat? How can the world, though millions of miles from Libya, feel content and happy that all is well, without the frustration of Gaddafi’s escape? The loose ends still remain untied.

Ah, the sweet, incomplete smell of success

Although the rebels, heroes forever, have set their mark on the tide of history, there will still be many, who will see Gaddafi as the figure who fought till the end, the person who resisted despite all odds, and the man who defied destiny itself.