Midnight in Tunisia

5/3/11

Last Thanksgiving Day, I had no idea that my feet would be standing on soil that would be radically transformed in just a matter of days.  One of the stops on our cruise was a port in Tunis—the capital of a small African country called Tunisia.  Our stay there was short and rather unremarkable, but what happened in the days following our visit would change the face of history.  With an unemployment rate near 30% in Tunisia, a recent college graduate resorted to selling fruit & vegetables from his wheelbarrow to make money.  Government workers repeatedly harassed the man and would confiscate his wheelbarrow, produce and scales.  They often wanted bribes that he could not and would not pay.  The young man pleaded that his stuff be returned to him.  When it wasn’t, the young man set himself on fire to protest his continued mistreatment by the government.  This happened in mid-December—three weeks after my visit.  The man suffered burns on 90% of his body and eventually died.  When other Tunisians heard what happened, they took to the streets to protest.  Despite the government’s efforts to quell the protests, the demonstrators grew larger, louder and angrier demanding an end to then-President Ben Ali’s crooked and corrupt government.  Ben Ali eventually succumbed and fled to Saudi Arabia in January 2011.  The political uprising started a domino effect throughout the Middle East with Egypt and Libya overthrowing their long-established leaders.  It’s an inspiring and even frightening thought that all of this started with a fed up young Tunisian who just wanted to find work, but instead found himself bullied by his government.  Although I didn’t know it at the time, my visit in Tunisia will go down as one of the most memorable Thanksgivings ever.  

Notice Ben Ali's photo in the background.  A few short weeks later, Ali and his government were overthrown.