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The main street, Habib Bourguiba, of the Tunisian capital, this Thursday was empty of protesters and the security forces were deployed in it, while the total closure due to the outbreak of the Covid-19 epidemic prevented the celebration, as usual. ten years, the anniversary of the fall of the regime of the late former president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali.
Security forces set up barricades along the street and closed the secondary lanes of the street in the first days of the total closure, which will last until next Sunday, according to an AFP journalist.
An empty street
Some journalists and photographers roam the street where, on January 14, 2011, thousands of protesters gathered demanding the departure of Zine El Abidine Ben Ali. Tunisians used to return to it every year on this date, often as a reminder of the demands of the revolution.
One photographer said this year, “the anniversary of January 14th no bait.”
The head of the Tunisian Forum for Economic and Social Rights, Alaa Talbi, says: “I was supposed to go to the protest on Habib Bourguiba street (in the center of the Tunisian capital) to demand more social justice, because the governments that they have been successive since 2011 they did not pay attention to this demand “.
He added: “But on January 14 I will stay home for the first time in ten years, because the health crisis is severe and strong measures must be taken.”
On Tuesday, the country recorded 71 deaths and 3,632 new infections. And many health sector officials warned of problems providing oxygen and resuscitation beds in various governorate hospitals.
The General Union of Tunisian Workers (Central Union) called for weeks to demonstrate and demand employment and development in the main states of the country, such as Sfax (central) and Gafsa (west), but participation was weak and some were postponed.
“We must be very optimistic to believe that Tunisia is on the right track to achieve the goals of the revolution,” wrote the government daily “La Press” on Thursday.
Many Tunisians are frustrated, fueled by high unemployment, inflation and a deteriorating healthcare sector. The repercussions of the epidemic compounded the difficult economic situation and the country lost a large number of jobs.
Frustration and pride
On January 14, 2011, after weeks of peaceful protests that began after a young street vegetable vendor, Mohamed Bouazizi, set himself on fire in the marginalized (central) province of Sidi Bouzid, thousands of protesters gathered in front of the headquarters of the Tunisian Ministry of the Interior and in Habib Bourguiba street. Ben Ali left Tunisia that night for Saudi Arabia, where he lived in exile for a few years, out of the limelight, before dying in 2019.
Tunisia, unique among the countries that became known as the “Arab Spring”, was able to continue the path of democratic transition, while other countries entered chaos and the absence of security or returned to authoritarian regimes in which power ruled with iron hand.
“We may be disappointed, but this does not mean there is a feeling of regret. Ten years, this is very little to change a system that has been in place for decades. We can be proud of the progress that has happened,” says Talbi.
“We established a new political system and agreed on a constitution, although it was not fully activated, and we respect the electoral deadlines,” he explains.
“Today there must be an economic transition,” he continues.
Last spring, Tunisia, whose economy relies heavily on international donors, exhausted a support program provided by the International Monetary Fund, unable to advance its economy and reform its vital sectors.
The epidemic has directly affected the tourism sector, which is a mainstay of the economy and a source of hard currency, and this sector has been suffering continuous crises from 2011 to the present, with many workers in tourism facilities losing their jobs that they gave to dozens of families.
At the same time, phosphate and oil extraction activities were interrupted in states such as Gafsa and Tataouine (south) due to protests and demonstrations demanding jobs and improving infrastructure in these marginalized states.
On the other hand, the political class lives in constant conflict and power struggles, and some Tunisians accuse it of serving the interests of certain groups in society at the expense of others.
Belief in the revolution
Faced with blocked prospects and rising unemployment, the number of illegal immigrants from Tunisia increased towards the Italian shores and registered record numbers since 2011. Tunisian immigrants constitute the largest number among the nationalities of immigrants who arrived in Italy last year (about 38 percent).
According to figures from the Italian Interior Ministry, 12,883 Tunisians arrived in Italy in 2020, almost five times more than in 2019.
And the Amsterdam Center for Transnational Studies considers that the nine successive governments “have struggled to achieve a balance between the interests of the traditional elite and other marginalized citizens.”
The feeling of frustration and disappointment is fueling some nostalgia for the old regime, and some politicians are working to support this trend, such as the “Free Constitutional Party.”
This party, headed by lawyer Abeer Moussa, calls for the exclusion of Islamists, led by the Ennahda Party, which has been in power since the 2011 revolution, and the return to a strong presidential system.
Meanwhile, Talbi believes that “the youth who grew up in freedom still believed in the revolution.”
