The Jasmine Revolution of Tunisia: A Review

Tunisia Revolution

The uprising and massive public outrage in Tunisia has been triggered by series of events which led to the downfall of president Zein El Abidine Ben Ali, who ruled the country for 24 years. Ben Ali took refuge in Saudi Arabia.

The increase in corruption, unemployment, inflation and poor living conditions for the middle urban community was getting more and more frustrating and people were looking for consolation.

The suicide of a 26 year old fruit vendor Mohamed Bouazizi who could not find job after graduating and had to sell fruits and vegetables on streets and was humiliated by the police for not having a legal permit to sell fruit, sparked massive demonstrations, fury and anger amongst youth like him.

This was the boiling point for unemployed youth who turned to streets and demonstrations and protests spread across the country.

The uprising resulted in country-wide riots, violence and looting. Finally, Army was deployed to control the situation.

Tunisian revolution, also termed as Jasmine Revolution (Jasmine is the national flower of Tunisia), has a great impact on its neighboring countries in like Algeria, Yemen and Egypt. The uprising against a dictator who ruled with iron fist for two decades has sent a strong message to all the authoritarian governments where citizens are deprived of basic civil and human rights, where youth are suffering from unemployment, where corruption is soaring, where rich are getting richer and poor are getting poorer, and violence and injustice prevail.

Image: Iqra.ca


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