| Part One: The Long Road to Tripoli |
The first episode of The Long Road to Tripoli begins in springtime in London, where for weeks the news has been dominated by the political awakenings in Tunisia, Egypt and then Libya.
For 30-year-old Libyan exile Ibrahim El Mayat springtime has been given a new meaning and a new challenge: to return home.
"For me, growing up in the UK, I was always aware of my identity as a Libyan and an Englishman, but I didn't live there so I didn't feel the reality of growing up in Libya in the really difficult times," Ibrahim says.
"While I was enjoying a good life, my family in Libya had to queue for clothes, they had rations for food, they had absolutely no luxuries. They were really trapped; they were under siege in the country."
When the Libyan uprising began in February, Ibrahim and hundreds of other Libyans living in the UK began working together to send aid to those affected by the fighting. But for Ibrahim, sending aid from the comfort of the UK was not enough - he wanted to return to Libya.
For 30-year-old Libyan exile Ibrahim El Mayat springtime has been given a new meaning and a new challenge: to return home.
"For me, growing up in the UK, I was always aware of my identity as a Libyan and an Englishman, but I didn't live there so I didn't feel the reality of growing up in Libya in the really difficult times," Ibrahim says.
"While I was enjoying a good life, my family in Libya had to queue for clothes, they had rations for food, they had absolutely no luxuries. They were really trapped; they were under siege in the country."
When the Libyan uprising began in February, Ibrahim and hundreds of other Libyans living in the UK began working together to send aid to those affected by the fighting. But for Ibrahim, sending aid from the comfort of the UK was not enough - he wanted to return to Libya.
| "The people have found their spirit again and they've woken up from the coma of the Gaddafi years. I am part of that. I'm a Libyan. Struggling for freedom and fighting for this cause is part of the revolution. We are all revolutionaries." Ibrahim El Mayat, a Libyan expat |
Ibrahim's father, Abduladim, fled to London from Libya 30 years ago. During the 1980s, Gaddafi pursued Abduladim and others like him, sending death squads to assassinate Libyans living in London. Abduladim managed to escape with his life, but was left injured and permanently scarred.
"We lived in Tripoli. Gaddafi, he took my house, he took it by force. He took everything from us," Abduladim explains.
Father and son are motivated by a desire to return to Tripoli to take part in their country's revolution.
"We lived in Tripoli. Gaddafi, he took my house, he took it by force. He took everything from us," Abduladim explains.
Father and son are motivated by a desire to return to Tripoli to take part in their country's revolution.
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