Tunisian revolution not unexplained

Submitted by Peter Clark (Tunisia), Jan 18, 2011 at 02:36

Having lived in the Arab world for more than 13 years now, and in Tunisia itself - not the capital - for nearly 5, I want to disagree your initial statement; the departure of President Zain Abidine Ben Ali (and his wife's family) is not unexplained, but patently clear, so much so that it needs little explanation - so I will give little:

After years of oppression, repression and theft, Tunisians have blown their top. When Mohamed Bouazizi stood in front of the City Hall he was reacting to the consequences of the theft: a major reason that there is so little work is because a successful business is usually forced to sell out to the President's in-laws, and becomes a money-tree, rather than a basis of the country's economy.

He was reacting to the oppression of the police, sent by the municipality, to confiscate the vegetables that he was selling. These same authorities refuse to pay the social security, or hospital fees that they are owed, or other remittances, unless they are willing to pay a kickback to those who aer supposed to give it to them. This can mean that a crop does not get planted, that further surgery is not performed, that the family falls into poverty through loss of income, etc.

He was reacting to the repression, that gives him no recourse, except through the very people that have been stealing from him, threatening him, and preventing him even from compensating for these offences by a little self-initiative..

The uprising was spontaneous because ALL Tunisians identify with this - all but those who share power, even as they disagree with the President, since they cannot afford to say so. It was spontaneous because they respondedto his self-immolation in grief, frustration and eventually, town by town, from city to city, until Tunis itself exploded.

And for the future. We had a quiet night last night. We hope this calm spreads from here in the provinces, to Tunis, which has more to deal with, the President's in-laws and personal defence force, continuing to fight, having lost their powerful protector.

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