Jane Gerster caught up with protesters celebrating Gadhafi's demise.
Libyans in Ottawa gathered on Parliament Hill Oct. 20 to celebrate the death of former Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi.
People cheered, waved flags, and played music, celebrating the death of Gadhafi, who was killed after a civil war in Libya that started in February 2011.
Gadhafi ruled for 42 years.
Amal Gtannesh, who was waving a Libyan flag on Parliament Hill with her children and family, said she was overwhelmed by the news.
“We are so happy today, so excited, you won’t believe it. It’s the end of the war,” she said.
Gtannesh said she moved to Canada from Libya in 2000. She said living under Gadhafi was terrible.
Her children were celebrating, too. Gtannesh said she kept them informed as to what was happening.
“They know everything. They were watching [the news] with us,” she said.
Reports of Gadhafi’s death surfaced that morning, after he was reportedly captured during a French air strike on a convoy, according to Reuters.
Gadhafi hid under a sewer after the attack, where he was found, captured and eventually killed by Libyan fighters for the National Transitional Council — the current interim government in Libya.
Salim Algmoudi, who was also celebrating on Parliament Hill, said living in Libya while Gadhafi was “no life.”
“In that time, it’s like jail,” he said. “You can’t talk, you can’t tell anything, and if you talk, you go to jail, or maybe lose your life.”
Algmoudi said he couldn’t believe it when he heard the news.
“I heard it around [8 a.m.]. My friend called me [and said] ‘Gadhafi is dead.’ I stared around [for] two minutes, and I [couldn’t] accept it.”
With Gadhafi’s death, Algmoudi said Libya will now be able to change.
“It changes everything. First one is the freedom, and the government, now we take [the] election,” he said. “I think Libya will c-hange.”
