A Long Way from Libya to the Bay Area

Yousif Sassi admits that a year ago he would never had spoken with a reporter, but today the Berkeley resident who works as a customer service representative at the Mechanics Bank in Kensington, says, “It’s good to be Libyan.”

“Exceptionally good, and getting better every day,” he adds for emphasis.

Sassi says the revolution in his homeland has made everyone more open and willing to talk about the conditions that led to the so-called "Arab Spring."

It’s clear Sassi is very proud of the revolution that has transformed his country, although he is clearly worried about the future.

While reports of factionalism and a divided government continue to surface, he says he’s not worried. “We have many tribes, but it’s not like Iraq. … We are all Libyans and will eventually work together.”

Sassi’s family came to the United States 40 years ago, just as Colonel Moammar Gadhafi came to power. “It wasn’t really planned to avoid Gadhafi, I don’t think,” he says. “My father wanted to emigrate to the United States, but he really has never told me all the details.”

Sassi says there is not a particularly large Libyan population in the Bay Area and his father did not come to join others. They came to New York City first, where he was brought up and then moved west.

“I’m really happiest for him,” Sassi says, noting that his father and the rest of his immediate family live in Albany. The family came to California when his father was accepted to UC Berkeley to study engineering.

Sassi says he still has a lot of relatives in Libya and that over the years he has visited often. He has relatives in Benghazi as well as Tripoli and has kept up on events using Facebook and email. He admits it was tough until recently.

“The first thing Gadhafi did when the protests started was cut off external internet access, but recently it’s gotten better,” he says. Plus, he notes, most residents of the country were cautious out of concern about the possibility that Gadhafi could find out what they were saying on the internet and retaliate.

He says his relatives let him know they are safe now and that conditions are better but, he adds, “They're still pretty paranoid. You don’t recover from 40 years, very quickly.” Sassi says he also listens to Al-Jazeera radio most nights for more details.

Sassi says most Americans don’t realize how different conditions in Libya were depending on where you lived in the country. “Benghazi was always the stronghold for opposition to Gadhafi, and that’s why the revolution started there. They always got much less from the central government. You can see it just by looking at the condition of the city. That’s why the revolution moved West to East.”

Over the last few months as the rebels advanced toward Tripoli, Sassi says he was in contact with his uncles and cousins in the city. They didn’t provide too many details about life in Tripoli, mostly “it was about survival … figuring out ways to stay safe and get food." When asked if his relatives were active in the revolt, he says he really doesn’t know.

They are all well now, he says, adding that they are anxious for it all to be over.  When the revolution will be over and nation-building can begin probably won’t be “until Gadhafi is captured.”

Sassi, who just turned 27, is currently an economics major at San Francisco State but says he has no intention of moving back to Libya. His study was interrupted by an opportunity to spend a year in France last year with his girlfriend. She is a linguist who speaks eight languages, he says, noting he speaks English, French, and Arabic.

He’s not sure what he wants to do when he graduates. An MBA is a possibility, as is starting a business related to what will be a massive rebuilding effort in Libya.

“I just hope they don’t let all the outside companies come in and profit," he says. "There should be a six-month window to let Libyan companies get started and rebuild  the country."

That’s a hope, but news stories about European oil companies already signing contracts suggest that firms such at Bechtel who specialize in infrastructure won’t be far behind.

“Libya is more that just oil," Sassi says. “We supply concrete to everyone in the Middle East.”

Sassi remains optimistic about the country’s future, saying he and his father have already talked about going back, “just for a visit.” “He’s pretty Americanized now and is 70, so he has no intention of moving back, but he is anxious to visit.”

When can the revolution be called a success? “It’s already a success,” he answers, adding that “95 percent of the population is happy Gadhafi is gone. We can’t really ask for anything more at this point.”