A Taiwanese businessman who has just returned from Libya says the North African country is “in a state of anarchy.”
“As long as my family is safe, I will not consider my financial losses,” Lin Nan-sung (林楠松), who runs a business near Tripoli, said yesterday upon his arrival at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport.
Most countries have made efforts to evacuate their expatriates from Libya since anti-government protests erupted in the middle of last month and were met by heavy government force.
Photo: CNA
Lin said Taiwan’s representative office had advised him to leave, but he was initially reluctant to do so. He said he only decided to get out after watching companies around his own being looted.
Lin, along with his family and more than 30 employees, was able to secure seats on an evacuation flight to Jordan organized by a Chinese company with operations in Libya and from there head home.
Lin said he saw guns and looting along the road to Tripoli’s airport and that the country was in a state of anarchy. Communications had broken down so they were unable to get in touch with the outside world, he said.
After passing through several checkpoints and enduring seemingly endless waits, his group made it to the airport, where they then waited for more than 40 hours — including five hours in line to buy tickets — before taking off.
Lin said they were approaching the psychological breakdown point by then because of the long wait and uncertainty, exacerbated by the fact that their food was running out.
Nineteen Taiwanese had been living in Libya, including the staff and dependents of the country’s representative office, as well as employees of CPC Corp, Taiwan, and other businesspeople.
The latest reports say all have left except for one businessman who has insisted on staying to take care of his business.
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