THE ROAD TO TRIPOLI
English Transcript
(with timecodes)
00:04 [shouting and gunshots]
00:26 A rebellion that turned into a full-blooded civil war.
00:30 The fighters of Misrata, taking on the army of colonel Muammar Gaddafi.
00:35 For months, the frontlines have been locked down.
00:40 But things started moving to the west.
00:42 Rebel forces make rapid gains, advancing quickly towards their prize, Tripoli.
00:49 Casualty numbers are high. Rebels have little training, and Gaddafi’s forces fight hard.
00:54 Supplies are also running short.
00:56 But reinforcements from the Gulf states start to arrive: NATO has control of the skies.
01:04 The night of the 21st: jubilation.
01:07 Fighters have reached the outskirts of Tripoli, and secret cells in the city rise up.
01:13 At the rebel stronghold, Benghazi, they think they’ve won.
01:17 But have they?
01:20 The sleeper cells of Tripoli can only hold out for so long.
01:31 CAPTION
Western Libyan border
01:32 MAN
My name was on the list, I was on the wanted list.
01:35 INTERVIEWER
So you went back to fight?
01:36 MAN
Anything I can do that’s useful for my country, I’m willing to do.
01:43 VOICEOVER
The three men have just crossed the border.
01:46 They’re trying to get to Tripoli.
01:51 Muaz, Bassa and Tariq.
01:53 MUAZ
Finally, we’re going back home.
01:54 VOICEOVER
Brothers in arms.
02:01 MAN
Myself, I’m an engineer. I’ve never held a weapon in my life before.
02:07 VOICEOVER
They’re taking a road into the unknown. They’ve heard the uprising has started in Tripoli, and they want to help.
02:15 But they don’t look like freedom fighters.
02:17 With the flag of the rebel army trailing from their suburban saloon, they look like football fans heading for the big match.
02:25 But this is no game.
02:28 BROTHER
I wanted to join the rebels in Bab al-Azizia. I was willing to do anything and everything; I was prepared to sacrifice my life.
02:38 VOICEOVER
These are the Nafusa mountains, where the rebels started to push back.
02:43
Using the protection of higher ground, their forces regrouped in May and June.
02:49 In July, they moved down to the plains.
02:53 This time, with NATO, they had vital air support.
03:00 It’s the month of Ramadan, and they stop to break their fast after the sun sets.
03:05 They share their meal at a checkpoint.
03:09 As they eat, Muaz chats with the fighters.
03:12 All of them are from different backgrounds, but now they’re united by one cause.
03:17 MAN
I was benefiting from Gaddafi’s regime. But if everybody only thought about himself, then… this is wrong.
03:25 I mean, my people were not benefiting from Gaddafi’s system.
03:29 VOICEOVER
Then prayers.
03:32 Gaddafi had suggested religious extremists were in the rebel ranks.
03:39 MAN
Libya is known in the Arab world as one of the most religious countries. Not in an extremist way, but a modern way.
03:47 The Libyans are religious people, but it was not a religious war.
03:53 Overhead the flags flutter: nations who’ve helped their fight.
03:59 Nalut is the first destination on their route.
04:04 This is a major base for the fighters who are heading in an out on the Tripoli road.
04:09 There’s a sense of urgency with all the military traffic.
04:13 The friends aren’t quite sure how they fit in.
04:16 With a borrowed rifle, they look like tourists posing for snaps.
04:22 Then they move on into the night. They need to get to the town of Jadu, where they’re planning to buy guns.
04:35 The next day in Jadu, a group of young men are gripped in front of the TV.
04:42 The situation in Tripoli looks dire.
04:45 Osman moved away with his family. Now he watches live, as his neighbourhood burns.
04:51 Another, Soleiman, will learn later that his uncle has been shot and killed.
04:56 Across town, rebels bring a delivery for Muaz and his friends.
05:01 The guns they’d arranged to pick up have arrived.
05:05 MUAZ
This is the AK-103, this is the Kalashnikov, and this is the F10.
05:09 These are assault rifles, this is what we are trying to get, because the rebels in Tripoli are short of them – and also they are short of RPGs –
05:16 because there are a lot of tanks, Gaddafi is rounding some areas of Tripoli, and the only way to get rid of these tanks is by using the RPGs.
05:29 They look through and pick what they want; the heavier weapons will be delivered to Tripoli in a few days.
05:37 Muaz is an experienced businessman, but he’s never struck a deal like this before.
05:42 MUAZ
It was so difficult, it was a really tough day. Especially if you don’t have experience, if you’ve never dealt with any arms or any guns before.
