Libya
Canadian Leïla has been living in Libya since 2018. In a long interview, she tells us about her daily life in Tobruk, a port city located east of the Libyan coast, near the Egyptian border. "Most roads have potholes. Many of them are filled with water because of broken water pipes. There seems to be virtually no maintenance at all...". She is a home-based seamstress and lives with her two young children, aged 5. And it's very hard to make ends meet, as she points out: "I don't have a good command of the local language yet, so I am mostly at home, alone with my children. I do some sewing at home, but it's more of a hobby-like activity. In fact, my in-laws provide us with the basic household essentials (with my husband's money).”
The situation in Tobruk remains tense. On July 1, there were protests in front of the parliament against the rising cost of living and the government. People expressed their concern about the increasingly difficult living conditions caused by an inefficient regime. Libya has been in turmoil since 2011 and the fall of Gaddafi. During the protests in Tobruk, some residents were even spotted waving the flag of the country's former strongman. For Leïla, this situation is way too complicated: "Tobruk is left to itself. The only development we have seen is the corniche on the seafront. There is so much work to be done [...]. The roads are in a pitiful state. Waste collection is a problem with the employees often not being paid, and when it's the case, they won't work. As a result, the garbage accumulates outside, so much so that people choose to burn it themselves.”
The mother of two also speaks of growing insecurity in Libya: "I have been mugged on several occasions! That is why I never go out alone." With unforgiving political instability, a never-ending social crisis, and soaring inflation, it is hard, if not impossible, to find a way out of the Libyan chaos! On Tuesday, October 25, Abdoulaye Bathily, the UN special envoy, visited Libya to assess the situation. Since March, two forces have been fighting for power -- the Tripoli government in the west, led by Abdel Hamid Dbeibah, on the one side, and, on the other, the forces of Fathi Bachagha in the east, supported by the Tobruk parliament and Marshal Khalifa Haftar, the region's strong man. In August, clashes between the two sides resulted in at least 32 deaths and 159 injuries. As the UN Security Council has extended his mandate for another year, Abdoulaye Bathily pleads to agree on a roadmap for presidential elections as soon as possible across the country and finally form a unified government. Libya has suffered two civil wars since 2011 and has had more than ten governments but has never managed to hold a presidential election.
Leïla hopes for peace, but for the moment, inflation is crippling the finances: "A liter of vegetable oil now costs 12 dinars instead of 8. All prices have increased, especially those for basic necessities. There are government schemes that enable registered families to get everyday essentials at lower prices.” But even when you have money, it is not always possible to withdraw it from the banks. "There's been loads of problems for quite some time with the banks. It's become very complicated to withdraw money from your own account," says Leïla. While she does not have a personal bank account in Libya, her in-laws do, and they also tell her about the difficulties they face, especially when she is in need: "When I ask for certain things, their answer is that there is no money right now, that there is a problem with the bank." When asked how she envisions the future, Leïla remains thoughtful: "My husband decided to undertake a doctorate in my country (Canada) and left us here, refusing to let me travel with our children."
Democratic Republic of Congo
Since October 23, there have been new clashes between the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo (FARDC - Forces Armées de la République Démocratique du Congo) and the M23 (March 23 Movement), a Rwandan-backed group formed in the aftermath of the Kivu war. On Saturday 29, the M23 rebels announced that they had taken the strategic town of Kiwandja, in southwestern Kivu. The day before, they claimed to have conquered Kitagoma, on the border with Uganda. As the M23 group advanced unrelentingly toward Goma, the capital of North Kivu, panic spread among the civilians. Some fled the region, while others hid in fear in their homes.
The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported that at least 23,000 civilians had been displaced since October 20, including at least 2,500 who had fled to Uganda. The UN reports that more than 396,000 civilians have had to flee because of conflicts in Rutshuru, a strategic location in North Kivu. But is there still a place where they can flee to? Civilians fear that the nearby towns of Biruma, Kalengera and Kabaya will soon be taken over by the M23. Gentil Karabuka, president of civil society in the Kisigari group, told Radio France Internationale (RFI): "If there is no force to make them disappear at these points, they could just end up in the Rumangabo camp to destabilize the population, which has been suffering for a very long time. And we wonder where the people are going to go, where the population is going to go..."
