Hosam Al-Najjair, a 32 year old building contractor from Dublin, has found his life take an unexpected turn thanks to the rising in Libya.
This week he's in Tripoli fighting for the ouster of Muammar Gadafy. Recently he was at the wheel of the first rebel vehicle to enter Tripoli’s landmark Green Square, now renamed Martyrs Square by the rebels.
"I arrived into the square and saw two policemen standing there, shocked at what was happening. They couldn’t understand how we arrived so quickly. They dropped their guns but there was heavy artillery fire coming at us. I reversed the jeep, jumped out, and then we moved in to clear the square," he told the Irish Times.
"I’ll need a long holiday if I’m still alive after all this. We’ve been through a long, long journey. We went through hell," he added.
Son of a Libyan father and Irish mother, Najjair spent most of his life in Ireland before returning to Libya for a wedding just before the February uprising took place.
Now he finds himself head of security for the Tripoli Revolutionary Brigade, one of the biggest rebel units from western Libya, the first one that reached the capital. It is led by his brother-in-law Mahdi al-Harati, a teacher of Arabic who lives in Dublin with his wife and family.
"It was Mahdi’s idea to form a brigade for Tripoli because at that time Benghazi and other cities had been liberated, and he thought Tripoli needed a brigade made up of people from Tripoli who would help liberate their hometown," he says.
There are several Irish accents in the brigade, all men who have lived and worked in Dublin, among them a software engineer and a psychiatrist. In fact the disproportionate number of Libyans with Irish connections within the rebels’ ranks has been remarked on by his fellow brigade members. 'It’s almost an Irish revolution,' he jokes.
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Mahdi al-Harati, another brigade leader, is combing Tripoli district by district for any remaining pockets of resistance. Harati speaks wistfully of his family back in Dublin. He has two main worries about Libya’s post-Gadafy future.
'One is the political struggle, the process of setting up the state. If it takes a long time to take shape, this could cause problems. The second issue on my mind is the widespread availability of weapons since the uprising began. We are working now to create a mechanism through which these weapons could be handed back or collected.'
He scoffs at any comparison with post-Saddam Iraq, however. 'The two countries are very different on several different levels. We have no sectarian or ethnic divisions, plus the Libyans, as a population, have a tradition of being a peaceful people.'
Najjair adds: 'When we got here first, I thought the regime would have just crumbled but it hasn’t,' says Najjair. 'Gadafy is going to fight to the end, but so are we. Wherever he goes, we’ll be after him.'
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Switch to the desktop site to post a comment.sirpeter | Sep 03, 2011, 10:28 AM EDT
Creakygate.It really is sad,this Anglo-Irish personality of yours.Stuck between Anglo and Irish must be very unsettling.To Paddy to be English and to Tommy to be Irish. Kind of drifting around in suspended hyphenation between to nations philosophies.Your first comment below had an Irish feel to it.You comfortably mixed a drop of intuition,a dollop of bitter past experience,added a smidgen of rationally,in a bowlful of moral high ground.It didn't conflict with your Anglo side.Take your second comment and it's a frivolous mixture of little weight or importance,lacking in seriousness,marked in a bucket of unbecoming levity.A British parliamentarian once said of the British when it comes to Ireland.At the mention of Ireland we British lose all ability to govern and discipline ourselves by the use of reason.The selfish self-interest and power of England might have won the battle many times in the past.But your Anglo side Creaky will never win the war,because you lack the moral high ground when it comes to the history and British affairs in Ireland.
Towngate | Aug 31, 2011, 03:47 PM EDT
ANT: Yeah, I know. I deliberately left these thoughts out of my comment ~ but now you mention it: I wonder if Pearse and Co had secured a worldwide system of sleeper spies in opposition to the British in Ireland, and on a given signal the 'Irish Spring' would have miraculously materialised! Then the World and its mother could rain a torrent on bombs and rockets on all the Army Barracks and police stations day and night for six months - then he would have had a chance. A few traiterous guns from Germany, cutting edge communication systems of push-bikes and tin cans and string (Yes! Really true!), and the poor devils hadn't a hope. Mercifully, it was all over in a few days, and no harm done. He paid a fair price for his impudence but took a good few good men with him. If he had Muirmaragh An Ghadaffaigh by his side, he'd have put up a better show. No talk of multiple surrenders after a couple of days then!
antoman | Aug 31, 2011, 02:40 PM EDT
@Towngate- Then they should do as us Irish did. Draft a proclamation and go to the Libyan GPO, and standing on the steps. Read it aloud to the people and win a country for all the people.
Towngate | Aug 31, 2011, 02:30 PM EDT
"Its almost an Irish Revolution"- he joked. ~ This cowardly sleeper spy innocently pops home for 'a wedding in Benghazi and the next thing he knows he is head of the 'Tripoli Revolutionary Brigade'!!! In my EYE!! ~ Pull the other one!!! ~ speaking of accents, though, it's amazing how many of the 'rebels' interviewed have notable American accents! ~ Probably for the same reason.!! ~ Anyway, the real fun will start when the 'new' lot (and the old), will start squabbling amongst themselves as to how to stop the those damn yanks and europeans from over-running and stealing their precious country. ~ ~ ~ They have made a good start by already telling the iniquitous so called 'United Nations' to take a hike! Lets hope they have the courage to stand up to all the Foreign Interlopers and demand Libya for Libyans! ~~~ otherwise they too will find themselves being bombed by the cowards day and night for five months until they are battered into submission. WHEN that happens, they will be praying for the return of another National Hero like Omar Mukhtar or Maummar Ghadaffi to free them. Bitter tears will flow and they will curse themselves for falling for the oldest trick in the book: "Divide and Conquer".
antoman | Aug 31, 2011, 01:35 PM EDT
@georgyboy-You are being delusional again and displaying your arse to the world. He's in Libya.
GeorgeDillon | Aug 31, 2011, 12:49 PM EDT
nicgearailt--If he was in Afghanistan killing Americans would you be so upbeat about it?
nicgearailt | Aug 31, 2011, 11:08 AM EDT
I guess there is a little rebel in all of us...his Irish mother...what is not to like about that..Libya will need likeminded people ,with courage ,to sort that country.He deserves the right to help there,after years of tyrannical rule,and abuse of power.That country should have the best of everything for their citizens..given the abundance of oil...they should never have had to emigrate to Ireland!
antoman | Aug 31, 2011, 10:38 AM EDT
Crickets*
GeorgeDillon | Aug 31, 2011, 09:38 AM EDT
Let's hope this jerk stays in Libya. The last thing Ireland needs is more foreign migrants. Looks like his allegience is to Libya, let him stay there. A few years back the Irish media went crazy about three Irishmen who were accused (wrongly, in my view) of participating in the Colombian Civil War. So how come this creep is feted for leaving Ireland to participate in the Libyan Civil War?
antoman | Aug 31, 2011, 09:24 AM EDT
He may never return to Ireland. There's a long way to go yet and people like this man are needed in Libya to help rebuild it.