Fidaa Al-Agib

I remember realizing what it truly feels like to be a foreigner. It numbed my senses and was biting. When the Libyan government decided to grant its students school supplies, the teacher affiliated with handing out the supplies chose to walk right past me as she handed out colored notebooks to the rest of my classmates.

My name is Fidaa Al-Agib, and I am a Sudanese broadcaster and a media personality.

The reality of being a foreigner had never been consuming before that moment since I was born and raised in Al-Zawia, surrounded by the love and devotion of my neighbors. So I've never felt like I'm a stranger around them.

At the age of four, my dad's friend used to carry me on his shoulders and take me to the nearest radio station. My regular visits and my fascination with the media world created a spark within me that I held dearly onto; to make my dream of being a broadcaster come true.

Because of my career in media, which took off in 2001, I've been through many experiences in different places. One was overseas when I got a job opportunity to work as a broadcaster in Iran. The difficulties I ran across there made it a dreadful experience. I had a hard time adjusting, but the most painful aspect of that experience was the nagging sense that I didn't belong anywhere. So, with an ardent soul and spirit, I returned to Libya.

Hence, I returned to Libyan radio programs and to the Libyan audience who welcomed me with an open heart whilst I was presenting social programs discussing Libyan family issues; it was then that I began to realize what "spiritual belonging" really meant; after many years of having intrusive thoughts about identity!

I was born in Sudan but feel more at home in Libya than elsewhere because belonging somewhere does not require identification papers. Instead, because of my love for Libya since I was born and the ache I feel whenever there is a greater physical separation between us.