Page 17 - MIN ECEM 7 JAN 2017

A13
LOCAL Saturday 7 January 2017

An Aruban in Libya

Stories of my years (1966 – 1973) with ESSO in Tripoli

Chapter 18 - Ghadafi brings an end to the Italian colonial era

Humiliation, intimidation, Italians could come and situation, we preferred not
confiscation of all proper- take their places, but they- do anything in writing.For
ties and deportation of all had to respect the Libyans reasons I cannot divulge, I
Italians from Libya. and treat them as equals. was chosen to go to Rome
For many, this was their He ordered all Italians ex- to personally arrange for
country, most were born pulsed from Libya, even if the transfer of funds to
here and now they must go they had been born in the Esso Italia so that the ex-
into exile. country and he expropri- employees would receive
Exiled Italian leaving Tripoli ated most of their posses- her money there. And so,

When I arrived at the King
Idris International Airport
on October 7, 1967, I could
not imagine that 15 years
after Libya had become
an independent country,
the Italian presence would
still be so conspicuous. Ali-
talia was obviously very im- sions, valued at more than with the help of an Aruban
portant. It had more planes 130 million US dollars. in Libya, one Italian man-
there than Libya Airlines. aged to get what the Gha-
On the highway into Tripoli Even the Italian cathedral dafi government wanted
most of the cars were Fiats was expropriated! The to take from her.
and one could not miss the copper chandeliers wound
many Agip gasoline sta- up in the copper “souks” in I had another very moving
tions with the six-legged the Medina, the old sec- experience related to the
dog as logo. Alitalia, Fiat tion of Tripoli. My wife and expulsion of another Italian
and Agip are iconic Italian I wound up buying four of friend. My wife Beatriz and
brands. Most of the street them and converted two I were invited to a farewell
names in Tripoli still began of them into table lamps. dinner at the home of the
with “via”, Italian for street. They still form part of the family of Franco Valenza.
The Italian word ‘POSTA’ furniture of my house in We had met Franco and
was still carved in the con- Aruba. his wife Joan in Switzerland
crete of the front wall of the tions. during our Christmas skiing
post office in the center of During the first years of Mus- One of the deported Ital- vacation near St. Gallen
Tripoli, another legacy of solini’s dictatorship, thou- After the fall of Mussolini’s ians was a female fellow and we remained close
the Italian colonial era. sands of Italians moved to Italy in 1943, Libya be- workerin the Accounting friends. We were surprised
Libya. In just one year, 1938, came a protectorate of
The history of Libya as an Italy sent 20 thousand farm- the Allied forces, but the Department of Esso Libya. that we were the only
We helped her get em-
guests, butJoan explained
Italian colony began in ers to develop food pro- position of the Italians did ployment with Esso Italia that we were not guests,
1911 when it was captured duction on a relatively nar- not change. In 1951 Libya in Rome, but by law we we were family. Franco
from Ottoman Turkey un- row strip of land stretching became an independent could not refund her what brought out two bottles
der the leadership of Prime along the entire Mediter- nation, but this did not she had saved in the com- of wine that his late father
Minister Giovanni Giolitti. ranean Coast from Egypt change the status of the pany’s Thrift Plan. But we had prepared from grapes
Then began an era of cruel to Tunisia. At the beginning Italian former colonialists. decided to help our ex- that he himself had grown.
war to subjugate the tribes of World War II there were The Italians still had the best colleague in another way.
that resisted the Italian 110 thousand Italians in non-gubernatorial posi- As this was a very delicate Continued on Page 14
domination. Their leader Libya, most of them con- tions and they were in con-
was Omar Mukhtar, immor- centrated in the towns of trol of commerce, industry
talized by Anthony Quinn Tripoli and Benghazi. They and banking. It would take
with the movie The Lion of participated in commer- the Ghadafi revolution to
the desert. In 1931 the Ital- cial, industrial, agricultural bring this to an end.
ian army captured and ex- and financial activities and One year after taking over
ecuted Omar Mukhtar and as they were much better the government, Ghadafi
three years later Italy com- prepared, they became announced that all “old”
pleted its conquest. leaders while the Libyans Italians (former colonialists)
remained in inferior posi- had to leave, and “new”