Saif house
LONDON — Libyans are still struggling for their freedom, but a democratic enclave has already sprung up in London’s wealthy Hampstead Garden Suburb in a mansion once owned by Saif al-Islam Qaddafi. This relic from a brief era of rapprochement between Britain and the Qaddafi family is located on a small cul-de-sac about five miles from ...
LONDON — Libyans are still struggling for their freedom, but a democratic enclave has already sprung up in London's wealthy Hampstead Garden Suburb in a mansion once owned by Saif al-Islam Qaddafi. This relic from a brief era of rapprochement between Britain and the Qaddafi family is located on a small cul-de-sac about five miles from central London and is, surprisingly, one of the less ostentatious houses in the area; it conceals its size by making up in depth what its facade lacks in breadth. There are roughly 10 full-time Libyan activists now staying there, and friends of the Libyan opposition come and go regularly.
LONDON — Libyans are still struggling for their freedom, but a democratic enclave has already sprung up in London’s wealthy Hampstead Garden Suburb in a mansion once owned by Saif al-Islam Qaddafi. This relic from a brief era of rapprochement between Britain and the Qaddafi family is located on a small cul-de-sac about five miles from central London and is, surprisingly, one of the less ostentatious houses in the area; it conceals its size by making up in depth what its facade lacks in breadth. There are roughly 10 full-time Libyan activists now staying there, and friends of the Libyan opposition come and go regularly.
Belkasem Alghiryani, or "Billy," a 34-year-old barber and Libyan expat living in Manchester, is the head of the household ("but not in a dictator way"), duly elected by his companions. He helped organize the occupation of the house with a group of English and Libyan activists. He’s reluctant to say how they entered the house on March 9, but British laws on squatting are exceedingly liberal; the police visited briefly to ensure that the squatters had committed no criminal damage and declared the action a civil matter. Billy describes his comrades as "ordinary people." Some were students, he says; some worked in restaurants. But now, they devote all their time to protest.
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