05:50 VOICEOVER
The Jadu rebels give them a crash course. These guys are pretty comfortable with guns.
05:55
Under the Gaddafi regime, weapons maintenance was part of the curriculum in high school.
06:01
This is what they brought… it’s a brand-new one, it’s Russian-made… and I hope I don’t use it. I guess my people will.
06:13 VOICEOVER
Spirits are high. They’re ready to set off on the road to Tripoli.
06:27 The first leg of the journey is smooth, heading down from the mountains.
06:33 The convoy moves at speed.
06:38 Only supplies are heading for the front.
06:42 Huge sandbanks appear on the road – protection for the rebels if they need to retreat.
06:49 Roadblocks every few kilometres.
06:53 The ferocity of the fighting is clear.
06:58 One of the drivers is a Jadu rebel. He’s been fighting for months along this road.
07:05 Now he looks relaxed, but he knows the job’s not done.
07:12 INTERVIEWER
What do you want to do to Gaddafi?
07:15 INTERVIEWEE
Kill him – kill him, yes. Because he killed many people in Libya. From Jadu, and from Tripoli.
07:25 We pass through Zawiya. They fought here for over a week. But victory was key to advance on Tripoli.
07:32 Burnt-out buildings line the route, others taken out by NATO airstrikes.
07:39 They check the route ahead.
07:43 It’s clear until Janzur, on the outskirts.
07:47 Outside the barracks of the Khamis brigade, a band of tanks have become a playground.
07:55 Approaching Tripoli, there’s a noticeable change.
08:01 The convoy stops to prepare.
08:03 Muaz looks tense, but determined. Did he know what he was letting himself in for?
08:10 MUAZ
No, honestly speaking, I had no idea what I was heading into. I just wanted to join the rebels over there and free my country, Tripoli.
08:25 VOICEOVER
Everyone’s shouting. No-one knows what’s going on.
08:30 But they’re close to their objective: the Gaddafi compound of Bab-al-Azizia.
08:37 MAN
At that moment I lost my gun. I had just one goal: “I have to liberate, along with my other brothers in arms.”
08:49 VOICEOVER
Fighters are rushing in and out of the city. A plume of black smoke marks their destination.
08:55 People on the streets are urging them on.
08:58 Tripoli is a city at war, and out of control.
09:04 The fight for Gaddafi’s compound will be the key. But it’s amazingly well-fortified,
09:10 a palace surrounded by at least three security walls.
09:15 MUAZ
I expected that it would last for a couple of weeks, I mean I expected that what happened in Misrata would happen in Tripoli as well.
09:29 VOICEOVER
Outside Gaddafi’s compound, the roundabout of Souk al-Thalatha, madness reigns.
09:37 The fighters racing in and out.
09:41 Gaddafi’s compound is ablaze.
09:44 The battle wasn’t as long as they’d thought.
09:46 MUAZ
The battle only lasted for six, seven hours – less than nine hours. They just ran away.
09:57 VOICEOVER
Muaz has joined up with the fighters from outside. They’d broken Gaddafi’s hold on Tripoli, for the first time in 42 years.
10:08 MUAZ
We think, we are almost sure, that we have taken control of Tripoli.
10:17 TARIQ
First time, first time they have broken Bab-al-Azizia.
10:30 VOICEOVER
The heavy weapons continue to flash past – the casualties, too.
10:24 A young boy, caught in the crossfire.
10:33 Medics treat him as best they can. But they have few supplies.
10:40 Muaz watches, thinking of his own son.
10:48 It’s been a day of vicious fighting, but the rebels are cementing their control.
10:58 Nearby they meet some friends. This is Tariq’s neighbourhood.
11:03 It’s good to be back home.
11:06 BASSA
This is my friend…
11:10 TARIQ
Six months, this has been…
11:12 VOICEOVER
Gunfire – but now, in celebration.
11:18 A joyful expression of release.
11:22 But a moment of reflection for Muaz.
11:25 MUAZ
I feel happy, but at the same time I’m a bit sad to see all this chaos and all these weapons in the street… I’m a bit sad.
11:37 VOICEOVER
The sun is setting. The streets of Tripoli will be dangerous tonight.
11:43 Muaz is concerned. He’s heard that there’s fighting close to his apartment.
11:47 It’s too dangerous to go there now, and Tariq wants to get home.
11:55 The family’s been waiting for the friends to arrive.
11:58 It’s clearly a relief, and a joy.
12:01 TARIQ
Fabulous…
12:03 INTERVIEWER
How long since you’ve been home last?
