Uncertified Scoundrels Teaching the Public to Dive in Libya

[2airishuman]

Trying to do that but the international agencies don't have a practical way to do quality control remotely. Also, they, the dive training agencies, aren't always in a rush or very eager to take drastic measures, as I found out, to weed out their bad apples in an emerging market they are trying to keep their "hands in" unfortunately. Without divulging what I know, it all stinks from the roots to the top of the tree.

I think we're in vehement agreement about what's going on.

It is my view that this is part and parcel of 3rd world countries with weak rule of law. If you look around you'll find it's just as true in other disciplines there. Once they have bona fide doctors, judges, engineers, dentists, veterinarians, lab techs, teachers, etc., they can have a go at the dive instructors.

 

[BoltSnap]

In Tripoli, there is part of the old souk where firearms are laid out on plastic picnic tables. You can handle them, fire them, barter. Buy what you want, no problem. In Shar’a Jamal Abdul Naser there is a really nice atmosphere in the evenings, everyone out drinking coffee, the kids are playing with real, military grade, very powerful stun guns. Serious things, not like the cops have back home.

Not much worse than gun sales in the US actually

 

[undrwater]

No doubt it's the Finns.

(Sorry, couldn't resist, feel free to remove my post)

 

[BoltSnap]

EDIT: As an aside, when conditions on the ground are more secure, Libya is a must visit country. It’s fantastic. Good food, good people. It has archeology in abundance and over 1000 miles of totally undeveloped Mediterranean shoreline (and I mean undeveloped. For most of the coast the d sett sand dunes gently descend directly into the sea, no construction to be seen). With the right leadership, Libya will be challenging Egypt as a tourist destination.

You are 100% correct. We aren't only going to be a stiff competition to Egypt but to most other countries that have solid tourism industry based on what Libya has of antiquities, water sports, adventure tourism and incredible land scenery compared with the rest of North Africa and Middle East. We aren't going to compete with Egypt with coral reefs and pretty fish but we can compete in antiquities, shipwrecks and other artifacts underwater. In addition to shipwrecks that date from prehistoric times to modern wrecks of WWI and WWII and more recent sea disasters, we also have lots of antiquities buried underwater right by the seashore in less than 10 meters of depth. We have more ruins along the coastline than most other (if not all) countries on the Mediterranean. Libya has a 2000 Km coastline on the southern Mediterranean. Most of these antiquities are waiting to be documented and discovered.

 

[BoltSnap]

This is an example of capitalism gone wrong.

This is actually what socialism under 42 years of Qaddafie's rule taught us not capitalism.

 

[BoltSnap]

7.) If @BurhanMuntasser could push a button and at that instant "THIS" system was in place nationwide in Lybia, which system should that be to really help ckean up the situation?
How would that system actually it achieve that?

This part should be taken care of by the local Ministry of Youth and the many committees it has. They should publish some standards and regulations that would make it necessary for any instructor wanting to teach in Libya to register with them and submit a file with his "up to date" credentials and signs a simple documents stating that he will comply with the rules and standards of his international agency. These files and registration needs to be updated before the start of the new calendar year. I believe that Malta, Tunisia and some other countries have such system in place. We don't need to reinvent the wheel here, we can just copy from other countries that have such systems. We just have to be careful not to go too far with the regulations and control of the sport.

 

[BoltSnap]

USA’s wealth, plus USA litigenous society.
Here people can sue if you don’t document training and safety, and here people have something worth during for.
Is there any terror of being sued in Libya Scuba Businesses?

The system you mention in the US is the best system in general to deal with this issue actually. Better than "scuba police" concepts.

We don't have the sophisticated legal system in Libya as you do in the US now. Civil law suits for negligence and Mal-practice are barely starting to happen in the medical field.

 

[BoltSnap]

Once they have bona fide doctors, judges, engineers, dentists, veterinarians, lab techs, teachers, etc., they can have a go at the dive instructors.

Yes, the medical doctors with fake credentials issue is indeed an issue here.

 

[BoltSnap]

No doubt it's the Finns.

(Sorry, couldn't resist, feel free to remove my post)

It is a Finn conspiracy

 

[2airishuman]

Not much worse than gun sales in the US actually

In the US we have to fill out more forms.