Intervention in Libya saved the lives of my family

April 13, 2011 - PRLog -- Reprinted from The Oregonian

I'm a Libyan-American who recently returned from a six-month family visit to Benghazi. Born and raised in Portland, I had taken for granted the freedom to speak my mind without fear of incarceration or execution. In Libya, I learned to censor myself when I spoke.

That's why it was exhilarating to see and hear the people of Libya speaking out against the regime of Moammar Gadhafi. Every person on the street I met had a personal story of how he or a relative or friend or neighbor had been imprisoned or killed by the Gadhafi regime for saying the wrong thing. For the first time in their lives they could say aloud, "Enough. We can't take any more. Give us justice, freedom and dignity."

As one woman in tears told me at a demonstration, "Never in my life did I imagine this would happen. The Libyan people are alive for the first time in 42 years."

Since I've returned from Libya, I have been disheartened to hear many people call the U.S. intervention a mistake. When U.N. Resolution 1973 was passed, I was filled with hope for the future of my family and friends, and for Libya as a whole. The morning after its passage, I felt my heart break as I learned that Gadhafi's forces had entered Benghazi and were nearing my family's house. And then the air strikes began, saving thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of lives in Benghazi. If the resolution had passed even a day later, the city would have been massacred; my family would likely be dead.

U.S. intervention gave Libyans renewed trust in and respect for America. It gave them the hope and energy to continue their battle for justice and democracy. Most importantly, it saved many of their lives.

Now I hear people ask, "Who are these 'rebels' the U.S. is siding with?" These "rebels" are everyday citizens who, after 42 years of a brutal regime, went out on the streets to peacefully ask for justice. The opposition does not consist of al-Qaida members or terrorists, as Gadhafi claims, but of men, women, children, business people, doctors, lawyers, professors, taxi drivers, teachers, hair dressers and retail workers. They may not all be on the streets, but their hearts and prayers are with those fighting for freedom.

Why am I sharing all this with you? I want to remind every American of something amazing you are part of. The United States and the United Nations are helping save the lives of countless innocent civilians and giving them a chance to transform their government into a democracy. As someone who met many of the lawyers and judges at the forefront of this revolution, I have no doubt that, once Gadhafi and his sons and close aides lose power, the country will be able to fulfill its dream of forming a democratic government.

Many Americans may not know this, but in Benghazi, my family and thousands upon thousands of others, held a "thank you" rally after the air strikes began.

I, also, am thankful.


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Nadia Abraibesh traveled to Libya to visit family after her graduation from Linfield College last spring. In Benghazi, she got caught up in the revolution, joined freedom rallies and acted as an informal interpreter for Western journalists.

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