12:04 TARIQ
Six months.
12:06 INTERVIEWER
And you’ve come home to a free Libya?
12:08 TARIQ
[shaking head] Of course, free Libya – that’s no more Gaddafi, that’s no more fear… thanks God, thanks God…
12:21 VOICEOVER
Tariq’s mother is overcome at seeing her son home safely.
12:29 In these difficult times, everyone is welcomed inside.
12:32 But Tariq’s father thinks that the hard times may soon be gone.
12:38 TARIQ’S FATHER
We hope that everything will be over. And within a short time – maybe one year, two years – it will be another Libya. Sure.
12:50 VOICEOVER
That night, Muaz and Tariq go out on a neighbourhood patrol.
12:55 They stop at a temporary prison.
12:58 Housed in a kindergarten, inmates are accused of being Gaddafi mercenaries.
13:05 A Ukrainian the rebels say was a sniper.
13:07 MAN
He came to Tripoli just two months.
13:10 VOICEOVER
Other Africans, from Niger and Chad.
13:13 They say they’re being treated well, but clearly they’re scared.
13:18 Tens of thousands of black Africans are being rounded up, many of them guilty only of illegal immigration.
13:25 MAN
There is some confusion. It’s very diffiult to distinguish whether this is a mercenary guy or not.
13:30 But the people, they have to – better be safe than be sorry.
13:38 VOICEOVER
The next day, Muaz heads out.
13:41 The roundabout at Souk al-Thalatha is deserted.
13:45 The fighting has moved on.
13:57 The newly-renamed Martyrs’ Square, once a symbol of the Gaddafi regime.
14:06 Crowds are starting to gather, passions inflamed.
14:13 A few shots ring out, but this is friendly fire.
14:18 For Muaz, it all began here, six months ago.
14:22 MUAZ
It was on the 20th of February, I came with all the Libyans, all the Free Libyans.
14:29 We went out on several demonstrations, and we came from that road.
14:36 VOICEOVER
On that day, the protesters had no weapons. They were met with live rounds.
14:41 MUAZ
They were shooting at us with this size of bullet.
14:45 Muaz thinks this was the moment that Gaddafi was doomed.
14:49 MUAZ
It started with one or two persons… then people started going out - one, two, three, four - and when they started using live ammo against us, this is when everybody decided to go out.
15:04 VOICEOVER
That night in February, Muaz lost several friends to troops with heavy weapons on the streets, and snipers.
15:11 MUAZ
One of the snipers was hiding on that building, and another was here on top of this building, so we – there is a place here, inside, we were hiding here.
15:24 We were hiding here, inside here.
15:27 INTERVIEWER
Are you confident now that the snipers are all gone?
15:33 MUAZ
I’m not really very confident that they have got rid of all of them … I am sure there are some still left.
15:41 VOICEOVER
But snipers are still a deadly presence all across Tripoli.
15:51 Muaz reaches his home, but the reunion is sombre.
16:17 Anxious explanations of what has happened.
16:27 MUAZ
His brother has been killed yesterday.
16:33 VOICEOVER
This isn’t the joyous homecoming he’d expected.
16:37 MAN
His young daughter has been shot at the same time.
16:41 MUAZ
This is my baby, and this is my brother, by the way.
16:50 VOICEOVER
The neighbours are assembled for a funeral.
16:56 As they catch up, there’s more bad news.
17:00 Another friend from the neighbourhood has been lost.
17:09 He was shot as he came out of the mosque.
17:19 His brothers sit in mourning.
17:38 Eventually, Muaz is able to get into his apartment, for the first time in months.
17:42 INTERVIEWER
Much as you left it?
17:43 MUAZ
Yeah, yeah.
17:45 Even nicer now.
17:49 Now I know that Gaddafi is gone, and nobody will be knocking on my door.
17:52 VOICEOVER
His son’s room, who he’s left behind in Tunis.
17:55 MUAZ
My son will have a Canadian passport, and then he will be recognised in the world as a human being.
18:01 I am sorry to say it, but under Gaddafi, we were not treated as humans.
18:08 VOICEOVER
After darkness falls, tracer fire shoots into the sky.
18:13 Further away, though, the fighting is moving out of Tripoli.
18:19 When day breaks, things seem relatively calm.
18:24 But, as Tariq points out, the Gaddafi family is trying to hang on.
18:27 TARIQ
This is Muhammad Gaddafi’s car. They had a fight at four o’clock in the morning.
18:32 This one, the other car – they catch them.
