ON THIS DAY ·
Self-immolation of Mohamed Bouazizi
In Sidi Bouzid, Tunisia, the street vendor Mohamed Bouazizi sets himself on fire after officials confiscate his scales. Twenty-eight days later Ben Ali flees the country.
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The moment in context
The revolt began in the Centre-West, where the regime’s unwritten bargain had failed conspicuously. Tunisians were expected to accept political silence in return for jobs and order. For a street vendor in Sidi Bouzid, even the attempt to earn a living could end in a confrontation with officials. On 17 December 2010 Mohamed Bouazizi set himself on fire after his scales were confiscated and his complaint went unheard.
From Tunisian Revolution, chapter 9 of Protest and Change: Second-Wave Feminism and Tunisia, 1945–2015 (2011).
Teach this in 5 minutes
- Why it happened — Blocked hopes in the interior. In Sidi Bouzid, Kasserine and Gafsa unemployment stood far above the national rate of 13 per cent, while poverty was about four times that of the…
- The turn — The Sfax general strike, 12 January 2011. Sfax showed that a revolt from the interior could interrupt life in the coastal heartland. Tunisia’s second city and industrial center lies within…
- What it changed — A dictator falls in four weeks. On 14 January Ben Ali’s departure ended his 23 years in power and 55 years of one-party government. Old-regime figures initially led the interim…
Then ask the room: Why did the protests that failed in the Gafsa mining basin in 2008 succeed in bringing down Ben Ali in 2010–11? The argued answer is on the chapter page →
The atlas that shows it
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