Anglo-Libyan

The Crown on Libya's Head

2011-09-24T10:23:00.000+01:00

I am still carrying on with my volunteer duty towards Libya my country, I have been in Tunisia since the beginning of August, one of my main duties has been visiting and supporting our injured brave heroes that liberated our country and made Libya free, what I find hurtfull is the talk of rebuilding Libya and increasing wages and so on.... this is all good but that should not be a priority at the moment.

Many of our injured heroes are suffering in Tunisian clinics, they have been waiting a long time for the proper care they need, many of them need specialised treatment which can only be provided in western countries, help for them has been chaotic and slow at the best of time, many of them suffer from depression and understandably are feeling forgotten and neglected, I can not return back to my normal life while our people are still in need, they need all the support they can get and Libya has a duty to offer them the best medical treatmen in the world, we can afford it and it has to be done and done NOW.

I have made a slideshow of all the pictures I took in Tunis clinics, please share and make this important issue a priority, this is the least we could do
Special thanks here to the representatives of the State of Qatar who continously supported our people

My Visit To Misrata, Libya

2011-08-01T14:02:00.000+01:00

Gaddafi the Doormat of Misrata

It has been sometime since I posted, I have been busy taking part in the voluntary aid to Libya operation from Malta, mainly to the city of Misrata.

On the 8, 9 & 10th of July I travelled by boat to Misrata to see what has happened there for myself, this was my first visit there since I was a young child no matter how many pictures and videos you see of the damage done to this brave defiant city, it does not prepare you for the real thing, I was shocked and could not believe the revenge Gaddafi took on this city, the damage is far too much, buildings have been hit severely, apartment blocks with each apartment hit by a missile, shopping centres, hospitals, schools, food outlets all completely destroyed but what Gaddafi could not destroy was the spirit of the people of Misrata. as one British mine specialist told me there: the best thing about Misrata is its people and their determination to keep their city Free.

Here are some pictures I took while I was there

on the boat just leaving Malta

the raising of the Libyan & Qatari flags as we enter Libyan waters

the port of Misrata

one of the freedom fighters Head Quarters

at the IMC Field Hospital at the front line in Dafniya, while I was there I could hear very clearly the fighting that was a very short distance ahead but people at the hospital were not bothered and just got on with their jobs even though missiles were falling on them occasionally

a Gaddafi tank destroyed by NATO while hiding in a vegetable market

more destroyed tanks by NATO

These are residential buildings in Tripoli street Misrata, seeing pictures and videos is not like seeing the real thing, the devastation is way too much, the stories of the people are heartbreaking but people are strong

the museum in Tripoli Street that tells the story of what happened to Misrata and shows the weapons that were used against its people

the endless rows of the martyrs and missing in Misrata, a heartbreaking sight

Misrata thanks the State of Qatar for the great help they provided

a sign thanking Qatar, France, UK, USA and other countries for their help

a sample of the bullets used against our people

shopping centre

the Insurance Building where many Gaddafi snipers were situated and committed many crimes

the entrance to the customs & excise building in Misrata port

Defiance Square in Misrata where many children come in the evening to be entertained with music, plays and where they can express their feelings with art

one of the many anti-Gaddafi graffiti you see all over Misrata

most mosques were either destroyed or hit by bullets and no that was not done by NATO but by Gaddafi's gangs

one of the oldest Cafes in Misrata

at Al-Baraka Hotel with some of the journalists staying there

boarding the boat back to Malta

Standing next to a Libyan hero, this brave man is travelling with us to Malta. I really wanted to stay longer in Misrata, i hope i get back soon, i loved being there

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I have many more pictures which you can see by clicking on the following link

My Visit To Misrata

Malta to Misurata Relief Effort

2011-05-04T14:31:00.002+01:00

I have joined Malta to Misurata Relief Effort which is helping to deliver desperately needed Aid in the besieged city of Misrata, the third largest city in Libya, aid includes food, medicine, medical equipment and we have been transporting the majority of volunteer medical teams and international journalists into Misrata.

