Freedom Comes to Tunisia

Tunisia is a small country in northern Africa with strong ties to both the west and the Arab world. It's been known to be a good, sane negotiator between Israel and Palestine. It's a very popular tourist spot for rich Europeans. 99% of its population is Muslim. Islam is the official state religion and the president is required to be Muslim, but the constitution still guarantees one's right to practice any religion. The government is oppressive. It's certainly not as bad as many other Islamic states, but human rights issues are still a matter of concern. Newly released cables show that the U.S. was aware of, and ignored, the Tunisian government's mass corruption.

Last month, Tunisian authorities confiscated the produce cart of a street vendor named Mohamed Bouazizi. Bouazizi was unable to find any other employment to support his family, so he began selling fruit and vegetables. Authorities said he lacked the required permit, but there is no law that says street vendors need one. On December 17, left with no means of making a living, Bouazizi got a gas can and set himself on fire in protest. He was 26.



Fed up with decades of unemployment, poor housing, and restrictions on various freedoms, Tunisians have since been inspired by Bouazizi's death to take to the streets. The government has been shooting protesters. One rights group is saying 35 have been killed (Correction: Wikipedia says at least 78). A video I saw a short while ago showed a dead protester in a hospital who had been shot in the head. His skull was wide open and brains were everywhere. The situation has calmed down within the last week, and the protesters have remained very peaceful. The president fled the country and went into exile a few days ago, but the protesters are refusing to go home because the new government is stacked with politicians who have traditionally been allied with him. It's not over yet, but as far as revolutions go, this one went unbelievably smooth.

This guy from the Daily Beast makes a very good point that we shouldn't ignore: Tunisia's democratic revolution was not brought about because of U.S. military power. Democracy is a very good thing, but it doesn't send a very good message when it's brought to countries at gunpoint. Historically, people who have attempted to change cultures using violence have been called tyrants.

We're likely going to be seeing a lot more unrest throughout the Middle East in the coming years, similar to what we're seeing in Iran and Tunisia. Egyptians are already in the streets celebrating Tunisia's victory, chanting "We are next, we are next!" It's mostly because of a new generation that is sick and tired of its parents' divisive and oppressive methods. But we have to remember to be vigilant, and correct history as the neocons attempt to rewrite it. Mark my words, if this unrest escalates, and the idea of democracy becomes more popular throughout the Arab world, neocons will ignore the real reasons why it's happening, and instead point at Iraq. Bush sympathizers have been telling us for years to wait for history to judge him, as if they're expecting the entire middle east to look towards Iraq and succumb to democracy on their own. They're going to go back to the Vietnam-era "domino effect", and say it's all because George W. Bush showed the poor savages what democracy is. Ignorant brown people aren't smart enough to acquire freedom on their own, which Tunisia's example shows us is clearly wrong. It will only be another excuse to invade more countries to keep the military industrial complex rolling right along. They'll continue to treat democracy as the conquistadors treated Christianity.

I suppose the reason why I'm following this so closely is because I know someone from Tunisia. I worked with her at Camp Bunn last summer as part of some foreign exchange program. She's a couple years younger than me. She knew practically no English and was extremely homesick throughout the summer (boyfriend...). I wasn't around for this, but she had somewhat of a breakdown at one point. We did what we could to make her comfortable, like watch Ghostbusters with her in French subtitles (which she was fluent in). I bought her a French-English dictionary. She seemed like a cool person who was just very lonely. Thankfully, she did manage to open up a bit by the time camp was over with (she even hugged me when we said goodbye!). She messaged me on facebook out of nowhere a few weeks ago when the protests were just starting. I asked if she and her family were alright, and she assured me that they were fine. I didn't ask if she or anyone she knew have been taking part in the protests. I'm not sure if I wanted to know. Her profile picture has since been changed to this. Judging by the fact that most of her friends are using the same picture, I'm guessing it's imagery supporting the revolution.



Here's an Al Jazeera report from six days ago, it's the most recent one I could find. Al Jazeera has an awesome section of its website dedicated to Tunisia if you want to keep up with this. Contrary to what most Americans believe, Al Jazeera is not run by terrorists, and it's an extremely respectable news organization.