Tunisia is getting a new government amid gunfire and looting, with some concerns that continued disorder will result in food shortages, and some residential areas taking their own measures to protect property.
Under Ben Ali, now in exile in Saudi Arabia, Tunisia had made some progress in combating unemployment, which is highest among recent university graduates and in rural areas. Ben Ali deposed his predecessor, Habib Bourguiba, the founder of modern Tunisia, in a coup, promising more openness and a multi-party political system.
The unrest was touched off by the self-immolation on December 17th of a youth, Mohamed Bouazizi, from one of Tunisia's poorest rural areas, Sidi Bouzid, in the country's center, a region which has seen little participation in Tunisia's political and economic structures, in spite of Tunisia's guarantees of equality. Bouazizi was, reportedly, the sole supporter of his family, and reportedly a college graduate. He set himself on fire when his vegetable cart was taken by police for the third time, presumably because he had no vendor's license, although, according to some online blogs, licensing a business in Tunisia may have required bribing officials.
Bouazizi was taken to a hospital where he lay for two weeks wrapped in bandages. Recovering from a major burn is difficult in spite of improvements in treatment: the loss of skin and need for constant wound debriding is painful, and leaves the body open to infection. The body is also weakened by tissue and fluid loss, taxing the kidneys. Born March 29, 1984, Bouazizi, died on January 4th, 2011, touching off riots.
Tunisian Economics
Tunisia's economy, based on oil, agriculture, and tourism, and its educational attainment are generally considered better than those of its neighbors Algeria and Morocco, although Tunisia lags behind Morocco in internet freedom. Tunisia has the second fastest internet connection in Africa (Morocco has the fastest according to the information at moroccoboard.com), but still lags behind western connections.
Internet and communications technology is one field where new graduates may find jobs in Tunisia. Nevertheless many graduates in the technology fields actually work in call centers. Engineering specialist Rim Echabi explained in an interview quoted in an article at magharebia.com, that he could not find any other place to work in his field.
According to compubase.net, Tunisia's internet and communications technology sector is composed of around 700 mostly-small companies; half of the product is exported. Much of that involves reselling. Almost all of the remainder provides services. France outsources some call center jobs to Tunisia and other African countries, but has called for a slowing of "off-shoring. A new law requires call center locations to be made public ("Outsourcing and Offshoring . . . " at Yacout.info; " Call Centre Legislation Worries . . . " at Magharebia.com; also "Mobile Devices for Low-Bandwidth Access? Issues and Possibilities" discusses North African internet access).
Algeria's economy is actually the poorest of the three former French colonies, and it is often argued that this is in part the result of Algeria's political violence. Another African country that was subsumed by violence, Somalia, has yet to agree on a national government, and some Somalis have resorted to piracy as a means of "policing" their coasts and earning a living.
Opposition Parties in the "Revolt of Sid Bouzid"
Tunisia's opposition includes wordpress blogger Slim Amamou, recently released from prison and now serving as youth minister. Slim Amamou has said that the new government – which includes members of the former ruling property – is temporary and that elections will come. Other opposition groups include at least two Islamist groups, as well as democratic or liberal groups, and groups with pro-union or communist leanings. Some members of the opposition were reportedly tortured under Ben Ali.
The Islamist al-Nahda ("The Renaissance"), outlawed under Ben-Ali, enjoys widespread support in Tunisia. Al-Nahda is headed by Rachid Ghannouchi, who says that his party will allow women to run for office and will respect the electoral process according to an interview. However Ghannouchi expressed little hope for the current interim government, and some divisions within al-Nahda may be still more frustrated with the electoral process according to Neil Hicks at humanrightsfirst.org.