The organisation depends on the generous donations of people worldwide, please contact us for further details and for donations, our facebook page includes all the information needed.

Benghazi Rising

2011-04-09T09:43:00.001+01:00

A documentary about the start of the Libyan revolution in the city of Benghazi - in English -

Here is a link to the video, Click Here

A Message From Libya....

2011-04-03T20:03:00.000+01:00

Today I got the following Email from a friend who is a Doctor in Benghazi, their wish was that their Email is published so that people might take action:

We are all fine here, things are getting better. The shootings are less and we feel safer to go out and people are trying to resume at least the vital aspects of life. The fight goes on in Braiga, and we get many injured and some dead fighters here. Our concern is Misrata, and the west mountain areas of Amazigh people. A genocide is planned there and is happening on daily bases. They have orders to kill all men and rape all women. One man who escaped Misrata via a fishing boat and came to Benghazi told us of the horrors that are happening there. He said the outskirts of Misrata have been wiped out of people. We need to alert the world and I need your help asap please. Shout it out to all and let everyone all over the globe go out on daily bases to demo in front of the Turkish embassy . We received evidence today that Erdogan has made big deals with Saif and has taken bribes. If this goes out he will be jailed. That is why he is supporting him and he has the second biggest army in NATO thus he is influencing NATO not to bombard the western parts. We need this to stop please talk to your Turkish friends. They need to lobby against him, he says he is pro Islam while he is supporting a man who is killing muslims and burning mosques and the Quran. He has to go and this is what we need to do give him no rest please. Same goes for Algeria who is shipping mercenaries till now through the southern Libyan border. Please guys help and spread the message and make this your aim to get the NATO to help stop killing our people in the western cities.

Kimberley Murray new song Libya

2011-04-02T22:04:00.002+01:00

We Will Win or We Will Die

*Omar Al-Mukhtar*

Musa Ibrahim, His German Wife & Their Lies...

2011-03-30T12:43:00.000+01:00

On the 25th March 2011, I found a blog by a German woman living in Libya, her blog was spreading lies sounding exactly as the crap you get from Libyan state TV and the Libyan dreadful fat poodle spokesman Musa Ibrahim, I commented there telling her to stop being a mouth piece for Gaddafi and to be real, surprisingly she answered meaning she has Internet access in Tripoli while the whole population there can not access the Internet since it was cut off about 3 weeks ago!

Now the news emerged that she is the wife of the FAT POODLE Libyan spokesman Ibrahim Musa and her previously unknown blog is getting a lot of hate comments.

My advise to her is to take her child and leave the country, tell the world about what is happening in Libya and about her nasty husband, she should save herself before she is faced with reality and as for her husband, he is a wanted man internationally and has no place to escape to.

The Blog is called: HADERZA

Here is an article about this woman and her husband:

Musa Ibrahim’s wife is German…and she has a blog

Help Save Eman Al-Obeidi

2011-03-28T22:33:00.022+01:00

Eman Al-Obeidi is a name that became headline news, this brave lady told her harrowing story to the international media in Tripoli, Libya knowing that she will be punished severely for telling the truth about Gaddafi and his thugs and what they have done to her.
Rixos Hotel in Tripoli which is owned by a Turkish company is employing Gaddafi agents, some of them took part in trying to gag Eman, they even attacked some of the journalists, you can contact Rixos Hotel by Email or phone and complain about their staff here: RIXOS

Please show your support by signing this petition calling for Eman to be released and saved from the criminal Libyan Gaddafi regime:

Be With Us or Shut Up....

