Libyans want jobs from "grey men" of the Government

A man goes in a souk, decorated with the Kingdom of Libya flag in downtown Tripoli 30 October 2011.
Credit: Reuters/Jamal Saidi
By Barry Malone
TRIPOLI | Wed, November 3, 2011 3: 28 pm EDT
Tripoli (Reuters) - jobs, normality and democracy are high on the wish lists of the Libyans on the streets of their capital in question but after months of civil war, their expectations to meet, is a demanding task for the "grey men" who now try to lead the country.
Few know anything about their new Prime Minister, Abdurrahim El-Keib, was Libya an academic and electrical engineer prior to his appointment surprise to the most difficult job in post-Gaddafi.
As head of the interim Government, he must be the National Transitional Council (NTC) a broken country with weapons flooded to control claim to revive the economy and the introduction of Libya to democracy.
"I came back to this land to this tool in my hands," said Saad Helmi, a 30-year-old a-old revolutionary fighters, Reuters in Tripoli of the old town, keep a machine gun with ribbons in the colours of the flag of Libya to the handle and his head wound.
"Now I will put them and replace it with a pen or a laptop." "I want a job to stay here," said Helmi, lived in Scotland for ten years.
Jobs have been regularly mentioned on the Tripoli streets, many young men who say that it was unemployment, fighting the Government of Muammar al-Gaddafi, now dead and buried.
Libyan top two politicians, Keib and NTC President Mustafa Abdel Jalil, have difficult challenges: institution-building from the ground up again, reviving the oil industry, disarming of the militias and try, the scars of the war in a country with regional and religious cure shares among the leading politicians.
Furthermore many Libyans are located dismissed with fresh ambition and the NTC.
Software Engineer Mohammed Ashour, 23. "you know what I was before the revolution?", said "I was someone without a job, which observed by Gaddafi's thug sons parade in my city."
"Then someone made me a weapon and changed." We young men the revolution gave the older men. It was our gift-we gifted them a country. "Now we want that they to pay us back."
The weapons, which a violent end brought get rid of the old order in Libya is second on the to-do list of Keib and the Cabinet he has promised to form within two weeks.
The Cabinet will sit for eight months after which there will be elections for a National Assembly, which will spend a year drafting a new Constitution before a parliamentary poll.
But most people in Tripoli road, look more normal, every day, said that work, including the disarming of the militias, start now.
After "Jobs" and "Weapons", "normal" was the word used most of Tripolitanians when it comes to the future. "I would like to normal,", said a woman named Nabile in English. "Normal", a friend agreed. Being "Normal", a third of reviewed.
"Such as Europe," said a fourth.
BORING PEOPLE A CHANCE GIVE
This wish is growing dissatisfaction with the once revered breeding that still roam the streets NTC militiamen.
"I'm tired of the fighters," Fatima Gdour said Reuters really, in a street full of jewellery shops.
"they are still around to to at night, the arrest of people who say they are for Gaddafi." I've heard that they steal cars. The NTC is promising, they take their weapons, so why not another? "
Political analysts and other Tripolitanians, said the answer is, that always is up to and after the war not the only thing they expect to occupy the NTC in about 20 months before elections. You think that jostling for position may be even more important.
"they need their militias so that they can get the best government jobs." Are all worried that if they disarm, they will be threatened and some lose, "teacher Ayman Abdulgader told Reuters, laugh, when a group of armed fighters from the city of Misurata past drove."
"So we have with them to put up."
Misurata that country raced in Tripoli on the night of 23 August, the second largest city Benghazi and other places armed brigades and Gaddafi fled. But since taking over the capital, and armed checkpoints through the downtown and the suburbs set up, have refused to leave.
You are probably not going to the most important cities and regions-that armed men are allied - decide, their place in the so-called "new Libya" is often given is.
The choice of the Keib, a Scion of the nationalist family from Tripoli, the old town, such as Prime Minister may be a first attempt to bridge this gap and to deflect accusations that the NTC is biased to Benghazi, Tripolitanians said.
"I can't see any other reason, why they elected him,", said lawyer Hamza Mohammed, drinking tea with friends under a sign, the "Libya United" proclaimed. "He is just a nobody without (Abdel Jalil)." I wonder whether this NTC men can do. "What are they except against Gaddafi?"
His friend Mustafa chipped, to laugh, that he "boring" should have said men NTC.
"But this is a good thing," he said. "Since the world knew us years for a man nobody was said boring." It was exciting, every day, it is true. "Let's see whether, how they, say in England that grey can make better men."
(Editing by Tim Pearce)