Miraculous accidents

Transcript

In the mid-1970s my wife and I lived in Benghazi, Libya [1], near Garyounis University, where I taught English. Our neighborhood was very close to the Mediterranean coast highway. There were many high-speed car accidents, especially at night. Whenever we heard a crash, men in my neighborhood would run to the scene and try to help the victims. Usually someone driving a station wagon would stop. We'd put the victims in the backs of their cars, and they would dash to the nearest hospital. Some victims died at the scene, of course. That was hard to take, especially when they were very young. My neighbors and I cried together several times.

I also saw several miracles. A Pepsi-Cola truck overturned once, spilling a trail of broken glass bottles for several hundred meters. The crash was really loud, so we assumed that someone had been killed. But there were no injuries at all. After we found that the truck driver was okay, we all marveled at the beauty of the glass as it sparkled in the moonlight.

Once an oil well drilling pipe fell from a truck and bounced up into the cab of the truck behind it. The front wheels were lifted off the ground and the cab was mostly destroyed, but the two men in the truck were unhurt. The big, heavy pipe had passed between their heads, missing them each by a few centimeters. When we got to the scene, they were crying and laughing as they crawled down from their truck. We all celebrated the miracle of their escape. Several men knelt in prayer right there on the highway.

I have many memories of life in Libya, and I'll never forget the generosity of Libyan people. They were always willing to help others, including total strangers. But I was most impressed by their appreciation of life, and it was a great pleasure to share their joy and gratitude when people survived miraculous accidents.

Notes

1. The Benghazi City official Web site could not be reached 2007-06-10.