Libyan citizens, men, women and children came out into the streets to celebrate the first anniversary of their freedom from oppression

Despite the negative reporting by Western media on the situation in Libya and this media’s claim of lack of security in the country, over seven million flags have been raised over the vast territory and in all the country's cities and towns to mark the first anniversary of February 17 uprising against the most brutal dictator who ever ruled the country for 42 years.

In this country of 5.5 million people, hundreds of thousands of people including men, women, old and young, and children, rushed to the streets of each and every city to celebrate the newly found freedom with real emotions and a strong belief that their beloved country has at last been liberated.

They all carried more than one flag to express their joy and pay homage to the many martyrs who sacrificed their lives in order to get rid of a the most despicable ruler, Gaddafi.

Never before have Libyans adored or held high a flag as they have done during the past few days.

Not surprisingly, as the flag is that of the Libyan independence after decades of Italian colonialism. But what has made it rise to prominence in the hearts of Libyans during the past year is the high price of blood that so many young people were prepared to shed as they tried to raise it over buildings or on flagpoles.

There are many stories of men and women who died as they were holding the flag in one way or another. There is the story of a young woman from Tajoura, a suburb of Tripoli, who died as a result of torture after Gaddafi forces (kataib) found her sewing the flag of independence in secret inside her home.

Another young man was killed by Gaddafi snipers on the day the revolutionaries entered Zawia from Zentan as he climbed a tall building to raise the flag declaring the city of Zawia liberated from Gaddafi's oppression for the second time in six months.

Another young man in Zwara, in western Libya, was also shot dead by a sniper as he was raising the flag on a building during the early days of the revolution in February last year.

The blood-stained flag that he held so close to his bleeding heart after being shot was presented to his mother to keep it and show to her grandchildren.

Such spirit of victory, belongingness, pride and loyalty to the homeland has never befoe been experienced by such a great majority of the Libyan people since independence in 1951, especially among the youth who lived all their lives under the oppressive rule of the former dictator.

Despite foreign media exaggeration of rare isolated incidents of gun-fire here or other incidents resulted from personal disputes, Libya is a safe place. The celebrations and crowds everywhere around the country prove the secure atmosphere, positive attitude and the state of happiness all over the country.

“It is really something unusual to see Libyans spontaneously celebrating a nation and a flag, and most of all the newly-found freedom and democracy,” a Libyan man told The Tripoli Post.

“They (Libyans) really feel good. We have never seen the country in such a way for more than five decades, perhaps since the day of independence on on December 24, 1951,” he added.

Those who attended the celebration on Friday in Tripoli told The Tripoli Post that the surprising thing is that there was no celebratory gun-fire as has been the norm since the liberation of Tripoli form the oppressive Gaddafi forces on August20, 2011.

This indicates that in contrast to foreign media reporting, the revolutionaries, many of whom have already joined the Ministry of Defence and Ministry of Interior have become rather disciplined and obeyed orders not to fire in the air during the celebrations. Thousands of others who carried guns also showed such an impressive discipline during this day of huge celebrations.

This is rather a positive development that also indicates that a transformation in the mentality of many Libyans has begun less than four months since Libya was declared liberated in October.