2011-03-24T15:58:00.002Z

I find it very irresponsible of some people, countries and organisations criticising the coalition war against Gaddafi the mass murderer, the help of the coalition forces towards the people of Libya should be encouraged, its because of them that the citizens of Benghazi were spared from a bloody massacre and hopefully many other cities in Libya will soon be saved too. All this rubbish being published about Libya being another Iraq and Afghanistan is not helping, Libya is different, the people of Libya wanted peacefully to change the regime who in turn used all their weapons to fight defenceless innocent civilians who had no choice but to take arms and defend themselves, they fought bravely but their arms were nothing compared to what Gaddafi had in mind for them, he murdered and injured thousands, he attacked buildings and mosques, nothing was spared in his filthy war against the people of Libya so for all these people that are criticising the coalition forces, why didn't you put your hard hats on and went to Libya to fight along side the Libyan people? or is it much better for you to sit at home watch the massacres take place and then voice your opinion that the whole thing is about oil! and even if it is about oil, these countries would I'm sure like to have our oil but that would be purely business where they buy the oil and our country and people benefit from it, or would the sceptics rather see Gaddafi selling the oil and keeping the money for himself and his disgusting family as he has been doing for the past 42 years! and what was that all about seeing sombre looking Russians walking to the Libyan embassy with huge flower wreath dedicated to the innocent civilians allegedly killed by the coalition forces in Libya!! why didn't these people show any sympathy for the thousand of Gaddafi's victims in Libya! why don't they support the people or shut up!

What Gaddafi is showing on his TV channels is nothing but propaganda, the alleged injured looked healthy, their eyes were bright, compare that with the hundreds of videos showing the real victims of Gaddafi including children the elderly and women.

Its about time that we gave credit to the West and its people, they value the lives of human beings, they value human rights and as many witnesses from Libya said, their strikes against Gaddafi have been accurate and did not cause any harm to people, I myself spoke to people in Tripoli & Benghazi who are really appreciating what is happening and are 100% with hitting Gaddafi hard.

May his end InshaAllah comes soon and to be honest I used to have this politically correct attitude about things and thought Gaddafi should be caught and put to trial, well I don't have this feeling anymore, after seeing the genocide he, his sons & gangs have committed in Libya, I know wish they all burn in this life before they burn in hell, their filthy bodies are not worthy of being buried in Libyan soil.

Picture By: Salwa Buisier

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For all of you sceptics that pretend to care about Libyan people, look at what Gaddafi is doing, then you will know why we Libyan people are grateful for any help we can get to stop Gaddafi and his gangs

This wasn't done by UK, USA or France, it was done by Gaddafi and his gangs

Murdered By Gaddafi

2011-03-13T10:39:00.002Z

Al-Jazeera Cameraman Ali Hassan Al-Jaber

WPC Yvonne Joyce Fletcher

Gaddafi's walk of shame in London's Knightsbridge

Tunisia Stands Tall....

2011-03-07T11:26:00.000Z

From: Libya Our Home

While the world is watching the refugee crisis at the border between Libya and Tunisia and how the Tunisians are doing all they can to help, not many others are helping! where are the oil rich Arab countries? what did they do to help Tunisia to cope with these crisis? and while the world is freezing Gaddafi's assets why dont they use some of this money to help Tunisians cope?

I salute the admirable people of Tunisia who are volunteering and helping refugees, they need help, I wish those Arab countries that are stuck to their TV sets watching the massacres of the Libyan people and the plight of the refugees that they get off their bottoms and help, dont they realise that it might be their turn next to go through the wave that is sweeping the middle east.

Now that Gaddafis are headline news, more & more people associated with them will be selling their stories to the tabloids, these people have made money from their association with the Gaddafis, now they will make even more money, they are nothing but trash and not much better than the Gaddafis themselves, all will go to the trash bin of the world, I thought about providing some links to stories of such people but then I thought no, they do not deserve any more publicity.

The Green Book Burns!

2011-03-03T10:15:00.000Z

For the first time in my life I agree with the burning of a book, the idiotic green book of Gaddafi the murderer, the brave people of the city of Misrata stand as one and send a message to gaddafi, until when this mad dictator is going to claim that these brave people are drunks and drug addicts! he should look closer at home, his son Saadi looked drugged out of his mind when he said he was missing travelling and being in a safari!

I feel its not right to write about how I feel while so many people in Libya are being attacked and killed, while so many people in the city of Tripoli and other cities are being harassed and treated badly by the gangs of Gaddafi, no matter how angry and sad I feel, its nothing compared to what Libya people in Libya feel at the moment, all I can do is offer them my prayers and the prayers & support of many people all over the world to the brave Libyan people.

