Egypt, Kuwait eye deeper ties as leaders discuss trade, Gaza reconstruction    Egypt issues commemorative stamps to celebrate historic Grand Egyptian Museum opening    Egypt, US, UN discuss worsening crisis in Sudan's Darfur region    Egypt advances phase II of $2m AfDB-funded Lake Victoria–Med corridor project    Oil prices drop slightly on Thursday    US cuts China tariffs to 47%    Gold price rise on Thursday    Egypt urges ceasefire in Sudan as EU denounces RSF brutality after El-Fasher's capture    Finance Ministry introduces new VAT facilitations to support taxpayers    Egypt to launch national health tourism platform in push to become Global Medical Hub by 2030    Al-Ahram Chemicals invests $10m to establish formaldehyde, derivatives complex in Sokhna    Omar Hisham Talaat: Media partnership with 'On Sports' key to promoting Egyptian golf tourism    CBE governor attends graduation ceremony of Future Leaders programme at EBI    Kuwaiti PM arrives in Cairo for talks to bolster economic ties    Counting Down to Grandeur: Grand Egyptian Museum Opens Its Doors This 1st November    Egypt, Medipha sign MoU to expand pharmaceutical compounding, therapeutic nutrition    Egypt establishes high-level committee, insurance fund to address medical errors    In pictures: New gold, silver coins celebrate the Grand Egyptian Museum    Pakistan-Afghanistan talks fail over militant safe havens    Sisi expands national support fund to include diplomats who died on duty    Al-Sisi reaffirms Egypt's commitment to religious freedom in meeting with World Council of Churches    Health Ministry outlines medical readiness for Grand Egyptian Museum opening 1 Nov.    Egypt becomes regional hub for health investment, innovation: Abdel Ghaffar    Madinaty Golf Club to host 104th Egyptian Open    LG Electronics Egypt expands local manufacturing, deepens integration of local components    Egypt medics pull off complex rescue of Spanish tourist in Sneferu's Bent Pyramid    Egypt Open Junior and Ladies Golf Championship concludes    Al-Sisi reviews final preparations for Grand Egyptian Museum opening    Egypt's PM reviews efforts to remove Nile River encroachments    Al-Sisi: Cairo to host Gaza reconstruction conference in November    Egypt will never relinquish historical Nile water rights, PM says    Al-Sisi, Burhan discuss efforts to end Sudan war, address Nile Dam dispute in Cairo talks    Syria releases preliminary results of first post-Assad parliament vote    Egypt resolves dispute between top African sports bodies ahead of 2027 African Games    Germany among EU's priciest labour markets – official data    Paris Olympic gold '24 medals hit record value    It's a bit frustrating to draw at home: Real Madrid keeper after Villarreal game    Russia says it's in sync with US, China, Pakistan on Taliban    Shoukry reviews with Guterres Egypt's efforts to achieve SDGs, promote human rights    Sudan says countries must cooperate on vaccines    Johnson & Johnson: Second shot boosts antibodies and protection against COVID-19    Egypt to tax bloggers, YouTubers    Egypt's FM asserts importance of stability in Libya, holding elections as scheduled    We mustn't lose touch: Muller after Bayern win in Bundesliga    Egypt records 36 new deaths from Covid-19, highest since mid June    Egypt sells $3 bln US-dollar dominated eurobonds    Gamal Hanafy's ceramic exhibition at Gezira Arts Centre is a must go    Italian Institute Director Davide Scalmani presents activities of the Cairo Institute for ITALIANA.IT platform    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



Tunisia remains ripe for change six months after Bouazizi
Tunisia is preparing for elections half a year after the self-immolation of Mohammad Bouazizi sparked the 'Arab Spring'

In Tunisia's Bourguiba Square, the walls are still covered with revolutionary slogans: “Down with the dictator,” “Freedom to Tunisian people,” “Ali Baba and the 40 thieves.”
Over six months have passed since revolts against regimes were instigated across the Arab world.
At first glance, one can see the youth of Tunisia still savouring their victory.Those who never dared to criticise the ousted president or even to chat quietly about politics now call him "the ousted" or the "dictator."
Mohammad Bouazizi was the 26-year-old street vendor in Tunisia who on 17 December, 2010 doused himself with what is believed to be paint thinner, lit a match and set himself on fire. His self-immolation was the first, highly-publicized spark in the blaze of revolts and toppled governments now being called “Arab Spring.”
To anyone sorting through the news that made it past Tunisia's ensuing media blackout, two things were immediately apparent. One was the surprising scale with which the protests had spread and the ensuing violent crackdown by security forces; second and more important was the underlying and widespread condition that caused the protests – unemployment.
The social and political conditions surrounding Bouazizi's actions were ripe, and the incident - setting himself on fire after being harassed by a policewoman who confiscated his selling cart and produce for not having a permit - was a powerful expression of the despair felt by many in Tunisia and across the region.
As the protests continued to spread and more people took to the streets, it was clear that unemployment was only one component of Tunisian popular grievances. Rising food prices, rampant corruption and the progression of violence in the government's crackdown all made up parts of the demonstrators' refrain as major political upheaval became their main demand.
Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, Tunisia's ousted president, fled to Saudi Arabia less than a month after protests started in Bouazizi's city, Sidi Bouzid.
"May be nothing in my daily life has changed, but it will - for the better," says a young man confidently strolling with friends on the street late last week. He says he will definitely vote in the October's elections.
In Algeria, Egypt and Mauritania, less than two days after Ben Ali's plane took off, more desperate self-immolators began to follow Bouazizi's lead. In Egypt alone, within a week of Ben Ali's ouster six individuals attempted to set themselves alight.
Many of the cases across the three countries incited sarcastic comments from a cynical public, but as cynical as Egyptians are (or were at that time), when Abdo Abdel Moneim – the first to self immolate in front of the Egyptian Council of Ministers – was ordered to undergo psychological checks a mental institution, the population took note of the textbook dismissal of dissent by Egyptian security.
Following in the footsteps of Tunisia, Egyptian citizens started protesting on 25 January calling for the fall of the regime. The three-decade strongman Hosni Mubarak was ousted less than a month after his Tunisian counterpart.
Mohammad Bouazizi wasn't the only Tunisian to commit suicide in protest. Lahseen Naji, another young man who electrocuted himself due to economic burdens, followed him. Another Tunisian, Ramzi Al-Abboudi, ended his life due to business debts.
Bouazizi's act has become the dominant expression of the revolutionary soul that took over the Arab political scene. Tamim al-Barghouti, a prominent Palestinian-Egyptian poet and political scientist, addresses Mohammed Bouazizi in his poem “Tunisia.” Assad Abu Khalil, a Lebanese political scientist and political commentator, writing on the counter-revolution in May, titled his article “Mohammad Bouazizi still burns.”
Instead of one ever-ruling party and five artificial opposition groups, Tunisia now has more than 90 new parties struggling to find a place on the political scene. The autumn vote for a constituent assembly - members of which will rewrite the constitution - will be monitored by international and local observers.
Electoral officials are planning to draw up new registries accurately listing seven million eligible voters out of a population of 10.7 million. The October election will be followed by presidential and parliamentary elections at dates to be determined later.
Until that date, millions of young men, workers and jobless people remain in a daily struggle to secure their bread. Sit-ins and strikes persist in revealing the new rebel spirit of Tunisia, where maintaining the ability to make fair demands is as vital as free elections.


Clic here to read the story from its source.