PHOTO: Bradley Hope/TheNational.ae
UCLA student Chris Jeon went to Libya to join the rebels and be part of their really cool revolution.
Dude, where’s the revolution?
A math student at the University of California-Los Angeles, Chris Jeon had been contemplating an Arab Spring break in Libya ever since nationwide protests began to loosen dictator Moammar Gadhafi’s grip on power.
“At spring break I told my friends a ‘sick’ vacation would be to come here and fight with the rebels,” Jeon told a perplexed reporter from the Christian Science Monitor, who had found the 21-year-old student, a non-Arabic speaker, encamped with a group of rebels in the desert.
Two weeks ago, Jeon purchased a ticket from L.A. to Cairo. He then traveled by bus over the Libyan border and into the action.
Unlike the scores of American college students with Libyan ancestry who have flocked back to the country to be a part of the movement to overthrow Gadhafi, Jeon has no ancestral ties to the region. Nor does he have any experience with firearms, or express any steadfast political views. Instead, Jeon’s motivation for joining the fight seems to have been born out of the desire to join in history as it was being made.
“This is one of the few real revolutions,” Jeon said. “I just thought I’d come check it out.”
The freedom fighters Jeon has hitched up with have dubbed him “Ahmed El Maghrabi Saidi Barga,” a collection of tribal names, and they’ve taken him in as one of their own, despite the language barrier. “How do you fire this thing?” he asked a rebel who handed him an AK-47 at one point, according to The National.
Jeon said that before school starts up again in late September he wants to push on and fight with the rebels should they make a final assault on Sirte, Gadhafi’s hometown and possible hideout. He took along his video camera to pick up some “great footage.” Barring the call of other global revolutions, Jeon is set to graduate this spring.
The prospect of being killed in the crossfire doesn’t seem to worry Jeon, even though an estimated 50,000 people have died so far in the fighting. In fact, Jeon realized his return to America wasn’t a sure thing, so he didn’t bother buying a round-trip ticket.
“If I get captured or something, I don’t want to waste another $800,” Jeon told The National.
Still, that doesn’t mean that Jeon is altogether without fear.
“Whatever you do, don’t tell my parents,” Jeon said. “They don’t know I’m here.”
@thedaily.com
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