A political refugee from Libya turned Central Ohio businessman is organizing more local demonstrations to keep attention focused on his homeland. WOSU's Tom Borgerding reports.
As Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi vowed to stay on, 46 year-old Homdi Soliman of Columbus repeatedly dialed a cell phone number in Libya. Soliman is organizing demonstrations this week for those who support Lybian protestors trying to overthrow Gadhafi.
"By us being here in Columbus we're showing our family and friends the solidarity between us and them."
On the third try, Soliman gets a connection with Abo Abdullah on a cell phone near Tobruk in eastern Libya where Abdullah says the protesters are in control of several cities. Abdullah says in the past two days, hundreds of protesters were killed in nearby cities of Banghazi and Al Bayda.
"Banghazi was a massacre and Bayda was a massacre too the first day."
Abdullah says communication remains a major problem for protesters, except for the intermittent cell phone access. Another anti-Gadhafi demonstration is scheduled Friday in Columbus. Tom Borgerding WOSU News