For once the whole world united, We are all against Gaddafi

سوف نبقى هنا - We Will Stay Here

2011-02-26T12:08:00.001Z

The song that is becoming fast the Anthem for the Libyan uprising

The people of Free Benghazi sing the same song at the beginning of this CNN report

Born in Benghazi, Raised in Tripoli - I AM LIBYAN

2011-02-25T09:49:00.001Z

taken from: Libya our home

This is a picture of the drugs the brave Libyan youth are on, very addictive, not the hallucinating drugs that Gaddafi the murderer has accused them of using.

Support from the brave people of Tunisia to the brave people of Libya

Our prayers are with my people everywhere in Libya, freedom is coming, the international community needs to step up its pressure and take a final decision to stop the massacres of the innocent in Libya, it has to be done now, our people bravely fought and still fighting the forces of the devil and they will not stop even if no one else helped.

Yesterday we protested again in London, my children led the march through Mayfair to the American and Italian Embassies, we were then joined by many students of the London School of Economics, today we are joined by people of Bahrain and Stop the war coalition, we will march from the Libyan embassy to the Bahrini embassy then to Downing street:

Aida, Amir & Mazen

This is a house in Mayfair, I don't know who they are, good support

This a link to First Edition of the Benghazi Newspaper, amazing

Libya My Proud Country

2011-02-24T08:49:00.001Z

The protests in London against the murderous Gaddafi continues, we are protesting everyday until the dictator falls, our young children here now have a flag to be proud of, even us of an older generation never experienced the pride of carrying a Libyan flag, the Gaddafi flag never meant anything to us, it was just a green rag, we almost lost our sense of belonging to Libya, we felt negative after so many years of being oppressed, the regime accuses the Libyan community living abroad of being living in luxury when the reality is completely different

Now we are all so very proud of being Libyan, the people of Libya have re-written our history which will go side to side with our pride of Omar Al-Mukhtar, yes now we can say it loud: we are the grandchildren of Omar Al-Mukhtar, we will not surrender, we will win.

Our people are standing up and will not give up the struggle, they surprised the world, those people that made fun of us on TV during recent uprisings and said Libyans are backword and only interested in food, look at Libyans now, they are the new heroes of the middle east.

I am Proud, I am Libyan, Allah save Libya

I wish people would stop calling Gaddafi a Jew, there good Jewish people and Jews do not kill their own people, I wish people would stop calling Gaddafi a dog and a donkey, these are loyal animals, Animals only attack when threatened and hungry.

Protest outside Downing Street, London

2011-02-22T22:14:00.001Z

Today almost the entire Libyan population of London plus other Libyans from other cities and many other nationalities protested outside Downing Street in London, people from all walks of life, the rich and the not so well off, women, men and children all united in one thing, the fall of Gaddafi the dictator, we are demonstrating in London everyday until he goes, tomorrow it will be outside the American Embassy in London.

protesters singing Libya's independence anthem that has not been sung in public since 1969

Long Live Free Libya

2011-02-21T15:09:00.000Z

Libyans are pleading to the world to help them, they are being massacred by mercenaries, the Libyan government is accusing the protesters of looting and damaging public buildings, my friends in Libya told me that Libyans do not do that, they don't have it in them, they are good decent people, Gaddafi is trying to turn people against each other, everyone one I know is protesting and protecting their properties, its all out war, many are shot, their injuries are beyond description, their heads are blown up, as I am writing this people are being shot in the streets of Tripoli and Zentan by African troops.

My friends are burying young men right now, they are not crying just shouting Allah Akbar, the world needs to put the oil issue on the side and help Libya.

دم الشهدا مايمشيش هبا

What do you call someone who fights against tanks, helicopter gunships, snipers, machine guns, and foreign mercenaries with their bare hands and WINS????

Libyan

Saif Al-Gaddafi's Speech....

