A Libyan princess who grew up in exile has spoken of her horror, deep sadness and anger at the humanitarian catastrophe that has unfolded in the flood-stricken city of Derna.
Princess Alia Al Senussi, part of the royal family ousted by Muammar Qaddafi in 1969, said the irresponsibility of governments and the “anarchic situation of greed and obsession for power” represented an absolute disregard for the dignity of human life in Libya.
The royal said the causes for what unfolded in the eastern Libyan city, where devastating floods killed thousands, dated back to the neglect of the Qaddafi era and had been compounded by the chaos of the current system. She said sadness had now turned to anger at not just the officials but also climate-change deniers. Experts believe climate change made the floods much more likely to happen.
“A friend of mine said that Libya is outside the imagination of the world because the world has left it,” Ms Al Senussi told The National on Tuesday.
People that don’t deserve to suffer are suffering the most
Princess Alia Al Senussi
“There is no empathy. People that don’t deserve to suffer are suffering the most. And we can say that about a lot of places.”
Her comments came more than a week after floods inundated Derna when two dams broke during a powerful storm. The World Health Organisation said about 4,000 people were killed but organisations on the ground believe the death toll is far higher. Experts have suggested the lack of an evacuation order or warning about Storm Daniel made the outcome far worse, while long-term neglect of the dams has also been blamed.
Ms Al Senussi’s family ruled Libya until the military takeover of the country. She was born in the US, grew up in Egypt and now lives in the UK. Ms Al Senussi, 40, previously spoke of her emotional trips to Libya after Qaddafi was removed from power in 2011 and how the hopes of a young generation desperate for change weighed heavily on her.
“It was a hopeful time,” she said. “But it has deteriorated dramatically since then.”
However, Ms Al Senussi, now a senior figure in the global art world, said she had observed an increasing number of Libyans trying to make their voice heard.
“In the Qaddafi era, people didn’t have freedom to enter the civil service and, despite the anarchy now, there is slightly more space for people to be involved and to volunteer and work. There are also more student initiatives. So there is hope.
“We need more Libyans out there doing things and making their voices heard, from the smallest to the largest thing. Having that interaction is important because Libya is so far from the global mentality. We have to wait for this generation to get an education, become involved, grow and mature and become the leaders that we need now."
Ms Al Senussi said she was in Seoul when she heard about the disaster and immediately knew it would be "a horror story”. But another moment of hope took place there in South Korea as she listened to personal stories of people who told of how they came through severe challenges in the past to build a new country. “They were able, somehow, to move forward, so there is hope that places can reverse course.”
Libya has been hit by years of turmoil since Qaddafi was ousted, with rival administrations governing in the east and west of the country.
Protesters in Derna, meanwhile, have called for a swift inquiry into the floods, accountability from leaders, compensation and a quick rebuilding of the city.
Rescuers from the UAE, Egypt, Turkey, Algeria, France, Italy and Spain are all assisting in the recovery effort.
"It is an incredibly dark moment for Libya,” said Ms Al Senussi. “But I’m reminded of a quote from a Lebanese friend after the devastating 2020 blast, who said: ‘We are so tired of being resilient but that’s who we are. We will pick ourselves up and be resilient and hope for a day we can live and thrive and not have to be resilient.’”
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The drill
Recharge as needed, says Mat Dryden: “We try to make it a rule that every two to three months, even if it’s for four days, we get away, get some time together, recharge, refresh.” The couple take an hour a day to check into their businesses and that’s it.
Stick to the schedule, says Mike Addo: “We have an entire wall known as ‘The Lab,’ covered with colour-coded Post-it notes dedicated to our joint weekly planner, content board, marketing strategy, trends, ideas and upcoming meetings.”
Be a team, suggests Addo: “When training together, you have to trust in each other’s abilities. Otherwise working out together very quickly becomes one person training the other.”
Pull your weight, says Thuymi Do: “To do what we do, there definitely can be no lazy member of the team.”
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The biog
Born: Kuwait in 1986
Family: She is the youngest of seven siblings
Time in the UAE: 10 years
Hobbies: audiobooks and fitness: she works out every day, enjoying kickboxing and basketball
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Red flags
- Promises of high, fixed or 'guaranteed' returns.
- Unregulated structured products or complex investments often used to bypass traditional safeguards.
- Lack of clear information, vague language, no access to audited financials.
- Overseas companies targeting investors in other jurisdictions - this can make legal recovery difficult.
- Hard-selling tactics - creating urgency, offering 'exclusive' deals.
Courtesy: Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching
Dirham Stretcher tips for having a baby in the UAE
Selma Abdelhamid, the group's moderator, offers her guide to guide the cost of having a young family:
• Buy second hand stuff
They grow so fast. Don't get a second hand car seat though, unless you 100 per cent know it's not expired and hasn't been in an accident.
• Get a health card and vaccinate your child for free at government health centres
Ms Ma says she discovered this after spending thousands on vaccinations at private clinics.
• Join mum and baby coffee mornings provided by clinics, babysitting companies or nurseries.
Before joining baby classes ask for a free trial session. This way you will know if it's for you or not. You'll be surprised how great some classes are and how bad others are.
• Once baby is ready for solids, cook at home
Take the food with you in reusable pouches or jars. You'll save a fortune and you'll know exactly what you're feeding your child.
Tamkeen's offering
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Our legal advisor
Ahmad El Sayed is Senior Associate at Charles Russell Speechlys, a law firm headquartered in London with offices in the UK, Europe, the Middle East and Hong Kong.
Experience: Commercial litigator who has assisted clients with overseas judgments before UAE courts. His specialties are cases related to banking, real estate, shareholder disputes, company liquidations and criminal matters as well as employment related litigation.
Education: Sagesse University, Beirut, Lebanon, in 2005.
if you go
Getting there
Etihad (Etihad.com), Emirates (emirates.com) and Air France (www.airfrance.com) fly to Paris’ Charles de Gaulle Airport, from Abu Dhabi and Dubai respectively. Return flights cost from around Dh3,785. It takes about 40 minutes to get from Paris to Compiègne by train, with return tickets costing €19. The Glade of the Armistice is 6.6km east of the railway station.
Staying there
On a handsome, tree-lined street near the Chateau’s park, La Parenthèse du Rond Royal (laparenthesedurondroyal.com) offers spacious b&b accommodation with thoughtful design touches. Lots of natural woods, old fashioned travelling trunks as decoration and multi-nozzle showers are part of the look, while there are free bikes for those who want to cycle to the glade. Prices start at €120 a night.
More information: musee-armistice-14-18.fr ; compiegne-tourisme.fr; uk.france.fr
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ACC 2019: The winners in full
Best Actress Maha Alemi, Sofia
Best Actor Mohamed Dhrif, Weldi
Best Screenplay Meryem Benm’Barek, Sofia
Best Documentary Of Fathers and Sons by Talal Derki
Best Film Yomeddine by Abu Bakr Shawky
Best Director Nadine Labaki, Capernaum
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Gifts exchanged
- King Charles - replica of President Eisenhower Sword
- Queen Camilla - Tiffany & Co vintage 18-carat gold, diamond and ruby flower brooch
- Donald Trump - hand-bound leather book with Declaration of Independence
- Melania Trump - personalised Anya Hindmarch handbag