18:36 VOICEOVER
But with Gaddafi gone, who would take his place?
18:40 In Benghazi, a transitional government lies in wait.
18:45 Their leader, a former Gaddafi minister – but a man who inspires trust.
18:51 MUAZ
Mr Mustafa Abdul Jalil was the only one, during Gaddafi’s regime, who stood and told him “no.” He was the only one.
18:58 We are with him until the end of the line, and we support him blindly.
19:03 VOICEOVER
But is the capital yet safe?
19:06 Some of the national transitional council have already moved here, to the Corinthia hotel.
19:13 Members of the international press, too.
19:17 The fighters assigned to protect them see a threat.
19:23 They think it’s a sniper, but nobody seems to know. This is the biggest threat in Tripoli today.
19:29 MUAZ
The only thing we were scared of was the – we had only the threat of snipers. It was very, very serious.
19:36 VOICEOVER
Everyone else takes cover.
19:42 Journalists try to get back to the safety of the hotel.
19:44 MAN
Go, go, go, go…
19:47 MUAZ
…someone standing and shooting…
19:52 VOICEOVER
Suddenly more shots – everyone takes cover again.
20:01 They’re all on edge.
20:05 Reinforcements arrive.
20:12 No-one knows what’s going on.
20:16 Then they spot something.
20:26 Wild shooting – hundreds of rounds fly into the air.
20:38 Then, a pause.
20:42 “God is great,” shout the rebels – their battle cry.
20:48 But as quickly as it started, the threat appears to be gone.
20:52 MAN
They have some mercenaries - and they come and fire on us and run away. Don’t worry; everything is under control.
21:05 VOICEOVER
Over the coming days, rebel fighters solidify their hold over Tripoli.
21:12 As they advance, pro-Gaddafi forces put up little resistance, and flee.
21:20 Some attempt to escape to the south, but the rebels have surrounded the capital with a ring of steel.
21:30 In their wake, evidence of horrendous atrocities.
21:34 At several locations, mass graves are discovered.
21:39 INTERVIEWER
Do you know why your brother was killed?
21:42 MAN
He was just a normal citizen…
22:03 VOICEOVER
Eleven days after the fighters first entered Tripoli, it’s the end of Ramadan, the period of self-sacrifice.
22:13 Thousands come to Martyrs’ Square, to mark the festival of Eid.
22:23 It’s a moment of collective mourning and reflection.
22:29 MAN
We have fought; we have sacrificed. A lot of our children killed in this war to get rid of Gaddafi’s regime, and my people will never be scared again.
22:48 And you can feel that in the assembled crowd.
22:57 For the first time in 42 years, Gaddafi has gone.
23:04 Friends and brothers-in-arms, reunited after six months of war.
23:13 As the crowd finds its voice, the mood changes to joy.
23:19 This is Tripoli’s declaration of victory.
23:29 Gaddafi’s secure compound, Bab-al-Azizia, is now open to all.
23:49 Crowds of Libyans have come to see what was forbidden for so long.
23:59 The fighting has left the building a bare shell – one that Libyans are proud to claim as their own.
24:09 MAN
This is the rubble of Libyans. We are all Libyans, we are all equal, we are one big family.
24:18 VOICEOVER
The chance for a fresh start.
24:22 MAN
The world saw Libya from only Gaddafi’s point of view. Now they have to see it through us – through Libyans.
24:33 VOICEOVER
For Muaz, it’s the end of a journey that began six months before.
24:37 The fight to get here has been long and bitter, friends lost on the way.
24:44 He knows he’s been lucky; there was a price that had to be paid.
24:50 MUAZ
I consider myself – I mean, personally, as Muaz – I really didn’t pay a lot – just losing my business, losing the money of my company – this is nothing.
25:00 But I consider losing 50 000 Libyans a heavy price.
25:04 But we had to pay this price. It’s not easy to get rid of Gaddafi and his regime.
25:10 And I was willing to sacrifice myself, my family, my son – everybody –
25:16 I mean, we were willing to sacrifice our lives, our souls, for our freedom, for our new Libya.
25:30 VOICEOVER
A few weeks later, Muaz is back with his wife and his son in Tunisia.
25:36 In Tripoli, there are still shortages, and the water supply has been cut by retreating Gaddafi loyalists.
25:42 But he’s optimistic.
25:44 MUAZ
I’m talking with my friends and my brother in Libya every day in Tripoli,
25:49 and they tell me every day is better than yesterday.
25:52 VOICEOVER
He will take the family back – but not yet.
25:55 This time, he’s going to take his time going home.