Escape stories

Hello iShouldBsurfn,

Thanks for sharing. Very scary situation there indeed...

My personal pre-evacuation video. Just hours before mercenaries start killing people in Tripoli

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nLRBlCfraGM

To iShouldBsurfn: I'm glad that you were able to make it out safely.

Thank you for the nice things you said about the libyan people. I was born in Libya and I am too very proud that Libya is finally standing up and saying with one voice... ENOUGH!!!

Best wishes to you and I hope you come back to a free and prosperous Libya.

Salam,

TexasEX

P.S. I hope you get your surfboard and your Calvin Klein bed.

My efforts to bring awareness to my dear Libyan friends.

http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id= … photovideo

Well... were to start....
My wife departed, luckily, to Venezuela since 30th January, because she came under visit visa and we were applying for here residence (that, now that I think about it, rather we need for her a multiple exit&reentry visa).
On the 19th Feb, Internet and Phone access was few. Intermittent. Trying to contact with coworkers that were in the desert was hard. Same day, I moved from my house to the staff house of my company, where 2 guys were staying. Now 3. On the 20th, a friend of mine did not stopped in a GreenFlag Bandanas w/ AK47 checkpoint, they followed him until getting him, drove him to an unknown place blindfolded, then released him after a phone call was made to his phone and the guys apologized themselves. They drove him again, to the place were they took him, said they were sorry, and let him go.
Next day, 21st, this two friend of mine got a ticket to Malta (I was not that afortunate because I left my passport for the exit&reentry visa at the company, I was a Libya resident and you must got one of this if you want to come back to the country), at the airport, only one was able to check in (the one that was arrested the previous day) because they only printed one Eticket and the guy ran with the paper to the passport control (understandable). So the other friend came back to the office where I was trying to gather all the information about the people that was still in Libya.
That day we slept in the staff house, not before buying a ladder and a rope, just in case the things turns bad, we could get to the roof of the house and pickup the ladder (looting or something else).
On the 22nd, same operation, go to the office to see if my passport was ready, but no good news. My friend got a ticket to Malta again with another fella. They went to the airport, but was not possible to check in. In the meanwhile, I was in the office again, but this time my passport and ticket were ready for the 23rd, direct to Madrid and then to Caracas on the 24th. We changed house again, just ot be more confortable while being together.
ON the 23rd, my friends got ticket to go to Malta thru Rome.
When we reached the airport, WOW... it was like a concert and I had the VIP seats... I was worried about all that people that went to the airport without tickets, waiting for something... it is not possible that all that people were there waiting for flights??? Well, I checked in, left my friends behind... found that all flights were delayed, installed my Wimax on the airport, and reported from there that I was OK and waiting the flight to Madrid.
On Madrid I realized that my friends made it to Malta.

Now I'm in venezuela with big hopes that everything gets better in Libya, because I want to go back!!!!!

Here some vids (sorry, must of the videos are commented in spanish):
http://www.twitvid.com/LBXAX "Wasting time in Tripoli Intl Airport"
http://www.twitvid.com/8F1TS "Waiting for my flight out of the Tripoli International Airport"
http://www.twitvid.com/NNVPJ "Trying to check in at Tripoli International Airport"
http://www.twitvid.com/N4PTK "Tripoli International Airport"
http://www.twitvid.com/8TKIE "Trying to enter to the Tripoli Airport"
http://www.twitvid.com/VQX8Q "Mr G. Talking"
http://qik.com/video/37651301 "Around the house at night"
http://qik.com/video/37742079 "Preparing to go to the airport"
http://qik.com/video/37755443 "At Tripoli Airport dutyfree"
http://qik.com/video/37783941 "At Madrid"
http://www.elmundo.es/elmundo/2011/02/2 … 60123.html "Click on video... an interview by reporters on Madrid"

On the HMS Cumberland in a force 10 gale - took 36 hours, and you can't begin to imagine the amount of puke!

Hi everyone... first a disclaimer. Please do not think that I want to undermine anyone's escape story. It is your experience and of course its trauma will stay with you for the rest of your lives and I am glad you safely made it out, and back home with your loved ones.

However, I am having an ethical dilemma reading these "how I saved myself" and knowing that thousands of people out there (libyan and expat) first helped others and then maybe left themselves. I know stories of people who have evacuated 200-600 people by pooling together resources. There seems to be at least one person on this blog who is still doing it. There are Libyans (and I know you care about them) who pull all their resources to help their expat friends to leave. I am afraid we'll never hear their stories.

