February 25-27, 2011 – Friday-Sunday
I had moved in and out of Dr. Naj’s home as a constant visitor but never had I realized the fullness of their hospitality until now. The whole household made me feel that I was a member of the family. Having no television in my own flat, I feasted myself with news from different networks during my early stay with them. I got embarrassed when Princess would bring my meals in the room which I share with her. (I watched the English channel; Dr. Naj and wife Karen watched news in Arabic at the master’s bedroom; the two boys who followed Princess viewed cartoon adventures, sports or national geographic in their bedroom; the two young ones paid attention to kiddie cartoons at the yellow living room while their grandmother, being a Khadaffi loyalist, watched the state TV network at the blue living room. The red sala didn’t have television).
Dr. Naj told me to feel at home so if I get hungry, I could just help myself and open the fridge or eat anything in the dining room. Being a picky eater, sometimes I would eat a bar of chocolate and announce that I had taken my meal already but Princess would prepare a tray of food for me and insist that I eat it. One time, we were all gathered at the dining table eating “cuscos”, a Libyan dish. Dr. Naj said: “ Aydee, you can have another share of the meat. It’s a beef meal tonight.” The statement surprised me so I asked, “What do you mean? Don’t you use beef always?” He said, “Eighty percent of the meat we eat is camel.” I said, “What?!! But I don’t eat camel! Gosh, from now on I would always ask what kind of meat you’re serving!” And they all had a big laugh.
I was surprised when Fr. Allan called me up one night. He was just checking whether I was already out of the country or was still in Tripoli. I explained to him that I was in a friend’s house, a Libyan. He felt relieved that I was in good company. He told me to avoid going around the city especially at night since everything was uncertain. He said that there were talks that rebels might use foreign nationals as hostages to put pressure to the regime. We ended up wishing each other good luck and hoping that things would be resolved soon.
Edna informed me that everything’s quiet in Mesolata. She reiterated the decision of her group to stay put. Ate Baby had already left for the Philippines so Edna and I shared the hope that she would pass through the ordeal of going back to our country without any mishap. In parting, Edna said that whatever happens, we should always keep in touch.
Khasim, an Iraqi colleague, gave me a call also. He was like a younger brother so his call cheered me up. He said that he was definitely going home to Iraq and he was just disposing his possessions. He said that he wasn’t sure if he would come back to Libya. He thought that I already left because he could not contact me anymore. I told him that something’s wrong with my cell phone. To be sure that we would continue to communicate, we exchanged with each other’s email address and promised to get in touch.
I called up Dr. Shabous to ask for some update about the college. He said that classes were still suspended but he told me to go to the College on February 28, Monday where I could see some of my colleagues. This prospect excited me.
Bok also checked if I was already with Dr. Naj’s family and was relieved with my reply. He said that Zletin was under the regime and was stable. He asked me if I like to join them there but I refused. I told him that I didn’t want to be anywhere else but in Tripoli, where I would have access to the Catholic Church and to the Philippine Embassy. I just felt that these two institutions were my lifelines. In case something went wrong I knew that I could lean on them for safety and survival.
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