2011-02-21T00:28:00.000Z

Libyan people give their verdict to Saif Al-Gaddafi's speech

Live TV from Benghazi Libya

2011-02-19T23:08:00.000Z

libya17feb on livestream.com. Broadcast Live Free

The World Must Know About What Is Happening in Libya

2011-02-19T18:17:00.009Z

http://www.libyafeb17.com/
for updates

Free Libya

2011-02-18T16:28:00.001Z

No Justice!

2010-08-18T10:57:00.001+01:00

While I have a lot to write about my recent visit to Libya, some bad news I received a day before leaving put me off writing.

Let me start from the beginning: back in the 1960s my late father (Allah bless his soul) and my mother worked very hard for years to save money to be able to buy land to build properties, they eventually built 2 houses in one of the nicest areas in the city of Benghazi, by then my family moved to Tripoli and in the early 70s the Benghazi houses were put for rent, 2 families moved in, then came the unjust decision by the Libyan government that people living in rented accommodation should not pay rent and practically become the owners of these houses, since 1977 my family had no rent paid to them from these properties, my father tried on many occasions to persuade the families living in our houses to leave but they refused and even threatened to hit him, they became squatters and not only that, they are thieves no matter how much they try to portray themselves as devout Muslims, many good Libyan families refused to squat in homes they didn't own and moved out and returned the homes to their rightful owners but not the thieving families living in our homes for the past 33 years rent free, in fact one of the families went as far as building another floor without any permission.

Both of our houses in Benghazi are worth (I will use the equivalent of Libyan Pound in Sterling) in today's money about £150,000 each and will be worth a lot more as property prices continue to soar in Libya, the people living in our homes know that, they can not sell the houses so one of them told my family that they are prepared to pay us £12,000 for our home! can you believe that? and if we agree they will become the new owners and sell it at at least 10 times more, of course my family refused and told them that are nothing but thieves.

Now the upsetting news I heard a day before leaving Libya is that the government agreed to compensate us for these houses a total of £58,000, that is an insult since both these houses are family size and the cheapest 2 bedroom flat in a run down area of Tripoli costs about £100,000, the insulting amount of £58,000 will have to be shared with my mother and brothers and basically means we lost the houses, this amount does not even cover the rent we lost over the past 33 years, my brothers are going to appeal this decision and as we all agreed, we will never accept this money even if it means losing the houses for ever, I myself can not return and live in Libya since I have no home or job there, how do the authorities expect me and people like me to return when we can not even get what is rightfully ours? they should evict the thieves living in our homes, I have the right to be living there in my father's house that was built by my parents hard work, my father until the day he died kept telling me not to forget about our houses and do everything we can to get them back, his heart was broken for losing them, I feel bad for not being able to do what he wanted, will there ever be justice for people like us in Libya? so far nothing.....

My First Impression Of Tripoli....

2010-07-26T23:37:00.000+01:00

I am here, in Tripoli after about 30 years, my first impression was of a stinky disgusting poo but more about that later.... Actually so far I am liking it here even though it has been less than a day since I arrived.

I started my trip early yesterday morning with my 9 year old son Amir, we arrived nice and early at Gatwick airport, we got there at 09:15 just before the check in desk opens but I was shocked to find a queue of at least 100 African people standing there with a colossal amount of luggage, I booked with Afriqiya airways who clearly detailed their luggage allowance of 2 suit cases per passanger at a total of 48 KG each which is quite generous compared to most airlines yet most of the African passangers obviously did not pay any attention to this and brought everything but the kitchen sink! I knew we were in for a long wait, each family in front of us had way over their allowance, many of them had to buy new suit cases at the airport and transfer stuff between cases or had to pay for extra weight, this caused a lot of delay, eventually after I checked in and borded the plane, it was choas, I have never seen anything like it before. the AirBus 330 was full, there was only about 3 Libyan families, the rest were all Africans on transit to Tripoli to catch planes to their respective countries, the problem was that many of them thought they were on a public bus and just sat any and everywhere, the Libya flight crew were overwhelmed and trying very hard to get them into their booked seats, after a struggle we managed to get to our seats just to find a boy sitting in Amir's seat and a bag on my seat, a woman was standing there, I asked her politely to move her boy and the bag, she said in a minute and just stood there, I asked again she shouted at me to leave her alone, I lost it and told her to blah blah blah her bag and boy or else, she was out of there like a flash, some people can only be dealt with that way!

