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By Tom Westcott and Seraj Essul.
Tripoli, 21 April 2013:
Martyrs’ Square was today the scene of bustling excitement as hundreds of book . . .[restrict]lovers descended upon Tripoli’s largest ever secondhand book fair, as though it were an oasis in the desert.
Live music, from traditional Libyan ensemble Malouf, accompanied this evening’s opening, creating a real festival atmosphere. High-level dignitaries, including Minister of Culture Habib Mohammed Al-Amin, watched the show while, in the background, people crowded around tables piled with books, hunting for bargain tomes.
There were specialist stands for academic books, and others set aside for poetry and novels. With all books, in both Arabic and foreign languages, priced at LD 5 or less, there was something for everyone.
Former Prime Minister Abderrahim Al-Kib told the Libya Herald that he had bought two books. One was a book entitled Arabic Islamic Revolution, he said, but he would not reveal his second purchase.
“I’m delighted to see that Libyans are starting to read again,” Kib said, “Libya is starting to settle down and return to it’s real nature, like how it was before.”
Visitors crowded around the tables, queuing and sometimes even pushing each other to get to the books.
One visitor, clutching a novel and a volume of poetry, said that there were so many people at the fair, it was quite overwhelming. “I had the impression that Libyans are not readers,” she said, “so I am very surprised.”
She added that many of the best titles had already been snapped up: “My friend got here earlier than me, and bought fifteen books.”
The event is being lauded across social media networks. On Facebook, people are saying that they never expected so many people would be interested in a such a fair. People who left with carrier bags crammed with books have been describing these in terms of “a harvest.”
The stalls will be replenished tomorrow, one volunteer at the book fair, Jazea Omar, told the Libya Herald. In the lead-up to the fair, the quantity of donations had been staggering, she said: “We didn’t expect that so many people would give us books.”
“We have to share our books so we can spread knowledge,” Omar said, “and lots of the books for sale here are from other countries and cultures. Knowledge of these is important for us.”
She added that the project was mainly the work of young volunteers involved with the Tanweer (‘Enlightenment’) Movement which, in partnership with the Libyan Libraries Consortium, organised the event.
“We want to know what people think about this first festival,” she said, “so we can make our next one even more successful.”
The book fair will be open tomorrow and Tuesday, from 6pm until 9pm. On Tuesday, to celebrate World Book Day, there will be a storytelling event for children at 6pm. [/restrict]