Again, I don't mean to undermine, dismiss anyone's self-survival efforts. We are human beings with many frailties.
But let's remember those who were and still are selflessly helping others. Such individuals do not talk very much, but that does not mean we should forget about them. Many of them are still not safe. Some of them do not even have access to a computer/internet to flaunt their experiences.

I want to thank all those selfless people, Libyan or not! Without them many evacuations would be impossible.

be safe
fk

I believe you have a very valid point. However..there are those who stay to help and those who have left early in hopes of seeking help and raising awareness outside of Libya. I would have felt so horrible if I couldn't even leave my compound to do anything..the best thing for me to do was to leave..and deliver the message of my libyan friends to the world. Proudly, I can say their words were spoken to the masses using my voice as an outlet.

Hey guy's. Still here and evacuating people, there's a lot of hype and bluff and BS, yes it is horrific, but there needs to be some perspective, a UK lady fighting her way through the crowd with FIVE SUITCASES, crying and just screaming at people "your so uncivilized" those poor f*cking egyptians have no money, no ticket and no hope, yet some of the expats expect it to be all club class drinkies and sandwiches.
I'm staying until we have exhausted every opportunity and explored every avenue for getting people out, then I'll think about will I stay or go.
If you need me, if you can find me then call, that daft English bloke. Or just drop me a PM.
Stay safe guy's, see you all soon hopefully

FK: Well said mate, there's a lot of guys out here doing the same thing, love and respect to all.

officeboy wrote:

I'm staying until we have exhausted every opportunity and explored every avenue for getting people out, then I'll think about will I stay or go.
If you need me, if you can find me then call, that daft English bloke. Or just drop me a PM.
Stay safe guy's, see you all soon hopefully.

Yes, officeboy, I meant likes of you. what you sound like doing for days now,-like some of my friends (libyan or expat) enhances our confidence in humanity.
Thank you indeed.
Please be safe, you are an example we tell about to our children.
fk

iShouldBsurfn wrote:

My efforts to bring awareness

the message of my libyan friends

Excuse me, awareness of what? and what's the message?

My friends asked that I tell everyone the truth about the people. The kindness of their hearts, their willingness to put others before themselves, etc. Also, they asked me to get the message out that a great amount of people were dying. At the time when I reported that in New York on National TV...nobody knew from the news how brutal things in Libya were. Unfortunately, we still don't fully know.

I just know that I explained to the masses that the Libyan people are great, and they are thirsty for their freedom. My Libyan friends have seen my broadcast and have told me that it was exactly how they wanted to get out the word about what was happening in Libya.

This isn't something to debate about because I just followed through with what my friends asked of me. If I had known a different group of people in Libya, I could have been asked to stay and help. I could have been asked to shut up and not say a thing. I did what I was asked, and my friends are happy with that.

Also..others may feel free to write about their journey out of Libya..and not the escape. I would be interested in hearing a ferry story.

iShouldBsurfn wrote:

My friends asked that I tell everyone the truth about the people.

SOmehow we got confused because the you tube link you wanted us to watch had nothing to do with that message or raising awareness. It was all about the personal property you were leaving behind and how you are saving yourself. Not that anything wrong with that! I did not see the awareness or message there and that what you wanted us to see. I am a middle aged mother, I saw a young man who was understandably very much scared. And again, not that anything wrong with it. I am glad you made it out safely and now with your loved ones.

But, for example, knowing an exceptionally smart person who stayed behind, because he comes from a dirt poor african nation and he is the leader of his expat community and he knows that their government will never help them so he made a decision to stay and help his very poor community amidst mayhem and raising [500%] food prices. He was offered to leave, he could leave (because he is extremely well educated) and he chose to stay. He no longer has a computer and I am dying to know how he is doing. These are the stories I want my children to know.

Libya is full of people like that (and I happened to know a few who stayed or left, but always put the others' need first), and I wanted to use this occasion to remind ourselves about these amazing human beings.

Again, I don't mean any disrespect to your personal trauma. I just want to highlight another human condition which has deeply touched me.
I am glad to hear that you want to help to your Libyan friends. We all want to do exactly that.
fk.