( CNN ) -- Hassan Addahoumi fled Libya in the late 1970s , driven from his homeland by the hard-line tactics of Moammar Gadhafi . More than 30 years later , his son has returned and is watching what could be the longtime leader 's collapse . `` He 's going to be part of the history , '' Addahoumi said about his son , Sammi , who is in the rebel hub of Benghazi . `` This is our dream come true . '' Addahoumi spoke to CNN from his home in Columbia , South Carolina , where he said he was glued to news about Libya . The nearly 42-year rule of Gadhafi appeared on the verge of collapse early Monday , with rebel supporters making it to the same Tripoli square where regime loyalists had congregated for months . Addahoumi said he left his country after studying law in Benghazi . `` The regime was very , very tough , '' he said . `` If you stayed there , you had to be in either the prison or the cemetery . '' Over the years , Addahoumi said he has returned to Libya from time to time and that he wishes he could be there now . `` I wish I could be part of this history , '' he said . A part of him is . Addahoumi 's son , Sammi , sent CNN an iReport from Benghazi that showed video of large , boisterous crowds in the city 's Freedom Square as developments played on a large screen . He also spoke to CNN by phone . `` The spirits are quite high , '' said Sammi , 28 , a deli manager . `` Everyone is expecting Tripoli to fall . '' He said he has spent time off and on in Libya since 2005 . Every summer , he tries to spend at least a month there , he said . Watching the uprising , which he called `` 42 years in the making , '' Sammi said he was filled with joy . `` It 's exhilarating , '' he said . `` And it 's also a lot of anticipation ... will Libya stay together ? '' An ocean away , his father voiced confidence . He said Libyans have the resources they need to build the country and that they will do it , piece by piece . `` This is the best thing that could have happened to us , '' Addahoumi said . `` Libya is going to be a new nation . '' CNN 's Greg Botelho and Dana Ford contributed to this report .
Sammi watches news of his native South Carolina from South Carolina . His son , Sammi , is in the rebel hub of CNN . Hassan Addahoumi says the Libyan uprising has been ` 28 in the making ''