23 January 2019

Haaretz: In Tunisia, the Revolution Succeeded - but Where Is the Dignity?

However, the deep unemployment, standing at over 15 percent (and much higher among young people), the lack of jobs for college graduates and the meager salaries stoke frustration and rage, and people are already talking about the need for another revolution.[...]

Video clips posted on YouTube by the Tunisian website “Without a Mask” show that public rage is not restricted to young educated Tunisians who can express their protest on social networks. Older citizens, owners of small businesses, government workers and students are all united in feeling that the revolution did not attain its minimal demands. The price of meat is spiking, vegetables and fruit are becoming luxury items, the standard of education is low, clinics are poorly equipped – these are the issues that are on the minds of Tunisians. [...]

The civil insurrection in 2011 did bring about a coup, but this did not turn into a revolution that changed the standard of living, or gave people a life of dignity. However, it created an active and kicking public opinion that obliges the government to take it into account. Critical video clips could not be published during the era of the deposed president, who was perceived by the West as an ally. Internet users in cafés were under strict surveillance, at risk of being arrested.

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