Before I entered the movie theater, I had some trepidation about how Hollywood would represent this story dignifying the American soldiers but misrepresenting the Libyans. At the end of the film, I was more than shocked to realize that film was completely different from how I personally experienced the Benghazi story. The film represented the citizen of Benghazi like a wilted flower.
In Dr. Sara Cobb's book, Speaking of Violence, she says, "Stories matter. They have gravitas; they are grave. They have weight. They are concrete. They materialize policies, institutions, relationships and identities that circulate locally and globally." So my question is what really happened in Benghazi? This is one of the significant questions that have been raised by many, including journalist Steve Rose in his article http://ift.tt/213jAdl, in last month, the Guardian, critiquing the movie as a political move to negatively impact Hillary Clinton.
On September 11, 2012, a horrific attack took place at the US diplomatic mission in Benghazi resulting in the death of three American citizens and US ambassador, Christopher Stevens. Despite the skewed political aspects of the movie, or the stereotypical presentations of Muslim countries, such as the images of dirty barefoot children playing in the street and women covered in black cloth, I want to write about my experience as a Libyan citizen, I feel that I need to describe this event, as an eye witness I feel an obligation to speak the truth of these events. Also, I feel the need to speak on behalf of many of my American friends who fell in love with Benghazi during our time there. I became aware of three observations while watching the movie's inaccurate presentation of the events, the one-sided presentation of the story, and the apparent ignorance of the filmmakers about Benghazi.
The ignorance about Benghazi:
The death of the Ambassador Stevens was a real tragedy for the citizens of Benghazi, they lost an extraordinary man, who was humble and well -respected within the community. His visit to Benghazi that day was a gesture of hope because of the history of marginalization this city had suffered during the Qaddafi era. He came with the aspiration of opening an American cultural education center offering new opportunities for engagement and learning in Benghazi.
Many of my Libyan friends and I met the ambassador and all of us were impressed by his humility and sense of humanity. I lived three miles from the American Consulate, which was located in a very good neighborhood and surrounded by fancy shops and beautiful buildings. (The film only portrayed dirty dusty streets representing Libyans as barbaric, which I felt was disrespectful, unfair, and inaccurate representation.)
The one-sided presentation of the story:
When I heard about the death of Stevens the next day, I went to my friend's house with anger and frustration feeling strongly that we needed to do something. I wanted to show that what happened did not represent our religion or our city. What happened in Benghazi were a tragic event and a dangerous indicator of the future of this city. I suggested organizing a demonstration with my friends. We produced flyers in Arabic and English condemning this attack showing our deep regret and presenting the true image of Muslims. Women and men joined together to reclaim their real representation of our stolen city.
The next day many newspapers published our pictures and one of them landed on the desk of US President Obama. He commented on the response of Benghazi citizens against the violence. In reality, the person who had attempted to save the Ambassador's life was a Libyan man who heroically endangered his own life. In the film, this fact was briefly mentioned. In its depiction of the group of Libyans who saved the American Soldiers, it presented them as people who only care about driving fancy cars or stealing from others.
The dangers of a mainstream film poorly representing such a sensitive story is that it can easily insight further violence, legitimize stereotypes, and dominate the discourse, rather than stimulating questions on why this attack may have happened. These types of films do not focus on how to increase a better understanding of the terrorism, but, as Dr. Cobb explains, intends to influence "hearts and minds". This movie has created a narrative which will last and which will incite many to act in a certain way. This narrative runs the risk of legitimizing the already narrow views that many young Americans have on what the Arab and Muslim world is like. http://ift.tt/1zJFqI5. Furthermore, many policy makers around the world advocate for weapons believing that international military intervention in Libya and other Muslim countries are the only solutions for extremism. http://ift.tt/213jAdn
Inaccurate presentation of the events:
In 2012, there was a social movement and energy in Benghazi to rebuild the city with the help of many international organizations and local people motivated to promote peace. There were a special spirit and powerful emotions regarding the future of this city. At the time, I was traveling around the region alone, or with my personal assistant, who is also a female to conduct peace -building projects without a sense of fear. During that time, I used to work for an American non-profit organization and still remember when my director called from DC telling me to stay home and close the office because of the risks involved. As an employee for an American non-profit, I closed the office. As a Libyan, I refused to stay home, as I had a responsibility toward my city. In fact, the situation in Benghazi was not as bad as it was presented to be. In the movie, when one of the soldiers said "They're all bad guys until they're not," and "you can't tell the good guys from the bad" this is an extremely offensive statement, which will lead to incorrect assumptions about the Benghazi people. Generalization is something we do to glorify our own attitudes.
I don't want this violent story to destroy our effort to build a peaceful country, as true Libyans who care about our city. We still remember our friends who sacrificed their lives for Benghazi; Salwa Bugaighis, Tawfik Bensaud and Mohammed Nabus.
The narrative of this film, 13 Hours is powerful and will reach audiences far and wide. In which case, this blog is my effort to begin a rebuttal on this poor representation of Benghazi and its people. On the other hand, our narrative is still untold and neglected but will live in our souls, hearts, and memories. We will write our own story, which will convey our bright and dark history. We know Libya today has not been the same since 2012, and we know Libya is in a real crisis. However, many of us still believe in the origins of the Feb 17 revolution, even though it has now veered off- track. I will not only wait but also participate in the day when my Benghazi flourishes again.
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