KANSAN.COM / THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN / THURSDAY, JANUARY 27. 2011 / NEWS
3A
INTERNATIONAL
Students reflect on impact of revolution in Tunisia
Social media captures new revelations on country's conflict.
BY ANGELIQUE
MCNAUGHTON
amcnaughton@kansan.com
For one student, the current revolution in Tunisia hits close to home, literally.
Fatma Ouaichouche's home is half-a-world away in Boumerdes, Algeria, west of the Republic of Tunisia. Her people have taken note of the situation and have begun protesting and organizing marches against a similarly oppressive government.
"Tunisia gave a good lesson for the Arab governments and the Algerian government," Ouaichouche said.
Until recently, the small, northern African country rarely made national headlines.
But 29 days after Mohammed Bouazizi, a 26-year-old impoverished street vendor, doused himself in paint thinner and proceeded to light himself on fire in the central town of Sidi Bouzid, a revolution began and the country was thrust into the limelight.
The ongoing revolution spurred by protests and street marches ultimately led to the collapse of the government of Tunisia and ended the 23-year-rule of President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali'. On Jan. 14, Ben Ali' imposed a state of emergency, disbanded the government and fled to Saudi Arabia leaving Mohammed Ghannouchi, the prime minister, to assume the role of interim president. Ghannouchi recently stepped down as well.
BOUAZIZI'S ACT OF PROTEST
Prior to Dec. 17, Bouazizi had already endured a lifetime of degradation. But on that particular day, police confiscated Bouazizi's food cart and proceeded to physically humiliate him.
After being refused a meeting with local officials, an angry Bouazizi set himself on fire outside of the local municipality building of the impoverished city where he lived. He died on Jan. 4 from his injuries sustained in the burning.
AN IMPENDING REVOLUTION
Bouazizi's frustrations highlighted those of an entire country. Goran Sabah Ghafour, a first-year journalism graduate student from Kurdistan, Iraq, referred to the protests as an "emotional explosion."
"People were already boiling because of what I call a 'fake secular regime'," Ghafour said. "When people saw the vendor, it was enough to explode."
Ghafour said that based on his experiences in Iraq, when a country is "down" and there is no government, the politicians and the people face the most difficult moment because nobody knows what to do.
Protestors run away from tear gas during clashes in Tunisia, Jan. 26. The clashes broke out in front of the prime minister's office as the government prepared to announce adjustments to its lineup. Hundreds of protesters are pressuring the interim government to get rid of allies of ousted President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali.
Ouiachouce said she felt it was predictable.
"This was a time that they said that's enough and we need change," Ouaichouche said. "The American government, I feel like they have protected the individual freedoms, but none of that is going on over there."
Ghafour said people were angry because "money, prosperity, life and everything" was for the family of Ben Ali' and his followers, not the people.
Tunisia's large, educated middleclass of doctors and lawyers have witnessed unemployment rates rise from 13.3 percent in 2009 to 14 percent in 2010 with no end in sight. Many students and recent college graduates, unable to find jobs, initiated the protests.
"If there were job opportunities, he wouldn't have been working as a vendor," Ghafour said.
SPRING BREAK JAMAICA
ASSOCIATED PRESS
HOW MUCH DID THE US KNOW?
The United States' knowledge of the concentration of power only became public after US Embassy cables were published on Dec. 7 by Wikileaks, the organization that discloses secret information.
Thirty-three members of Ben Ali's family were arrested and charged with "crimes against Tunisia."
A cable summary from June 23, 2008 signed by Robert Godec, the US Ambassador to Tunisia, states that "according to Transparency International's annual survey and Embassy contacts' observations, corruption in Tunisia is getting worse. Whether it's cash, services, land, property, or yes, even your yacht, President Ben Ali's family is rumored to covet it and reportedly gets what it wants." The summary cable concluded "with those at the top believed to be the worst offenders, and likely to remain in power, there are no checks in the system."
Once you go,
you know.
- JAMFEST
- Live Concertes
- VIP Parties
- Beautiful Beaches
- Cliff Jumping
- Spectacular Sunsets
THE ROLE OF SOCIAL MEDIA
Waves of protests followed Dec. 17 and word of what happened in Sidi Bouzid spread fast via the internet and social networks.
Social media outlets, such as Twitter, mobile phones and videos allowed news of the protest to reach every corner of Tunisia and inspired the title "Twitter Revolution."
A Facebook page titled "Mohammed Bouazizi the Tunisian HERO" was created on Jan. 14, the same day Ben Ali' fled the country and the government collapsed.
Barney Warf, professor of geography, researches the geography of internet censorship and said social
media practices about texting and Twitter are "democratizing gems that open up news outside the control of the state."
The Tunisian government was well known for their repressive practices and censorship of the internet but social media enabled the people to organize and publicize their struggle.
Warf cautioned that social media only serve as a platform and that "you can't say technology does something and the revolution follows."
"We really have to see social change and technological change as shaping one another". Warf said.
The internet's role in this revolution encouraged comparisons to the Iranian protests of 2009, dubbed the original "Twitter Revolution."
During the protest, social networking sites became the primary source worldwide for information and testimonials because of strict Iranian government censorship.
IMPLICATIONS FOR SURROUNDING COUNTRIES
The role of social media in the protests led Gordon Brown, the prime minister of the United Kingdom, to say in a June 2009 article in The Guardian that "foreign policy can never be the same again and it's all because of the internet."
The leaders of neighboring Arabic nations, Libya in particular, have said that they are worried about the impact of the Tunisian government collapse.
Ouaichouch sees this as a fight to ensure the "rule of the people" or democracy, which she sees as the "catalyst change for globalization."
Sharon O'Brian, political science professor, said she thinks there will potentially be major implications for countries such as Ouaichouche's home of Algeria.
"Globalization means you are going to open prison for us, for youngsters, for me and for these several countries," Ouaichouche said. "When I go back to Algeria, I feel like I am going back in time. KU students, we don't have the individual freedoms that you do."
months will be full of "drawbacks and shortcomings."
Following Tunisia and Algeria's lead, Egyptians are organizing an anti-government revolution and have created a Facebook protest event page. The page currently has more than 90,000 confirmed guests attending the Jan. 25 protest. According to Illume Magazine, the protest is against corruption, torture, poverty and unemployment.
"It's too early in terms of what and who's next," Gharfour said. "Will he or she be better than Ali'i or worse, that is the question."
FUTURE OF TUNISIA
While the future of Tunisia remains unknown, only time will tell whether the outcome of the revolution will in fact benefit Tunisians.
Ghafour said that he thinks it came too soon and without enough planning.
Both Ghafour and Ouaichouche stress that regardless of students' seperation from the fighting,
"If you don't have a good replacement, another bad one could come," Gharfour said.
Opposition to the interim government forced Ghannouchi to step down over the weekend as interim president. Tunisia will proceed with free elections in six months.
Americans need to take notice.
Gharfour said the ensuing
Not only for their own knowledge and benefit, but for the benefit of the oppressed.
"We need your support," Ouaichouche said.
Edited by Danielle Packer
Country Profile The Republic of Tunisia
Location: Northern Africa
Neighboring countries: Algeria to the West, Libya to the East
Capital: Tunis
www.STSTRAVEL.COM
Size: About 64,000 sq. miles (Slightly smaller than Wisconsin) Independence: French colonial rule ended in 1956
Population: 10.5 Million (CIA World Factbook)
Ethnic Groups: Arab 98%, European 1%, Jewish and other 1%
(GIA World Footprint)
Religion: 98% Muslim (CIA World Factbook)
Languages: Arabic, French
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