SOCIALIST LABOUR PARTY YOUTH. >From the 13th to the 21st of September the Jamahirya society in Libya organised their annual General Youth camp, this one being the ninth. 3 of us attended the camp, Bethane Marshall, Dan Glazebrook and myself. It was also attended last year by SLP both Youth and non Youth, you may remember the report in spark This year it was held in a small place called Algarhbolli, which is quite a nice location just by the sea, about 45 minutes drive from Tripoli. The youth camp brought a mixture of people together, the majority of participants being from Europe but with a few from Canada, the US and South Korea. There were also African students who were studying in Tripoli who gave some insight into their experiences in their countries and their comparisons with Libya. The attendance of a number of Libyan students, along with those that were organising the camp, gave the opportunity for discussions about how the Jamahirya society actually worked in practice. It also brought a lot of Libyan life to the camp, with regular evenings of singing Arabic songs on the beach. Staying in dormitory based accommodation, with a large dining area and lecture room, the atmosphere was superb with all the groups enjoying the Libyan culture of singing songs as well as taking part in the serious discussions. The camp brought everyone together in a good political environment but with the relaxed and enjoyable characteristic that allowed everyone to get along with each other. Each day was started with a lecture in the morning followed by discussion groups, where smaller numbers of people would talk about the issues raised in the lecture. Lectures were based around topics such 'Democracy in Crisis' , 'Socialism', 'Human Rights', 'the Environment' and 'Globalisation' for example. The lectures followed by the discussion encouraged people to take part in the camp, sharing experiences and looking at the common traits in each of our struggles. The discussions were done on a round table basis where there would be a coordinator who would maintain some structure to the discussion, on the whole the discussions opened out and were contributed to by a large number of the participants. The groups allowed for the ideas that the lecture raised to be illustrated, argued or debated. The examples of how the Jamahirya has developed and solves the problems raised in the debates about democracy and justice for example, during its 31 years in existence, gave a different view of concrete experiences based on the ideas that were being discussed. Along with the lectures that were held there was also a program of trips. We visited the ancient Roman ruins at Leptus Magnus, which was an immense experience just to see such a large area of Roman ruins still in some form. There was also a trip to the house of Qadaffi that was bombed in 1986 by the US, in which his youngest daughter, a mere child, was killed and the rest of his family injured. It was a shocking example of the damage caused by the so-called 'peace keepers'. We had the opportunity to see a Mathaba, the forum where the Revolutionary Committee Movements meet and discuss the issues in their area or workplace. This is all combined with the obligatory visit to the capital Tripoli where we were able to see the Museum and also the markets. The camp was a good experience for all that attended to see the progress being made in Libya by the Jamahirya society and to discuss its ideas and basis. It also gave participants the ability to discuss about the differences and similarities between their own countries and help to realize that we all have a common enemy and that it requires unity to defeat it. The camp was a useful and enjoyable experience and I would encourage people to attend the camp next year. It is a good chance to forge links with different countries and form some sort of solidarity between other organisations. When we were out there we made some good links with some African students who were very keen to keep the contact between SLP and organisations I their countries. We also continued the contacts that had been established which the SLP youth members had created last year. It was also a good for developing your individual knowledge and to experience another system and discuss it was definitely beneficial. Hope that's useful Comradely greetings Katt P.S. Sorry it is not more in depth, being back at uni is taking it's toll!