A second opposition party, pro-labor UGTT, recently withdrew from the new ruling coalition because of the participation in it of members of Ben Ali's RCD ("Constitutional") party. The health minister, a member of the FDTL ("Democratic Front for Work and Liberty;" information about it is posted at Mustapha Ben Ali's blog) party, also withdrew. A third opposition group is the more Stalinist and pro-Hoxha "Communist Workers'" party, again outlawed under Ben Ali. (Hoxha was the communist leader of Albania.)
Both the Communist Workers' Party and al-Nahda oppose Israel/Israeli policies more openly than did the former government. Tunisia hosted the Palestinian headquarters when the PLO was expelled from Beirut until 1992. Members of the former government, in an effort to appease the opposition and to keep the coalition government intact, have withdrawn from the RCD. In addition, some formerly outlawed parties, will be given amnesty, according to the BBC.
Rights of Women
Tunisia is believed to be the home of ancient Carthage where Queen Dido received Aeneas and then committed suicide as Aeneas sailed for Rome, according to Virgil's Aeneid. Tunisia, which, since independence from France in 1957, has provided equal rights to its women, has been widely hailed as an Arab country that has made considerable social progress.
Tunisia's women are guaranteed the right to an education, the right to name their children in the absence of a father, the right to protection from domestic violence, and the right to birth control, along with the right to political participation. 25% of Tunisia's legislators are women, at least as large a percentage of women legislators as exist in the U.S. today. Almost half of Tunisian students are women although men still earn more university degrees.
Standard of Living
The CIA's World Factbook states that Tunisia's per-capita purchasing power in U.S. dollars is about $10,000 USD, although the average per capita income may be not quite $3700 in actual USD. (Purchasing power calculations take into account what can be bought for income earned.) Average wages in Tunisia come to around one Euro (about $1.30 in USD) an hour. The less-expensive studio apartments in Tunisia rent for around $300 to $500 USD according to online advertisements. Tunisia's "purchasing power" lags slightly behind Libya's, according to the World Factbook. Like much of Africa Tunisia must also deal with the scarcity of water.
Literacy and Unemployment
Literacy in the Maghreb has been traditionally low, especially in rural areas, but the literacy rate has increased rapidly among youth. Tunisia, with over 70% literacy (85% for youth), and Libya have the highest literacy rates in the Maghreb, followed by Algeria, then Morocco, then Mauritania. One barrier to literacy among women in rural areas of the Maghreb may be the use of French. Arabic is used more in education as textbooks become available.
A large number of Tunisians attend college, with some opportunities to choose a field, but ultimately the field they enter depends on exam scores as well as their wishes, with study fields also prioritized according to economic needs. Today 25% to 50% of recent college graduates may be unemployed, with graduates in agriculture having the worst prospects, with up to a 70% unemployment rate. The overall unemployment rate has risen only slightly as a result of the current economic crisis, from just over 13%, to 15%. It is still not as high as it was when Ben Ali instituted reforms.
Unemployment of college-educated youth is widespread in many parts of the Arab world, and the gap between the highly literate youth and their less literate elders is sometimes high.
Resources
CIA. World Factbook. (Retrieved 2011.)
Hammoud/UNESCO. "Illiteracy in the Arab World." Paper Commissioned for the Education for all Global Monitoring Report. (2005; retrieved 2011.)
Interview Transcript: Rachid Ghannouchi. Financial Times. London, U.K. (Retrieved 2011.)
Marines. Tunisia Study. 2. Online Document. (Retrieved 2011.)
Trabelsi. " Unemployment Haunts Tunisia College Graduates." Magharebia.com (2010/07/30; retrieved 2011.)
"Tunisia's New Government Implodes on Day One." Telegraph. Africa and Indian Ocean. (2011/01/19; retrieved 2011.)
"Tunisia: New Government Leaders Quit Ruling Party." BBC Africa News. (2011/01/18; retrieved 2011.)
World Bank. "Tunisia." (Retrieved 2011.)
Catherine E Whitehead - C. E. Whitehead holds degrees in education and linguistics. She likes languages, computers, and cooking.
Join the Conversation