From the mountains overlooking Derna in Libya, the vast blue Mediterranean Sea is veiled by a thick cloud of dust, a sign of the transformation of the city, which became a major construction site after being devastated, just over a year ago, by a flash flood. On the night of 10 to 11 September 2023, the collapse of two dams, filled with a record amount of water spilled by Storm Daniel, devastated part of this city of around 100,000 inhabitants, causing at least 5,923 deaths, according to the latest data from the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. A catastrophe that, in reality, still has no definitive assessment, with thousands of people still missing.
Along the maze of streets, new constructions are springing up here and there, as well as the rehabilitation of buildings affected by the floods. Two bridges will soon be completed, crossing the dry riverbed, a huge hole that divides the city, to prevent residents from plunging daily into the epicentre of trauma. At the foot of one of the constructions, hanging from a scaffold, is a huge portrait of Marshal Khalifa Haftar, head of the self-proclaimed “Libyan National Army” (LNA), which controls the east and south of Libyan territory. It reminds us who owns the place.
It was his son Belgacem Haftar who took charge of the Development and Reconstruction Fund, which was allocated 10 billion Libyan dinars (about 1.9 billion euros) by the Parliament of Benghazi (East). At 43 years old, this engineer by training presents a new facet of the family, that of business and investments, which contrasts with the military profiles of his father and two of his brothers, Saddam and Khaled, placed in command positions of the ‘ANL. Before an assembly of engineers gathered at the local headquarters of the fund – a brand new complex – Belgacem Haftar welcomed, on Monday, September 9, the progress of the works in Derna, estimated by him at 70%.
On the left bank of the river, the former heart of the city, Anweige Almasawari drives cautiously. A year ago, the Hchicha shopping street and its surroundings were buried under masses of rubble, trapping countless bodies. A gloomy silence still reigns there, but most of the rubble has been cleared away. “The fund reopened roads, unblocked the city and gave people hope”This father, a professor at the University of Derna, is pleased, but he is, however, moderately cautious about the announced progress: “70%? No, we are still very far from that.”
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