Libya 🇱🇾

Warta, 46

Born in Al Bayda, Libya

Came to Australia in December 2013, went back in August 2022

What is your occupation?

I am a lecturer teaching economics at the University of Omar Al-Mukhtar. I studied an integrated PHD in economics in Australia at the University of Wollongong; this is my specialty. I also did a Masters in Libya.

Why did you come to Australia?

My university in Libya offered scholarships to study in one of three countries - Canada, US, Australia etc. Australia is a safe and peaceful country, with great educational institutions. My friends recommended me to come here for the following reasons.

At first, I was very scared about moving halfway around the world, but I quickly settled in as Australians are very friendly and humble. I am grateful to meet a lot of friends from Asian countries, including China, South Korea, Vietnam etc. Even though I am currently back in Libya, I intend to move back to Australia one day as it is a better country to live in.

What do you like about Sydney?

I love everything. Where do I start? I lived in Wollongong for a while and I found the rent there to actually be more expensive than Sydney. I like the big city vibes so I always enjoyed coming to Sydney even though I never lived there for an extended period of time.

There are so many places to go in Sydney, including the beaches, Harbour Bridge and Opera House.

The bureaucracy is very easy to navigate in Australia, compared to back here in Libya. Things are streamlined and often online.

Sydney is very safe, unlike Libya. My country is rich due to oil reserves, but the citizens don’t share any of the benefits due to widespread corruption.

What don’t you like about Sydney?

Australia is very far away from Libya - I went back 3 times during my time in Australia. It would take me close to 3 days to go back to visit my family.

Living alone is hard and not easy. When you move from a developing country to a developed country, it takes quite a bit of time to understand how things are done.

Australians speak too fast! It was very hard for me to understand them at first, but I gradually understood them. It doesn’t help that they use so much slang every day too. I normally use academic English anyway.

What would you like to say to Sydneysiders?

Continue making Sydney the beautiful city it is. That way, people will be inclined to move there and call it home.

What languages do you speak?

Arabic, English

Libyan Arabic is quite hard for other Arabic speakers (besides Tunisians) to understand, as it is a Maghrebi dialect, as it is heavily influenced by Tamazigh, Italian and Turkish.

When I came to Australia, I hardly spoke any English. However, I learnt English in a year after studying at UOW College.

In the future, I may want to learn Japanese. That’s just an idea.

Teach us one word/phrase from your native language.

Aishakbar

This is Libyan slang for “How are you?”

This is an Arabic word but it is only used by Libyans.

I كيف حالك؟ Kayfa Haluka is the standard way of saying “How are you” by other Arabic speakers.

What is one thing you want us to know about your native country?

Libya is a oil-rich country that has the largest oil proven reserves in Africa.

There are actually a lot of tourist hotspots, including Sabratah and Shahat, a city founded by Greeks more than 2600 years ago.

Who is the most famous person in your native country?

Muammar Gaddafi

He is the ex-president of Libya and the de-facto leader of the country for over four decades. Now the country has no effective government - at least when Gaddafi was in power, the country was safe. Libya should be like Dubai, but instead it is mired in corruption and bureaucracy.

Omar al-Mukhtar

He was the leader of native resistance in Cyrenaica (currently Eastern Libya) under the Senussids against the Italian colonisation of Libya. He is considered a national hero of Libya and a symbol of resistance in the Arab world.

What is the best dish in your native country?

Couscous

This is also very well-known as a Maghrebi dish. Essentially, couscous is semolina or small balls of crushed durum wheat. Couscous is easy to prepare. We eat it every Friday as a tradition.

Disclaimer: All posts are personal opinions and perspectives of the interviewees and are not a perfect representation of the whole country/experience.