Can the joy last?
As the first flush of liberation begins to fade, differences between the new rulers may soon begin to widen
AT LAST they came. After a week of hesitation in the wake of Colonel Muammar Qaddafi's flight, the people of Tripoli climbed off the fence and poured into the capital's central square for an all-night celebration capped by morning prayers. Many of the worshippers were government employees. A finance ministry official said he and the rest of his department would report for work after Eid el-Fitr, the festivity on August 30th that marked the end of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan. A local police chief, pumping his fists in unison with the crowd's cries of “God is Great!”, said all his men had already reported back for duty.
This article appeared in the Middle East & Africa section of the print edition under the headline “Can the joy last?”
From the September 3rd 2011 edition
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