Nader ElGadi, 24,Libya
“All my life, I never thought I would find myself speaking out in public against Colonel Gaddafi. Growing up, everyone in Libya knew that if you spoke out against his regime, you would be hanged. But the revolution in Tunisia gave us hope and, on February 21 2011, I found myself giving a speech to a large demonstration in the main square of my home town, Tajura, near Tripoli.
“I made the speech because the vast majority of people in the square that day were young people who had no knowledge of politics or the history of our country; Gaddafi had removed everything from the history books and websites that took place between when Libya gained independence in 1951 and when he took power in 1969.
“I explained to them about our past and the true meaning of the colours of the Libyan tricolour: the red for the blood of the martyrs who died during Italian fascist rule, green for the future and black from the old Tripolitanian flag.
“I don’t normally like to give speeches – I get nervous – but I felt that it needed to be done. I went on to give another couple of speeches, but that was by far the biggest crowd I addressed.
“Between March and April, I began to regret my decision. Looking back on it, there were too many people who took footage on their phones and I started to think “what will happen if Gaddafi remains?” because we weren’t sure then if the revolution would succeed.
“Then, people started to be arrested. The security forces were checking people’s phones and I feared that they would see the footage of me. I didn’t fear getting killed, but I was afraid that if they got me alive, they would torture me to get answers: Other people were not just beaten, but also electrocuted and some had their fingers cut off.
“During April, I started to move around from place to place, as it wasn’t safe for me to stay at home. The security forces were looking for me and if I had stayed with my family it would not just have been me who would have been hurt, but them as well.
“Later that month, I took the decision to leave Libya and head towards Tunisia. I tried to persuade my father to let the family come with me, or at least my mother and sisters, but he refused; for the older men of Libya it is seen as an insult to suggest they leave their homes during a time of war. It is dishonourable. So I had to leave without them because, if I had stayed, I would only have caused them more trouble.
“When I got to Tunisia, it was refreshing – there was lots of work to be done helping out in the refugee camps. I also found a brigade of fighters made up mainly of people from my hometown, many of whom I knew, who were training in the highlands near the border.
“I joined the brigade in the beginning of August and we had about a week of training before the battle for Tripoli began. Because it was Ramadan and we were fasting during the day, we could only train in the morning. A friend and I decided to take up media liaison duties to give us something to do during the day.
“On August 20, we began the battle of Tripoli. It was difficult and a few of the people in my brigade died, including my best friend. When I returned home, my mother was furious with me. I had told her that, since my father would not leave Tajura, I had gone back to England, where I had studied in 2010, but she had seen photos of me with a gun when we liberated Tripoli. All she could say to me over and over was “you lied to me, you didn’t keep your promise.”
“I will never forget my experiences during the war – I have seen so many things that I will never forget. But now, a lot needs to be done to make sure the revolution succeeds. We need to build our country up from below zero, have elections and hopefully we will one day have true democracy, but it will take time.”
As told to Jane McCallion
Antisocial Media 
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