A crowd of protesters shouting in both English and Arabic dominated the scene at Speakers Circle on Wednesday, showing support for the uprising underway in Libya. The protest, facilitated by the Muslim Student Organization and local Libyan Americans, was a wake up call to many students who weren’t well-informed on the crisis in the North African nation.
In a nutshell, having been inspired by the overthrow of the Tunisian and Egyptian dictators over the past few weeks, the people of Libya have risen up against Moammar Gadhafi, their “president” of 42 years. Gadhafi reacted by attacking his own people, killing thousands of protestors in just days using guns, tanks and even fighter jets. Similar protests have erupted across the Middle East in countries including Morrocco, Algeria, Yemen, Bahrain, Iran and Iraq — and that’s just the short list.
But ties between these conflicts and life in mid-Missouri seemed like an unlikely option. Turns out, the violence in Libya strikes a deeply personal chord with some of our neighbors and fellow students. And on Wednesday, they let everyone know.
Listening to the protesters, you might have heard that many of them have family in Libya. One protester said the last time she talked on the phone with her family, she could hear gunshots and yelling in the background and that she was lucky to have even been able to contact them.
Over the past weeks, there has been a lot of discussion about racism and xenophobia at MU. The situation in the Middle East offers students the opportunity to stand strong with people of another culture.
We would like to commend the Muslim Student Organization for helping to keep the situation in Libya fresh in the minds of students.
The best support we, as a student body, can offer the people of Libya is by showing support for their families here in Columbia. We can pressure our politicians to do more to help end the gross human rights violations. We should also simply remain informed of the injustices across the globe. And since The Maneater’s strength isn’t in international reporting, information is easily accessed through news organizations like [CNN](http://www.cnn.com/WORLD/), [BBC]( http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world/middle_east/) or [Al Jazeera]( http://english.aljazeera.net/), among others.
It’s time that we, as a student body, show our support for the Libyan people. MSO and Libyans in Columbia have reached out to us, their fellow students and citizens, to show solidarity in the face of evil. This affects their lives more than the rest of us can imagine, and we should all do our part to reach back.