One and a half hours later we were still on the plane, passangers and crew shouting at eachother, when we eventually took off we were nearly 4 hours late and I was not impressed with my trip of a life time, the plane was great and brand new, each seat had a touch screen TV with great entertainment but all this was marred by the behaviour of some of the passangers, even dirty baby nappies were changed on food trays in front of their mums, the smell was out of this world.

I saw Tripoli from the sky and it was just beautiful, lots of sand and some green areas too, I was home. After we landed, we got on the coach that transfered us to the terminal, as we reached it I saw my younger brother standing outside, he saw us and waved, we got off the coach and it was all hugs and tears, inside the terminal my 2 other brothers were there with my nephews (hugs and tears take 2) now back to the poo story, as I was waiting for my bags I needed to use the toilet, I asked my brother and he poited it to me but advised me not to use it and wait until we get home No I insisted and walked in, grubby not nice then I went inside the only cubicle that was free which had a floor toilet seat, I have never used any of them before but the shock came when I looked inside, a HUGE DISGUSTING SMELLY POO was staring at me, I was in shock I nearly fainted and ran out of the toilet, my brother saw it on my face and laughed and told me that he tried to warn me! that was not a good first impression not for me and not for any new visitor to Libya just getting off the plane, a simple service that is necessary and very easy to be provided hyginically without going to too much trouble, to think that some people say that people in the west are dirty, well there is the answer for them at Tripoli's Airport.

My bags arrived quickly and we were out on our way to my mother's house, crazy driving but I liked the wide roads and the chaotic atmosphere. I couldnt recognise a thing then my brother said that we arrived in our street, everything looked new to me, the street in Hai Alandalus was lined with trees and looked very pretty, I got out of the car to the sound of ulilation (zaghareet) from my mum and sisters in-law, my neices had confetti and flower petals and were throwing them on us (hugs and tears take 3) my poor mother got all blurry eyed after huging me and started huging one of her little grand daughters and saying to her hello Amir I missed you so much and showered her with kisses, the poor little girl told her that she was Asmaa not Amir, it was so funny we all laughed, they let me walk into the house on my own then they all followed me, I walked straight into my old bedroom which has been turned into a second sitting room now, pictures of me when I was a child were everywhere, I was like a child walking from one room to the other and into the garden trying to remember things, it was magical, something I have been dreaming about for many years.

After a nice dinner, cakes and tea we sat talking until it was time for my brothers and their families to leave, they were all happy to see us and we had gifts for everyone.

This morning I took Amir out for a short walk, I was worried I might get lost, I recognised the main road but the shops changed, we walked back, an hour later one of my brothers came over and took us for a drive, I didnt expect a lot but what I saw was nice, some very impressive buildings and some vile tasteless buildings too but it was home, I loved it, I will write more about my experience as the days go by and I see more and get more experiences (good ones and bad ones I am sure) need to have a nap now, its boiling hot but I am HAPPY.

Passport Adventure!

2010-07-16T09:00:00.000+01:00

WARNING!

Very long post, read at your own risk :o)

I had a passport adventure! it started when I decided to renew my 10 year old never used Libyan passport about 3 weeks ago, I have been thinking about going to Libya for a visit after 30 years of living in the UK without going back all this time.

I went to the Libyan consulate near Knightsbridge, the guy working at the reception while he wasnt the friendliest guy in town he actually was polite even if slow, he called someone from inside who explained that they can not renew my passport as it is very old and that I need a new one, at only £15 I agreed, filled the forms handed in 6 photos (yes 6!) and was told to come back in 2 weeks time, I asked them to add my son Amir to my passport which they refused as he was already registered in his mother's passport, the idea is if I decide to go back to Libya at the end of this month I want to take Amir with me as he hasn't been there for 5 years and can not remember a thing about Libya. this annoyed me and I asked them how I am going to be able to take Amir, they wouldn't even issue him with a passport, eventually I asked them if he can travel on his British passport to which they said yes he can but he has to pay for a visa, I said fine lets do that and how much is the Visa fee please? £65! yes £65 pounds for a 9 year old Libyan boy to visit his country! and as if that was not enough, I had to go to the British passport office to get an Arabic stamp on Amir's passport, as far as I know Libya is the only country in the world that requires that to be done.

