March 14-16, 2011 Monday-Wednesday
At 7:30 AM I was already at the mahatta (station). Vehicles going to places outside Tripoli are usually mini buses or 12-14 seater vans. The van going to Khoums was about to go, just waiting for one more passenger when I arrived. The passengers seemed relieved when they found out that I would be joining them, perhaps they've waited for so long. When I was already seated, I found out that I was the only woman in the van. I was seated at the back and the exit doors were on the side. I felt a little nervous but as usual, whenever I got scared, I said a little prayer to God that in His goodness and mercy, He would protect me from all harm and danger.
A guy seated by the window in front of me looked at me and smiled. He asked, "Chini? No? Korea?" I said, "Filipini". He smiled again, looked at my thumb and gave me an inquiring look. "There was a cyst on my thumb and it was operated on," I explained. "Don't worry about it," he said pointing at my thumb. I just smiled. Silently I was saying, "I'm not worried about my thumb, I'm worried about the checkpoints." Mentally, I noted that the guy who was in his middle 20s, had a smile that reached his eyes and made it look sincere.
At the first checkpoint, the driver got my passport and showed it to the patrol guard. I heard the driver say "Korea". I told Mr. Nice Guy to tell the driver that I am Filipini. Mr. Nice Guy informed both the driver and the guard that I am Filipini. The soldier inquired about my job and my business in Khoums. I told the guy (who became my interpreter from then on) that I'm a doctor at Al Fateh University and I would just visit friends in Khoums. The soldier returned my passport to the driver and allowed us to go. Mr. Nice guy told me that he was an Engineering student at Al Fateh. He also said that I should not worry about the checkpoint guards because they were just doing their work. "Besides," he said, "I'm going to protect you." Silently I said, "Oh! That was nice." Aloud I said, "Salaam alai cum!" I gave a silent prayer of thank to God. Mr. Nice Guy got down before entering the town and told me to be careful as the van started to move.
I found the bank which also served as the Western Union office a block from the town plaza. There was a crowd of men outside. The women had their line inside so I was told to join them using the back door for entrance. It was 10:30 AM. Thel and Therese were already inside with other Filipino colleagues. Joanne, a nursing instructor and Pines, an English lecturer, both from Tripoli were at the teller's window already. They had been in Khoums since Sunday. Joanne was able to finish her transaction but Pines was unfortunate, the internet went offline when it was already her turn. The WU staff told those who were inside to wait until 2:00PM. Everyone got peeved because some of them had been there since yesterday, others had been in line since this morning. At 4:00PM, the internet was still offline so we were told to come back bucra (tomorrow).
When we went out, we saw Kiko with some men who turned out to be Filipinos working at the Libyan Naval Base in Khoums. These Pinoys, headed by an engineer, were in charge of maintaining the facilities of the naval yard. They requested two Pinay lecturers to help them transfer their money to the Philippines. Teddy, Pines' husband, who was another English lecturer, was also with them. We were all invited to the birthday party of a Filipino nursing instructor living in the area. It was held at the flat of the Davao ladies so Kiko's family decided to spend the night in Khoums. Teddy, Pines, and Joanne who were all that was left of the Tripoli group spent their second night there,too.
On Tuesday, Thel and I went to the bank at 7:00AM. Teddy, Pines and Joanne were just a few minutes ahead of us. When Pines and Joanne entered the bank, we were just a few steps behind them but when the guard closed the door, he did not allow anyone to enter again. Pines and Joanne told the guard that we were their companions but they were just ignored. As Thel and I were waiting outside, Teddy offered us some coffee. He was such a joker so he lightened up the situation. When he learned that I went to Khoums thru the usual ride at the mahatta, he raised both his hands and bowed his head saying, "Saludo kami sa 'yo, sister. Di namin kaya ang tapang mo." ( "I salute you, sister. We couldn't match your courage." ) I learned later that they paid 50 dinar per head. I only paid 3 dinar which was the usual rate. At about 8:30 - 9:00 AM, two taxis from Tripoli came loaded with nursing lecturers from Al Fateh Medical University. Just like us, they had to queue the line outside. The effort proved to be futile. At 10:30, Pines and Joanne went out. There was no internet connection. The manager said, "Maybe tomorrow."
I spent the night in Zletin while Teddy and Pines had their third night in Khoums. Joanne went back to Tripoli with her colleagues. On the next day, Wednesday, nothing happened. I learned from Pines that the bank's internet connection came from Benghazi while Benghazi's connection came from USA. The latter blocked the connection to Khoums. Having enough of the situation, I decided to go back to Tripoli. Teddy and Pines joined me in the trip back to the capital.
We took a ride at the mahatta. The driver was about 30-35 years old and was the nervous type. At the first checkpoint, the soldiers who accosted our driver seemed relatively young and boastful of their newly acquired power as they brandished their weapons. They asked Teddy for his papers and told him to go down for body search. The driver also got down and told Pines and me to surrender our bags for searching. Pines and Ted declared their phones but I didn't, so when one of the soldiers was already searching my bag, I decided to do something. I hurriedly went out of the van and in the process, my right foot got entangled with the seat belt in front of me and I went . . . blag! I got down head first, followed by my body, still looking at the soldier who was already holding my cosmetic kit but got distracted. (My cellphone was under the kit. Gosh!) The commotion called the attention of the senior officer assigned on that post. He helped me to stand up and apologized. He called the soldier and asked him to give my bag and to apologize, too. Then, he called him aside and continued to scold him. Another soldier was supposed to confiscate the mobile phones of Pines and Teddy but Pines insisted to get them back and threatened to tell the muder (referring to the senior officer) about it. The second soldier returned the phones.
Back in the van, we expressed anger to the driver who was supposed to protect us. Teddy complained to the Libyan passengers that women should not be treated that way. Our co-passengers apologized to us. I found Vicks Vaporub in my bag so Pines rubbed it on the affected areas on my face and arms. Concon called Pines and was informed about what happened. She instructed me not to sleep within the next hour to avoid blood clot. She called several times, worried like an old grandma( proof of unquestionable sisterly affection). Nancy also called to confirm what happened. I told her to inform Kiko about it. When I got down from the van, Teddy helped me out and gave me a brotherly hug. I was touched.
Later in my flat, I took a long look at my image in the mirror : left black eye, swollen forehead, bruised cheek. My left shoulder, knee and leg were throbbing with pain. Then I smiled . . . and the smile grew into laughter. I wasn't afraid that my phone would be confiscated; I put my life on line because I didn't want to be caught telling a lie (for not declaring my cellphone). I imagined what a scene I had created for myself and I had another round of laughter. That was so silly!
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