Nearly 10% of Libyans are Amazigh, and General Gaddafi's ban on the use of the Berber language brought its use to a screeching halt. For example, in the city of Zouara, teachers have ordered specific Berber textbooks from Morocco, to have teach the language to their pupils.
For the youngest children, who did not experience life under Gaddafi, "it is just a natural right to learn their mother tongue and they don't imagine that anyone can forbid them," observes Assirem Chouachi, a graduate of the first Libyan class of Tamazight, awarded last year by the University of Zouara (quoted by Al Mayadeen).
Some radio stations and other media outlets are using the language again, such as Kasas FM, a Berber-speaking national radio station broadcasting from Tripoli.
Photo: copyrights Al Mayadeen.