Libyan Rebels Skype With U.S. Students

By Kendra Srivastava | Mon Apr 18, 2011 1:37 pm

Libyan rebels used Skype to chat with students at Lehigh University on Friday, exemplifying how technology has helped broadcast the recent Middle East turmoil to the wider world.

The hour-long video conference, orchestrated by Lehigh student Issa Hakim, covered topics like the rebels' motivations and the type of government they would like post-revolution. The rebels spoke from Benghazi, Libya's second-largest city and the seat of the rebellion that started earlier this spring. Using Skype, they were able to hold live a conversation with their audience in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.

"This is real-time information. Whatever is happening in the streets is actually conveyed to you," said the translator, who requested anonymity.

Hakim, a 35-year old graduate student in mechanical engineering, recently went back to fight for his country and has since stayed in touch with his school via email and Skype. He's not alone, as many expatriates have joined the cause and broadcast their experiences to the world via YouTube and Twitter.

It's hasn't been easy, since Muammar Gaddafi's government has cracked down on cell phone and Internet communications. But rebels recently hijacked existing infrastructure to build "Free Libyana," a rogue network that allows freedom fighters to avoid routing calls through the capital of Tripoli, where they were being intercepted. The network means smoother field operations for the rebels and better chances of finding missing friends and relatives for everyone else.

Tunisian protesters who kicked off the Arab Spring were similarly tech-saavy, broadcasting live videos of events even before Al-Jazeera arrived. Egyptians followed their example until the Internet and phone networks were shut down in Cairo; despite this severe handicap they were able to oust Hosni Mubarak from power.

Twitter feeds in Bahrain are still alerting users about nearby violence, as they did during the Iranian unrest last year.

Skype, cell phones, Twitter and YouTube videos have not only brought the Middle East conflicts to living rooms halfway across the world, they have personalized the fighting to a degree rarely possible in standard reporting. For the first time ever, people like the students at Lehigh have access to unfiltered accounts of the conflicts.