Mpls. Man Could Return Home To Libya After 3 Decades
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- After decades, a Libyan American man gets a call from his brother telling him it is finally safe to come home after 32 years.
Jamal Zaidi and his family live in Northeast Minneapolis. On Sunday night, Zaidi was able to talk to his family via the Internet because phone lines were just opened after being shut down for six months.
The Libyan government sent Zaidi to the United States in 1980 to train as an aviation mechanic. All of his family lives in Tripoli and for the first time in decades, he feels it's safe to go home.
All Zaidi's 11-year-old son, Raki, knows of Libya is what he's seen on the Internet. Now, for the first time, there is a prospect of seeing his parents' birthplace in-person.
Zaidi never thought he'd see his family again, but Sunday night's phone call from his brother made a promise he never thought he'd hear.
"He says everything is clear, so you will come home after 32 years," Zaidi said.
Zaidi's brother told him the victory over the capital city happened more quickly than they'd ever hoped.
"We expected Tripoli would be like a big bomb yesterday, but somehow, everything worked fine, and we are freed," Zaidi said.
Freedom is something Zaidi's family hasn't known for years. The armed guards standing outside their window made his family members fearful to leave their homes.
"The people, they got stuck inside. Most of them, they're either still home or they leave the city and join the rebels," Zaidi said.
Zaidi's nephews chose to fight among the rebels.
"I haven't seen 'em, you know -- they were born and I was here. They are 16 and 18, they just left home and they disappear for over a week," Zaidi said.
Now, not only will his nephews return home, but so will he and his family.
"That was, you know, a blessing from God -- and a blessing from the month of Ramadan," Zaidi said. "If they ask me to help or if they need me -- I'll be ready."
Zaidi said his phone's been ringing non-stop from his friends around the country offering their congratulations.
