Personal Narrative: My Libyan Family

Taking into consideration my Libyan heritage, one might say I was able to experience the best of both worlds as a first generation Libyan-American. They wouldn’t be wrong, growing up, I was influenced by the cultural aspect of a Libyan as an American citizen. I partook in many common Libyan traditions, for instance, I would eat couscous most nights for dinner and learned how to play the darbuka, a Libyan drum held sideways and played with the fingers. I was convinced that everyone lived this way, and I knew nothing outside of my bubble of comfort. It wasn't until my first trip to Libya, during the reign of Dictator Mummar Gadafi, that I realized not everything in the world was perfect and that my childhood was more Americanized
An American childhood, where at school the teachers never laid a finger on me, and at home, I was not left neglected. Quite a difference from what I witnessed first hand in Libya… something needed to be done.

I was 11 years old when I first became cognizant of the, mistreatment my Libyan-American family-friends were to inflict upon their children as a form of conditioning. I did witness on several occasions my friends getting punished with Libyan styled punishments. We have laws against this kind of abuse in the United States. Child abuse is broadly defined in many states as any type of cruelty inflicted upon a child, including: mental abuse, physical harm, neglect, and sexual abuse or exploitation. Living my entire life in America with somewhat Americanized parents, I had never been exposed to this type of relationship between caregiver and care recipient. It looked like more than the necessary force
From the day I returned home to America, I had made it my goal to start a non-profit organization to help these children, the children of Libya, my brothers and sisters. The first step that needs to be taken is: awareness. I continually encourage my parents to help put together informative gatherings, where we educate and inform Libyan-Americans about the effects child mistreatment can have on the youth. We also plan on creating videos to raise awareness of international child abuse. In addition, whenever a family-friend is over, and they happen to mistreat their child, my mother and I intervene and are more conscientious, trying to talk sense into the parents. My father and I have been taking road trips to Libyan-gatherings all across California, and collaborate with presenters who speak freely of their experiences dealing with child abuse and the effects it has had upon their lives. My next move is, to study corporate management to fulfil my ideals for this new movement against the child mistreatment in Libya. The following steps to come are still in the process of being worked out, but I’d eventually like to open non-profit parent-teacher workshops all across Libya. It is my goal to change the customary Libyan lifestyle of raising juveniles. I hope