This article is from page 20 of the 2011-12-06 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 20 JPG
NEARLY 55 years to the day after Shannon first played host to refugees fleeing from Hungary, the airport was back in the international limelight on Sunday when a group of Libyans arrived for special medical treatment in Ireland.
The 14 casualties from the bitter civil war that finally brought an end to Muammar Gadafi’s regime arrived in the airport to a rousing welcome from over 80 members of the Libyan community in Ireland.
“These men are the freedom fighters who freed our country,” said the director of the Libyan Health Office in Ireland, Dr Amina Gsel, who is a Galway-based consultant.
“They are mostly young professionals, including doctors and engineers, and we are delighted we can do something for them. The Irish Government has been fantastic.
“I consider Libya and Ireland my countries and today is a very important day for Libyans in Ireland and the rest of Libyan society that we are doing this for our freedom fighters,” he added.
The Libyan Health Office in Ireland was set up in recent months to organise treatment and care for people in the wake of the civil war.