Our Jadi: how marriage with a Libyan helped Belarusians to love their homeland

This story is about the life of a Minsk woman who married a Libyan citizen who returned to Belarus after five years of living in a war-torn country. About how the international family settled in Minsk – in the material of the correspondent of the agency “Minsk-Novosti”.

About her

The beginning of the story of Khaled and Yana is very similar to the plot from the world-famous TV series “Clone”. True, our Belarusian met not a clone, but a Libyan guy. And their first meeting took place on the Internet.

- Since my teenage years, I have been interested in Eastern themes. The Clone series was popular then, but I don’t think it influenced my worldview. I just liked the Eastern dances, religion, culture. At the age of 16, I enrolled in Arabic courses at MSLU and was one of the best students there. And I was engaged in belly dance, said Yana.

The girl was born in Minsk and always lived in the capital, studied as a linguist and at first taught English to children at school.

She met her husband Khaled at the age of 19.

- I looked at a map of the world and suddenly found Libya. I read about this country and decided I was going to live there. How exactly? I didn't know. But she was determined. So I was very surprised when I saw a message from a Libyan guy in a “personal” message. Thoughts are material!

About him

Khaled is 9 years older than Yana. He's from El Jufra. His mother spent all her life in the household, after marriage she raised 10 children. Dad was the hospital director. My parents have always had a very warm relationship, Khaled said. He received higher education in the field of IT-technologies at the Libyan University. He then graduated from graduate school in Malaysia. By the time I met Yana, I had already headed the university where I studied earlier. He planned to go to doctoral studies and was, as they say, a respected person with connections.

- I never planned to emigrate, but I always said I would have a non-local wife. Apparently, he had a foreboding, Khaled recalled his young years. I once saw in my news feed a pretty girl on an avatar. I decided to write her the standard "Hello" in English. “How are you?” she answered, and the correspondence began.

Love from the beginning

At first, neither of the two was serious about virtual dating. But the mutual interest and friendly vibe both felt from the first lines.

- I told Khaled right away that it was crucial for me when the guy first took a step forward. So he had to go to Belarus to get to know me and my parents. But by then the war had already begun in Libya, and we knew that he would probably not be allowed into our country. It was 2012. Then my future husband said: “Even if I am not allowed in, I will still fly to Minsk and return home.” And you will see that I can keep my word.”.

Yana's parents were initially against dating an Arab groom.

- It so happened that my sister was already married to a Turk, and her marriage failed. My mother said, “We have enough foreigners.” But then, when everyone met, Khaled was quickly impressed with sympathy. And yes, he was allowed into Belarus. It was an exceptional case!

The young married in the capital’s Wedding Palace and immediately left for Libya.

Life away from home

- I seemed to have a real Eastern “fairy tale” like Jadi: a bright, colorful life with a smart and wealthy Muslim husband. But in reality, because of the war in Libya, my life had nothing to do with the series about Jadi, she said.

Five years of life in the East became the most difficult period for Belarusians. Bombing, lack of fuel, communication, water and light... Upon returning to her homeland, the girl admitted that she had been recovering for a long time, and now she endlessly thanks fate for the hot water that flows from the tap. And especially for a peaceful sky.

- I was very worried if I will be able to settle down in Belarus, Khaled admitted. I am responsible for my family. Starting from scratch in a foreign country, when you are far from eighteen, is difficult. But I could not torture my pregnant wife in a war-torn country with poor living conditions. So just believing it would work out, I came here.

At first, the Libyan family had to live with Yana’s parents. Despite being unable to speak the same language, Khaled managed to make friends with relatives.

- We quickly came up with a way of communicating: somewhere on my fingers, somewhere I remember the English word. He's so smiling! And no matter what happens, everything answers the same: “Halyasho!”, said Yana’s mother.

Soon Yana inherited an apartment. There the family moved to a permanent place of residence.

Khaled worked as the director of a school for foreigners at the Embassy of Libya. Then the institution closed, and began a painful search for his business: car washing, coffee vending ... It was difficult for a foreigner with poor knowledge of Russian to find a job. But today Khaled already has a small food business.

Strong family ties

Very often, Slavic girls find it difficult to live with a husband from a distant country. Fortunately, Jana managed to find an understanding with her foreign husband.

- My wife fit perfectly into Libyan life while we lived there, Khaled said. She found a common language with my relatives. Her sisters often asked for makeup, eyebrow correction. Yana's good at it. She even has an account with videos that have racked up millions of views.

Yana immediately accepted Islam. I said I wanted to do it before I met my husband, but I didn’t feel the time

- I've always believed in God. But because of her character, she felt the need for some special religious rigor. Found her Muslim. My parents took it easy. Although they themselves profess Christianity.

Multilingual family

Yana and Khaled have been in Belarus for 8 years. They have three sons. The eldest 7 years old, he is in the second grade and does trampoline sports at the Olympic reserve school. The second son will be 4 years old in winter. Next year, too, will be engaged on trampolines: the selection was held, it is assigned a place. Both children are bilingual: they speak Russian and Arabic equally well. English is also well understood, as parents communicate mainly in it.

“Khaled never managed to master Russian perfectly,” Yana said. And now, when the eldest child began to learn Belarusian, the husband has to get used to this language. Especially fun when it comes to memory poems!

The third son was born in early 2026, he is 9 months old.

Their traditions

Back in Libya, Khaled was seriously fond of football, he was even offered to teach children. But one day he was injured while training and then decided to pursue a career in education. Having moved to Minsk, the man did not abandon his sports hobby and played every week as part of the football club “Diplomat”.

- I was offered to participate in friendly matches even on a republican scale. I loved playing with the Rodina Club. It included well-known Belarusians, I managed to meet many people. I'm not playing now because the injury makes itself felt.

Because of the young sons, the spouses do not have enough time for each other. It is a tradition that a wife always waits for her husband after work.

- I can come home very late, but she won't sleep. He'll make tea and wait. Then we talked about something for a long time.

On Fridays, the father of the family takes his children to the mosque for prayer. After that, everyone goes out for lunch. And in the warm season, the family often goes out of town for kebabs.

- Belarus is a beautiful, clean country, Khaled said. My family feels safe here. That's the point. We are not planning to move anywhere else. I will continue to work here and provide for my family. I also want to educate my children so that they grow up to be worthy members of society.

For personal reasons, the family did not name the children and refused to show pictures of their faces.

Photo from the interviewee archive