The bishop of Tripoli talks about Easter preparations in Libya's tiny catholic community. Eight people from Sub-Saharan Africa will be baptised during Easter Mass. Celebrations will take place during the day. Getting back to normal after 42 years of dictatorship and one year of civil war is a hard task.

Tripoli (AsiaNews) - "The presence of Christians is helping the Libyan people regain a sense of life through a supernatural look that favours reconciliation. Through their work in hospitals and assistance to the sick, Catholics show people burdened by hatreds and vendettas the beauty of forgiveness and impress upon them a desire to look forward," Mgr Innocenzo Martinelli, apostolic vicar to Tripoli, told AsiaNews.

"After about a year of civil war, the Christian community, mostly Filipinos and Sub-Saharan Africans, is reconstituting itself," the prelate said. "Sunday Masses, especially during Lent, are crowded. There is a great desire to get back to normal."

All celebrations during Holy Week will take place in daytime to avoid problems with local authorities, which are suspicious about activities held after dusk.

As Easter approaches, the Diocese of Tripoli is preparing the baptism of eight catechumen, all migrants from Sub-Saharan Africa.

"It is hard to ignore what has happened," the bishop said. "Although the situation in Tripoli is calm, 42 years of dictatorship and one year of war have left their mark on the population. Christians are in the service of these people; their task is to help the Libyan people get back to normal, by promoting dialogue among the various factions that came out of Gaddafi's fall."

"I urge all Christians in Libya to find unity again and bear witness to their faith amid the population, helping them look to the future with confidence, through the mystery of the risen Christ, the only path to overcome hatreds and violence."

The end of the old regime has brought to the surface old tribal rivalries. For many experts, Libya is still a 'non state' over which the leaders of the National Transitional Council (NTC), most of whom are former members of the old regime, still do not exert any power.

Fifty people were killed yesterday in Sabha, in southern territory of Fezzan, in clashes between the Tibu and Sabha tribes over control of the region.

Although the NTC sent 300 troops to quell the violence, they were unable to stop the fighting that broke out last Sunday.

In a report issued last month, Amnesty International detailed the crimes committed by militias that are still armed despite the end of the civil war and government orders to hand in weapons.

For the human rights organisation, thousands of such armed fighters are still roaming in the country without any control, killing, torturing and jailing people, tribes and communities linked to the Gaddafi clan, refusing to recognise the authority of the NTC.

More than 200 people, primarily migrants from Sub-Saharan Africa, are still being held in prison without trial. (S.C.)

• libya
• lent
• easter
• civil
• war
• christians