1/7/2024 0 Comments Thessa mloe instagram“It was better under Ben Ali,” he interjected from behind his fruit and vegetable stall in Sidi Bouzid. However, Abdessalam Bouazizi, 31, another cousin of Mohamed who used to sell fruit with him, regrets that he participated in the demonstrations. “If he hadn’t done what he did, we might still be living under Ben Ali.” “I wish that Mohamed was still alive, but I don’t think his death was in vain,” he said. Ali Bouazizi is one of them – even though he is still proud that the Arab Spring began in Tunisia, and in his city at that. Symbol of national unity’ Īlthough some observers regard Tunisia as the only success story of the Arab Spring, many Tunisians have been deeply disappointed by what they say is a lack of change. The government building in front of which Mohamed set himself aflame is adorned with his picture and the words ’17 December revolution. To commemorate his deed, a monument of a stone cart has been erected next to the building, along with a huge image of Mohamed. Today, the road in Sidi Bouzid that had been called Rue 7 Novembre 1987 – after the date Ben Ali seized power – has been renamed Mohamed Bouazizi Avenue. On this same road stands the provincial government building in front of which the fruit vendor set himself aflame. READ MORE: Extinguishing the flames of the Arab Spring “They beat my head, my hands and my back until I passed out.” Four days later, Ben Ali fled the country, after having held power for 23 years. “In prison, they blamed me for everything that had happened,” he said. Just days later, on January 4, 2011, Mohamed died in hospital.Īli Bouazizi filmed the funeral, and the protests started up again. Soon afterwards, the police turned up at his supermarket to arrest him, but he managed to escape. “I knew he was also talking about me,” Ali said. On December 28, 2010, Ben Ali gave a televised speech, laying the blame for the unrest on foreign TV broadcasters who had paid people to tell fabricated stories, and declaring that the troublemakers would be found and severely dealt with. Two years before that, Ali participated in a demonstration for the release of political prisoners, and as a result spent four days in prison himself. In June of that year, he and 30 members of his family, including Mohamed and Salah, protested against the government policy of confiscating land if people were unable to repay their loans. “Of course I was hesitant, as I was taking a huge risk. The Tunisian media was completely controlled by the government. “I was convinced that the only way things would change was to get the international media involved,” he said. On the evening of December 17, he posted a video to Facebook called The Intifada of the People of Sidi Bouzid. Protests broke out across the city the same day, and Ali filmed the events. When Ali arrived at the government building on December 17, 2010, his cousin was just being rushed to the hospital with third-degree burns. Instead, he earns a living from his olive trees, some business in real estate and his supermarket.Īli wanted to be a lawyer, but due to his opposition activities, he was unable to get a job in his field But because of his activities in the opposition as part of the secular Progressive Democratic Party, he was unable to get a job in his field. READ MORE: How Tunisia’s revolution beganĪli, who is married with three young children, originally intended to be a lawyer, and graduated from university with a law degree. Suicide is forbidden in Islam. “What he did was not right,” his cousin said, “but I understand why he did it.” When he went to the provincial government to complain, he was not allowed inside the building. A policewoman allegedly slapped him and insulted his deceased father. The police had confiscated Mohamed’s scales because he refused to pay a bribe. “Perhaps he thought that he might be better off dead than living under such conditions.” “I had been like his older brother, and I felt tremendous guilt that I hadn’t been able to do anything to change his mind,” Ali admitted. It came as a huge shock to hear that Mohamed was the one who had set himself on fire. Ali Bouazizi stands beside a stone monument to his cousin, Mohamed Bouazizi, in Sidi Bouzid
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