‘Historical artifacts’: Man receives his 2010 order after 16 years of waiting, but nobody expected what was inside the boxes

A phone seller in Libya finally got his Nokia mobile phones in 2024, but he ordered them way back in 2010. The phones took 16 years to arrive because of the civil war that started in the country and the mess that followed. The devices sat in warehouses all this time because shipping routes broke down, customs offices stopped working properly, and security became a major problem after the war began in 2011.

The shopkeeper had ordered these Nokia phones when the brand was still one of the biggest names in mobile phones. But once the civil war started, everything fell apart. The shipment got stuck and nobody knew where it was for years. Eventually, people just forgot about the order completely.

When the boxes finally showed up at his store after all these years, the shopkeeper couldn’t believe it. According to Haberler, he opened them up and joked, “Are these phones or historical artifacts?” Someone recorded the moment and shared it on social media, where it quickly spread and got a lot of attention.

This delivery shows how war disrupted normal life in Libya for over a decade

The Nokia phones that arrived were the classic button models; the ones that used to be everywhere before smartphones took over. Compared to the sleek, touchscreen devices we carry today, they looked like relics from another era. Their small screens, chunky buttons, and long-lasting batteries were a stark reminder of how far technology has come.

The delayed delivery actually shows something much more serious. It demonstrates how the war and ongoing instability in Libya have affected even the most basic parts of daily life. While this shopkeeper waited over a decade for phones, other people have faced terrifying security threats through their devices, showing how technology creates both problems and solutions in modern life.

Libya has been grappling with conflict and uncertainty since 2011, and this story brings that ongoing reality into focus. The civil war didn’t just leave behind immediate destruction; entire cities were torn apart, infrastructure crumbled, and lives were upended. Its impact has been far more enduring, creating political instability, economic struggles, and social divisions that continue to affect the country today.

This strange incident proves that wars create losses that go far beyond what we see in news reports. Sometimes the effects show up in unexpected ways, like a phone order from 2010 arriving in 2026. Much like the world’s most awkward delivery experience, unexpected situations can turn ordinary moments into unforgettable stories. These unusual stories help us understand just how deeply conflict can disrupt normal life, even years after the fighting begins.