Celebrating Xenophobia

As the Sicilia sailed into the Bay of Naples, its decks were crammed with 677 distraught and dispirited Italians, many of whom had never seen Italy before. They were part of a wave of refugees from Libya, where the military regime of Colonel Muammar Gaddafi is celebrating its first anniversary in power by expelling the last 6,000 members of an Italian community that numbered 25,000 only a year ago.

Shortly after Gaddafi and other young nationalist officers overthrew the regime of old King Idris on Sept. 1, 1969, Gaddafi reassured the Italians, who control most of Libya's small businesses and farms, that they would be treated well. But then he began to excite latent Arab resentment of the Italians, most of whom are descendants of settlers who came to Libya during the period from 1911 to 1943, when the country was under Rome's often avaricious rule. "The people have a holy spirit of revenge," cries Gaddafi. "They want back what the Italians usurped."

They are getting it back with interest, as the passengers of the Sicilia testified. For two weeks before their departure, they had been forced to stand in long queues at government offices, where they had to submit detailed inventories of their entire holdings. After Libyan authorities were convinced that the lists were accurate, they confiscated all the properties without so much as a single Libyan pound in compensation. Then the Italians were given exit visas and allowed to take with them only the personal belongings they could pack into suitcases and trunks.

Islamic Zeal. In Libya, other foreigners also sense increasing hostility. The twelve-man Revolutionary Command Council, of which Gaddafi is the leader, last June closed down the giant Wheelus U.S. Air Force Base near Tripoli and British bases at Tobruk and El Adem in eastern Libya. Police stop autos driven by foreigners and question them at length. Cyclists display an alarming proclivity for sweeping close to pedestrians in Western clothes. Many British and American oil company executives are now concerned enough to send their families home. Enrollment in the school for foreign children in Tripoli is expected to drop from 1,500 last term to only 700 this fall.

Along with xenophobia has come a surge of Islamic asceticism. All foreign language signs are banned, including street names. Tripoli hotels have had to buy new towels and table napkins to replace the old ones, which had English or Italian on them. Pork has been banned; so has alcohol (except for embassies and oil workers deep in the desert). A bootleg bottle of Scotch brings $20 and the risk of arrest.

Nasser's Friend. While Gaddafi has been discriminating against foreigners at home, he has been promoting pan-Arabism abroad. As an ardent supporter of Nasser, he has pushed himself into the inner councils of the Arab leaders. Two Arab high-level meetings have been held in Tripoli over the past three months. Gaddafi has publicly denounced

Baathist leaders in Baghdad and Damascus for continuing their feud in spite of the Israeli threat, and has criticized the fedayeen commando groups for lack of unity--while plying them with several million dollars in donations and training facilities in Libya.

Despite his fervent pan-Arabism, however, Gaddafi is careful to maintain Libya's assertive independence. Though he has bought more than 100 tanks from Russia, he has refused a Soviet request to establish a naval base at Tobruk that would serve Russia's Mediterranean fleet. British advisers still instruct Libya's small navy, and a dozen Libyan pilots are being trained in France to fly the 110 Mirage jet fighters that Gaddafi bought from Paris. The French may be asked to run the former U.S. air force base near Tripoli.

Endangered Oil. The price of xenophobic militance has been a crumbling economy. Chasing out the Italians meant losing most of the nation's skilled labor and business expertise. Tripoli's fashionable shopping area is half deserted because the Italian-owned shops have all been shuttered. Unemployment has risen to an estimated 20%. The regime's vacillation has held up housing projects; much of the urban population still lives in tin shacks. The regime is even tampering with the industry that provides 99% of the nation's earnings. It has ordered a cutback of 700,000 bbl. of oil a day, one-fifth of production, on the grounds that Libya's reserves are endangered. At the same time it has prodded the more than 40 foreign oil companies for fees that could raise the cost by more than 20%. If the companies fail to comply, they face the threat of nationalization.

Despite the economic setbacks, Gaddafi has not had to deal with serious opposition to date. He easily put down two attempts at a coup. For the time being, Libyans seem pleased with the outburst of aggressive nationalism.

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