During a June-July visit to Libya, I arrived to find that daily life in my home country has become even more depressing than it had been the year before. Tripoli no longer has an airport. It was destroyed in August 2014 during the battle for control of the capital between Islamist-backed Misrata militias and fighters from Zintan militias.

An alternative airport, Mitiga, carved out of a former military base, serves direct flights from Algeria, Jordan and Turkey, but their unreliability makes the better option to fly into Djerba, the tourist resort in southern Tunisia, and then continue the journey overland. During this most recent visit, unlike previously, there were few tourists in Tunis because of this year's terror attacks in Tunis at the Bardo National Museum and Sousse, a beach town. In the past, the drive from Djerba to Tripoli usually took less than three hours, including the time wasted at the notorious security checkpoints inside Tunisia. Now, it can take up to 10 hours, so I was lucky to have made it in only seven. 

Taxi drivers in Djerba will no longer drive all the way to Tripoli. One Tunisian driver, Zubir, told Al-Monitor, “It is not safe anymore. I have not been to Tripoli since January 2011.”

Because of the security situation in Libya, no Tunisian or even Libyan dares risk driving the entire distance. As a result, travelers have to take three different taxis to reach the Libyan border. Right before the border checkpoint, passengers must get out of the vehicle and walk into Libya.