Anyway, I left the consulate and went back home without applying for Amir's visa as I wanted to wait for my new Libyan passport first.

After few unsuccessful phone calls to the Libyan consulate, I decided to pay them another visit, yesterday, first I got Amir's Arabic stamp then travelled to Knightsbridge, I met the same receptionist again, to be fair he tried to help but told me the passport hadn't been done, few minutes later he came back and said because of lack of new passports they are having to renew my old passport for another year which is fine by me, they refunded £5 back and I was told to come back at 3 in the after-noon to pick it up, I thought OK great lets apply for Amir's visa since I'm there, I handed in the forms and the fee of £65 and again I was told to come back about 3 in the after-noon so I had about 3 hours to kill, it had been many years since I went to Knightsbridge so I thought lets go for a walk around and maybe visit Harvey Nichols and Harrods which I haven't visited in many long years so next starts my Knightsbridge adventure, I will get back to the passport adventure later:

I gave Harvey Nichols a miss and went to Harrods instead, the first thing you notice is the huge number of people entering Harrods from all entrances, many of them are just tourists with no intention of buying anything (just like me) I walked inside and straight away I got that feeling that I shouldn't be there, that it is too much, over rated and just uncomfortably over the top and over priced, I didn't feel like taking pictures of all the bling they sell instead I just walked around trying to find something interesting, my first thought was if the Princess Diana & Dodi Fayed shrine was still there! Harrods was sold recently by its Egyptian owner Mohamed Al-Fayed to the Qatari Royal family and I thought perhaps they removed the shrine (which I have never seen before) but as I was walking in the Egyptian Hall I found the huge shrine surrounded by many tourists taking pictures, obviously the new owners thought it was a good people puller that will bring many more people to the shop.

inside this glass pyramid is the engagement ring that's allegedly was given to Diana by Dodi just before they died!

This is a book of condolences I found on the second floor, notice on the plaque the word "Killed" without any mention of the car crash, Mohamed Al-Fayed is still convinced that Diana & Dodi's accident was organised by the British establishment but that of course was never proved.

When Mohamed Al-Fayed bought Harrods he added the Egyptian Hall which is OK but still looks like a fair ride in a theme park, what he did then is he added many statues dotted near the roof of a sphinx with a man's face, the face is actually modelled on Mohamed Al-Fayed's own face so that you can see him staring at you where ever you walk, what he did after that is he got the Egyptian Hall listed, that means no one would ever be able to change anything, including his face, he left his legacy there for everyone to see, now and in the future.

Al-Fayed staring at you!

By then I was really bored and was really ready to leave, the place was heaving with people from all over the world but the majority I would say were Americans and Gulf Arabs then I remembered that many years ago (about 20 years) I visited the pet department which was full of all sorts of exotic and purebred pets so I looked around and indeed they still had a pet department but with very few animals for sale, you were not allowed to take pictures so I respected the rule and only looked at the fluffy kittens that were for sale at £1000 each! then I went to an enclosure that had 5 white Chihuahua puppies, they looked like white rats but were really cute and full of life, what is the price you might ask! the price was a measly £2,200 each! wow do people actually spend that much money to buy a purebred animal??

At this point I saw some people take pictures so being me, I just took my phone out of my pocket and clicked away, here are a couple in case someone is considering buying a Harrods Chihuahua :o)

Chihuahua anyone?

Well after you buy your precious puppy, what about accessories, clothing, bedding and treats? yes they do have them all, here are some items you might consider buying for your spoilt pet:

Princess pink dog bed

only £399 lol

all the latest in pets fashion!!

Yummy cupcakes, biscuits and birthday cakes, no they are not for humans, these are treats for pets!

