The Facts about Libya
Under the revolutionary leadership of Col. Mu`ammar Qadhafi, Libya
has attained the highest standard of living in all of Africa. This
is all the more remarkable when we consider that in 1951 Libya was
officially the poorest country in the world. According to the
World Bank, the per capita income was less than $50 a year - even
lower than India. Today all Libyans own their own homes and cars.
In the words of two Fleet Street journalists, David Blundy and
Andrew Lycett, who are by no means supporters of the Libyan Arab
revolution, "The young people are well dressed, well fed and well
educated. Libyans now earn more per capita than the British. The
disparity in annual incomes... is smaller than in most countries.
Libya's wealth has been fairly spread throughout society. Every
Libyan has a job and a decent salary. He gets free, and often
excellent, education, medical and health services. New colleges
and hospitals are impressive by any international standard. All
Libyans have a house or a flat, a car and most have televisions,
video recorders and telephones. Compared with most citizens of the
Third World countries, and with many in the First World, Libyans
have it very good indeed." (Source: QADDAFI AND THE LIBYAN REVOLUTION)
Brother Qadhafi is popular with all Libyans, especially the youth.
Frequently, he will drive his own small car (green VW beetle) to
factory dedications and similar ceremonies with very little personal
security. He mingles freely with the people who eagerly seek to
shake his hand. They frequently shout such slogans as, "I will
live and die with Mu`ammar Qadhafi".
Unlike Nigeria and Mexico, where none of the oil wealth seeps down
to benefit the populace, under Libya's system of direct democracy
summed up in the popular slogan "all power, wealth and arms in the
hands of the people", all the oil profits are transferred directly
to the people. No longer is wealth hoarded by a select few as in
the days before the 1969 Revolution. The streets of Tripoli are
filled with privately-owned late model cars. Modern apartment
complexes are going up everywhere making the city look like one
huge construction site.
Housing projects have been developed right across the country so
as to ensure every Libyan has the right to own his own home. Every
citizen has been given a decent house or apartment to live in
rent-free. In Col. Qadhafi's Green Book we read: "The house is a
basic need of both the individual and the family, therefore it
should not be owned by others." This dictum has now become a
reality for the Libyan Arab people.
Large scale agricultural projects are being implemented in an
effort to 'make the desert bloom' and achieve self-sufficiency in
food production. Foremost among these projects is 'Jabal Akhdar'
(Green Mountain) outside of Benghazi. As Mu`ammar Qadhafi has
stated: "The Jafara Plain, the great Jabal Al Akhdar, the plain
area and the Fezzan valleys are witnessing the great agricultural
revolution that will enable the Libyan people to earn their
living, to eat freely the food that was normally imported from
overseas -- this is freedom, this is independence, and this is the
Revolution." Any Libyan who wants to become a farmer is given free
use of land, a house, farm equipment, some livestock and seed.
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