Quarter to Two before the revolution
In the margins of a FAO meeting in Tripoli, I make a break with a colleague in one of the magnificent chairs in a living room of our hotel. Here the guest is the king. If we look at our thrones, we can't doubt it. It was in December 2010. It was quiet and the French Embassy invited us to develop cooperation with Libya... two months later the revolution broke out and Colonel Gadhafi was overthrown in fury.
Since 1997, I contributed, with FAO and the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, to renovate the framework of Desert Locust control in West Africa. A first mission allowed me, with some colleagues, to formulate a comprehensive regional program in West and North Africa, the EMPRES program, defining a new strategic framework for the organization of preventive locust control. Then in 1999 I laid the foundations of a new regional organization under the aegis of FAO. My report led in 2002 to the creation of the Commission for controlling the Desert Locust in the Western Region, the CLCPRO. This organization was finally able to implement EMPRES ... but it was still necessary that the funds are available, which was not the case. I had to fight to mobilize donors, starting with France. A new locust invasion in 2004 contributed largely to release the funds. Finally, the program was launched. Since then, almost every year and until 2012, I participated in steering committees of EMPRES, held in turn in each member country.
The meeting in Tripoli is the 6th. Apart from long work sessions, the city distractions are rare. But this is my first visit to this capital and I take this opportunity to visit the Medina (the walled city), the seashore, the Green Square and its flower market and its colorful old carriages, the souk and its multitude of shops and artisans, the arc of Marcus Aurelius single Roman monument of the city still standing. One night we found a restaurant serving French dishes and wines... without alcohol of course. The portraits of the Libyan leader are everywhere ad nauseam, in the buildings and in the streets, in large and small formats. And of course the Green Book of Muammar Gadhafi is available everywhere. The wealth of jewelery from the Medina contrast with the spectacle of the files of foreign workers queuing in front of the mobile banks to send money to their families. We can see that another reality does exist. But the atmosphere is soft, our hosts charming, and the Medina full of the charm of its old stones. In the evening we used to go for a drink on the terrace of a cafe in front of the Ottoman clock tower. All this happens in December 2010, a quarter to two before the revolution, a quarter to two before chaos.
Photos M. Lecoq (front left to right and top to bottom) :
- In a salon of my hotel in Tripoli
- The Libyan leader and its Green Book
- An overview of the contrasts of the local women's fashion
- Tripoli Castle and the seashore near the Green Square / Arc of Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus
- Foreign workers lined up in front of a mobile bank / Gold ornaments in a jewelery of the medina.
References :
Martini P., Lecoq M., Soumare L., Chara B., 1998. Proposition de Programme de lutte contre le Criquet pèlerin dans la partie occidentale de son aire d'habitat. Système de prévention et de réaction rapide (EMPRES). Composante acridienne (Criquet pèlerin) en Région occidentale. Organisation des Nations Unies pour l’Alimentation et l’Agriculture, Rome. 93 p.
Lecoq M., 1999. Projet de restructuration des organismes chargés de la surveillance et de la lutte contre le criquet pèlerin en région occidentale. Justifications et propositions. Organisation des Nations Unies pour l’alimentation et l’agriculture (FAO), Rome. 36 p.