I know some people will think that some Europeans value animals more than people and they laugh at them for buying expensive items for their pets, yes many do care about animals and there is nothing wrong with that, most of the stupid items I mentioned up are thankfully only bought by few people, the majority have more sense than fall for this stupid bling, to be honest, to me there is NO difference between an Arab buying a diamond studded mobile phone at £100,000 and a European/British person buying a diamond studded dog collar at £100,000 too, they are both the same, lots of money, no taste and no sense what so ever.

It was time to leave by then and head back to the Libyan consulate, as I arrived about 2:30 a number of Libyan people were waiting for their passports, the receptionist then came with a pile of passports and started handing them, he saw me and said he had my passport, as he was ready to give it to me, he noticed something, a note, he then told me sorry I need to take it back it needs one more stamp by then the nice Libyan lady that works at the visa section came over and gave me Amir's passport with the Visa to enter Libya, I sat down for a while not knowing what is going on until a man from the consulate came out to talk to me, he said that my passport was never renewed and therefore could not be extended and that I need a new passport, I started to get angry by then and told him that I originally applied for a new one and so on... then he said that it might take a week to one month for my passport to be ready, I was shocked I told him that I applied about 3 weeks ago and that because they told me it was going to be ready this after-noon that I payed £65 for Amir's visa, he was actually very nice and understanding, he told me to go upstairs and ask to talk to the consul, I did just that, while I was waiting the same guy came over and asked me to follow him, he took me to the consul who was surprisingly very friendly, I explained the situation to him and he actually was very angry that they refused to add Amir to my passport and that I was made to pay £65 for a visa for my Libyan son to visit his country, he picked up the phone and told them downstairs off and that they had no right to make rules and decisions, he then agreed to renew my passport for another year and asked me to come back as soon as I am back from Libya and promised me a brand new passport he then told me to go downstairs to pick up the £65 I paid, I was very pleased with him, he really did do his job well, unfortunately there are some there that think just because they work in an office then they can make up the rules and do what ever they want, the money was refunded immediately and I left the consulate a happy bunny, all in all it was not a bad experience, I expected a lot worse but there are some really good people there that do try to help. I am still not sure if I will be going to Libya, after a 30 years absence for me this is a major step, if I do go it will have to be soon (in the next week or so) as I want to be back before Ramadan, InshaAllah Khair.

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This morning I received an Email which read:

Dear Anglo-Libyan,

Congratulations! Emma Lee here, and your blog, Anglo Libyan, has received

our 2010 Top 40 Muslim Blogs award!

You can see your name amongst our winners here at:

www.onlinephdprograms.com/top_muslim/#Anglo_Libyan

Winners were chosen through a scoring system led by internet nominations,

which came from your reader base!

I had no idea about the Muslim Blogs Awards, I do not know who voted for me but I am honoured. many thanks to Emma and all that voted me.

SPELBOUND!

2010-06-06T14:00:00.004+01:00

After last week with all the bad news and the upsets, I can only pray that life gets better for everyone in Gaza, yesterday there was a big demonstration in London against the Israeli aggression, I didn't go but some of my friends did, unfortunately in few days time everything will be forgotten as usual and Israel will carry on with its crimes against fellow human beings.

Last night I watched the final of Britain's Got Talent, I didn't pay much attention to it this year but I have seen the winning act during the auditions and I thought they were amazing so it was no surprise that they won the competition, SPELBOUND are very talented and very discipline, their act is breath taking and I am sure they made the whole nation proud:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=myWHD0dsaBY

As usual there was a mixture of freaks, untalented people and animals and some that were talented, here are my other favourite acts, Tina & Chandi the dog followed by the wonderful strong voice of Christopher Stone:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TL7NIs_5IY0

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Yesterday Aida was invited to a birthday outing by one of her school friends, it was the first time that Aida went out to central London without any of us, she was accompanied by 7 friends and the mother of the birthday girl. They first went to watch Prince Of Persia at the cinema then went for a party lunch at Planet Hollywood, which she thought was amazing, I myself have never been there but I suppose when our children do things we never have it still feels good, Aida is 11 years old now and is really looking after herself and the way she looks.