Revolution in Tunisia: in Sidi Bouzid, cradle of protest, 10 years of disappointed hopes
Portrait of Mohamed Bouazizi who set himself on fire in Sidi Bouzid in 2010 leading to the start of the revolution in Tunisia.
© RFI / Michel Picard
Text by: RFI Follow
6 min
The protest as a commemoration.
It has been ten years to the day that the revolution began in Tunisia.
The death by immolation, in the center of the country, in Sidi Bouzid of a street vendor, Mohamed Bouazizi, led to an unprecedented uprising which led to the fall of Ben Ali.
The government is keeping a low profile on its way of marking this December 17, but the day promises to be tense given the little improvement in the daily life of Tunisians for a decade.
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With our special correspondent in Sidi Bouzid
,
Michel Picard
The extent of the disappointment is particularly palpable in the interior regions of the country.
Demonstrations are planned in several cities to remind leaders of the slogan of the time: "work, bread, freedom and dignity".
Since this breath of hope, prices, especially those of basic food, have doubled while wages have stagnated, awakening nostalgic memories now commonplace.
The main artery now bears the name of the traveling salesman, Mohamed Bouazizi, and his immense portrait adorns the facade of the post office, a few meters from the place where he set himself on fire to denounce the precariousness that was eating away at him.
His working instrument is erected there as a monument.
Report, 10 years later, return to Sidi Bouzid
Michel Picard
In Sidi Bouzid
, early revolutionaries demand that this day be retained as the day of the revolution instead of January 14, 2011, which saw the ousted president flee.
An argument taken up last year in this central city by the head of state Kaïs Saïed.
It is difficult to know if the tenant of Carthage will renew his trip there, but today he is one of the very few high-ranking politicians who can afford a visit without risking stone throwing from the inhabitants.
A country on the brink of social explosion
On site, the enthusiasm of the first years engendered deep disillusion.
The international festival of the revolution of December 17 will be little attended there.
Faced with the gloom of an economy at half mast, an unemployment rate at 16%, and a loss of confidence in the political class, the country seems on the verge of a social explosion as the indicators are red.
A series of general strikes in Jendouba, Kairouan, Béja and social protest movements in Gabès, Gafsa, Kasserine or Tataouine have just reminded leaders of the urgent need to take economic measures in favor of improving the lives of residents.
■ Sidi Bouzid, a city that will remain the original spearhead of a protest that preceded the revolution
We have led a lot of movements, sitting to defend the cause of Bouazizi in general, but also the region.
Athouma Attia, professor of philosophy and former spokesperson for the Sidi Bouzid committee, which resulted in him being imprisoned for several days at the end of 2010
Michel Picard
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