Bénédicte Lecoq, in charge of emergencies for Médecins sans Frontières in Rutshuru told RFI: "We hope that a humanitarian corridor will be opened to enable us to very quickly evacuate the wounded and also the civilian population that is trapped in Ntamugenga." The locality is being disputed by the FARDC and the M23. Even though the rebels claim to have taken it on October 23, the FARDC say they remain confident.
3,000 km away from the conflict zones, Aude, a French expat in the capital Kinshasa, experiences an entirely different daily life. For her, nothing has changed: "These conflicts don't really affect my everyday life. We don't even talk about them here. Horrific stories from the east follow one another, and they are all the same." In Goma, residents have been organizing "dead city" protests to denounce the government's deafening silence. According to them, the FARDC is not always as active as they claim. Meanwhile, in Kinshasa, Aude talks about the same daily routine: "There is always so much traffic here, but we keep planning our vacations as usual."
This is also the bitter truth of war. Compassion can still be present, but at the same time, given the geographical distance between people and regions, one must accept that some do live totally different lives. "Please, do not see it as a lack of empathy, but we are geographically and emotionally disconnected from this conflict. There is a clear divide between East and West! There is no land communication, and wireless communications are expensive. We just live in two separate worlds."
Ukraine
Asdecoeur, a French expat, lives in Zaporizhzhia. He imports tools and spare parts. Like Aude, he also affirms that he has not been affected by the war in Ukraine. "Life here goes on without serious problems. However, we do have difficulties in importing goods from other countries, which can be a definite drawback for professional activities." He also admits a very mild restriction: There's a curfew as from 11 pm, beyond which no one can go out! The French expat speaks of a relatively ordinary daily life and believes that it's important to take a step back and reflect on the situation. He believes that the images relayed by the international media do not necessarily affect all the inhabitants of Ukraine. He adds: "Contrary to popular belief, life in Ukraine continues in an almost normal way, except, of course, for the areas that are directly hit by the war, but that only represents a very small part of the territory. In fact, since the beginning of the war, everything has been functioning normally, except for a short transitional period during which the supply of gasoline became difficult. But this did not last."
Asdecoeur does not intend to leave Ukraine. "I still live in Zaporizhzhia, and I'm not looking to leave. My neighbors have not left. Everything here functions normally, including cafes, stores, gyms, gas stations, babushkas selling fruit and vegetables at the market, and so on. I live in a region that has been spared from the bombings. From time to time, we might hear sirens, but that's it. I don't really get the impression that people are particularly worried. In Zaporizhzhia, people live almost normally, and everything works."
However, he immediately points out the following: "Of course, I haven't done a survey to determine the level of anxiety of the population, and what I'm saying is only based on my personal perceptions from everyday life here." In his opinion, the media does not always describe what he experiences on a daily basis. "It's all about not giving in to panic and continuing to live normally."
In Ukraine, the resistance hasn't weakened, neither on the civilians' side or the army's. Conversely, the Russian army is suffering setbacks and is counterattacking by targeting the Ukrainian energy infrastructure, like the Zaporizhzhia power plant, located in the town of Enerhodar, 56 km from Zaporizhzhia, or the Kakhovka dam which was targeted. And on October 28, President Zelensky declared that there were actually four million Ukrainians living in the dark, without electricity. Asdecoeur explains: "I can't say much about the power plant in Enerhodar because I have not been there and know nothing about nuclear facilities." In Nikopol and Kryvyi Rih, towns near the Zaporizhzhia NPP, residents fear a nuclear disaster. They are organizing themselves and are reinvesting in anti-nuclear bunkers.
The Russian president recently announced the end of the partial military mobilization and congratulated himself on its success, announcing that the task of recruiting 300,000 soldiers was now complete. Meanwhile, new voices are calling for the end of the war. But can peace be negotiated in such conditions? Kherson is a key city and was the only regional capital conquered by Russia. Its strategic position (it is crossed by an axis going towards Crimea) makes it all the more important for both Russian and Ukrainian sides. Ukraine is determined to win, and Russia is sticking to its guns. As a result, unfortunately, everything points to a continuation of the conflict.
And what about the diplomatic path? While Russia announced its withdrawal from the agreement on Ukrainian grain exports, some still hope for the end of the war in Ukraine. "We need to find a solution soon."
