Mine and Libya's News

I mentioned in my last post that I had some bills to pay , the phone , the Post Office Box , the car , etc. I went to pay the phone ,while there reported one more time all the static we had on the phone line . Way back in October ( Ramadan) I reported to the Baread ( the Telecommunications Office ) that we had acquired a clicking on our line . They assured me that they would look into it for me . I waited several days the clicking was still there . I went back and told them one more time . Ok the guy told me , we will get some one out there tomorrow . Fool that I was , I believed him. Maybe they did come , but the clicking was still there . I gave up because like every woman here in Libya during Ramadan , I had more important things to do with my time than to keep running to the Baread and complaining , I had mega cooking to do ! So , I let it slide .

Then came the Eid Al Adah and all that entailed , when not only did we have the continued click clicking , we now had swish swishing added to the symphony , I vowed to go complain again , but never made it to the Baread . Since the cold turkey cutting off our phone last week meant that I had to go to the Baread to pay the bill I thought I might as well tell them one more time about the click clicking and mention the added swish swishing , since it had progressed to the point where every phone call was a shouting match to be heard above the calliope of noise .

I boldly marched into the Baread the other morning to pay the bill soaking wet since it was raining cats and dogs outside . I paid the bill and asked if the man in charge of service was in today and was directed to his office where I found not one man , but four men . I told them I had been in during Ramadan to report the click clicking then. Here it was three months later ,we still had it on the phone line , plus for our added pleasure, we now had swish swishing . I causally mentioned to them that when my family in the States tried to call us to wish us a happy Eid we couldn't hear one another due to all the noise on the line . My family had asked me if Libya hadn't up dated it's telecommunications systems yet ? I told them yes Libya had . They hadn't believed me. The postal men asked for my phone number assuring me someone would be out to check the lines tomorrow . I told them Thank You , thinking yeah , I am so sure that will happen . The next morning bright and early the phone rang .It was a phone line man telling me he was downstairs checking the lines and could I hear him ? I said yeah but the click clicking and the swish swishing was still there . He said one minute and called me back ....... the line was clear !!!! I almost went deaf from the silence ! Sad to say the click clicking and the swish swishing has returned , but it is a soft whisper now .

I also went to pay the yearly fees on my new post office box . It is only 10 Libyan dinars , not much on the grand scheme of things but still it is money . When I rented the post office box back in September , the man made it very clear that if I did not come back in January to pay the yearly fee , I would lose my box . Not wanting that , I braved the rain , mud , and floods the other morning , waded through it all , thinking the whole time of the U.S. postal service motto . It says something to the effect that neither rain , nor snow , hail , or sleet shall stop the mail . Anyway , I get inside the post office , ask where I should pay my fee for the box . The same man that rented me my p.o. box asks me for my receipt . I show it to him . He looks at it and tells me that I only had rented it in September . Duh ! That the rent isn't due until September of 2008 ! This is the same man that had instilled in me a sense of dread only three months ago if I didn't come in at the new years to renew the fee . I am standing there , dripping water , cold rain water onto his just mopped floor , while the mud oozes from my shoes , thinking I just might have to kill some one . Maybe this is why all those postal workers in the States go on a killing rampage , because people like this man come into the post office a lot and push them over the edge! I smiled the way my mother taught me , said a polite thank you , sloshed all the way to the back to the car that was parked in a lake , closed the door , and screamed !!!!

Now on another front , Libya is in the news again this week . Libya is heading for one month the UN Security's Council . There were the kidnappings of Libyan diplomats in Somalia today . Thankfully that was ended in peace . Sorta of ironic when you think about it , when Libya turns good , their diplomats are snatched , not when they were on a terrorist list ! Then there are all these new investments in Libya now that diplomatic ties have been restored . And a new travel requirement by Libya has been issued for all tourist entering Libya as of Jan. 7, 2008 . SO read the link above to make sure you know what you need NOW in order to come visit here as a tourist. Not related to Libya , but still African/ European related , The Dakar Rally Race has been canceled due to security concerns from Al Queda threats . That is so sad to think that by canceling the Rally , the organizers are giving Al Queda power over them . I have come to look forward to the Rally since moving here . One year , I think it was 2000 , the Rally came through Libya and the racers were all surprised to find that the desert was flooded due to winter rains we had recently had before the race started . It was so funny to listen to all those racers from countries where it rains regularly complaining about the water ! Here's hoping the Rally people decide to go ahead with the race and if not , hopefully next year .