These books are a collection of narratives of common people who lived on the ground during the Libyan Chapter of the Arab Spring.
The message of Evans Pritchard- was that the so-called simple societies, just like Western Ones, are shaped by powerful historical forces and must therefore be studied in the
widest political and economic context.
Guided by the dictum conveyed by Greenspan in “Listening to Holocaust Survivors” that a good interview is a process in which two people work hard to understand the views and experiences of one person, the interviewee, I have tried to get through the different layers and meanings of the ongoing
processes of change in Libya.
How did Italian colonialism affect the lives of common Libyans? What were the opportunities brought about by independence? What meanings did Arab nationalism have for different people?
How does the 2011 liberation war open new horizons to veterans and youngsters?
These, and many other questions, are examined through oral history narratives of native Arabs, Berbers, and immigrant worker narratives.
Social change will take time, but it is certain that the feared and hated dictator is not returning.
So the streets resound with cries of “Shafshoofa Maleshi,” Shafshoofa is referring to Gaddafi’s long hair, which some say was full of lice, and maleshi – meaning “sorry.”
Download the Narratives here