Tunisia has lived a turbulent week that began with popular protests over the financial law 2018, which was interrupted by riots and sabotage, and ended with mass demonstrations on the seventh anniversary of the fall of the Ben Ali regime. Youth campaigns, led by Vash Nestnao and Maniche Masameh (I will not forgive), still raise the slogan of continuing mobilization against "the injustice of power." The question remains: Does the continuation of the protests threaten a new revolution? Reportage
"What the country is living is intolerable for the majority of Tunisians, especially since the objectives of the revolution have not yet been achieved, especially in the economic field." The blogger and activist Lina Benhani expresses her opinion on Tunisia's position and focuses on the words to identify the disease. She adds, resentful and armed with the experience of a decade-long struggle: "We are very angry with the youth ..."
"A lot of anger at the country's politically jittery, economically miserable situation, frustration with the promises of a false political class and authority accused of trying to circumvent the course of the revolution." Lina, 32, is not aware if the protests that rocked different regions and regions on the night of January 8 and 9, after the passage of a financial law that "increases the poor," will turn into a "new revolution."
But, as this optimistic woman in the future of Tunisia says, the demonstration will continue as long as youth campaigns are tense, as long as mobilization and protest are not confined to the capital.
Power .. and counter power
In the wake of the popular demonstrations that took place last Sunday on the seventh anniversary of the fall of ousted President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali's regime, a mini-group of the Vash Nestnao movement held a closed meeting in the capital to determine the next stages of its campaign against the Finance Law, Basic materials and the cost of living.
Al-Shennawi, a member of the non-partisan organization Vash Nestnao, said the campaign was trying to organize a demonstration on Saturday 20 January in Habib Bourguiba Street to confirm its rejection of the Finance Act 2018. After discussion and exchange of views between the group, Agreed to postpone the demonstration for next Tuesday, because the doors of parliament closed on Saturday.
If you ask a woman whether the young people are ready to demonstrate again, she replied that her movement is a counter-authority, perhaps the only one in Tunisia, because "we do not pursue political ambitions or positions, we do not demand the overthrow of this government or that, . What is important about Fash Nestnaou and other youth campaigns such as Maniche Masam (I do not forgive) is the achievement of the goals of the revolution.
On Tuesday, the Tunisian capital was submerged in a cautious calm, which is explained by the presence of the security forces, when in their pure skies the noise of peaceful demonstrators raises the slogan of "dignity" demanding their right to work. The successful professors in the "Kabas" debate returned with their white coats to Habib Bourguiba Street to remind the government of its promises, the authority of its duties and the people's rights.
Standing between the statue of Bourguiba and the tomb of Ibn Khaldun
Only the security men deployed in the heart of the city stood between the statue of the first President of the Republic of Tunisia (Bourguiba) and the great sociologist Ibn Khaldoun, who witnessed the demonstrations being renewed all over the country.
The fact is that Tunisia is at the crossroads between the two pillars of international undertakings, especially towards the International Monetary Fund, and the continuing pressure of popular pressure on the deterioration of its social situation. If I asked taxi driver Muhammad Ali, 27, the father of a small princess at the age of two, about the prices of consumer goods, he replied with a sarcastic laugh.
Despite the assurances of the Yusuf government witness by its commitment not to raise the prices of subsidized materials such as bread, oil and sugar, and despite pledges by President Baji Caid Sibsi (91 years) to be 2018 year of youth, but Mohammed is unbelievable. "What do they change and what will they change with empty words and false promises?" He added: "Look around you and hope .. Look at the situation of people and the case of Tunisia .. Roads filled with begging and poor .. Houses in which empty empty."
From bad to worse
Is the country moving towards the unknown? nobody knows. But things have gone from bad to worse, and there is no solution on the horizon, except the soothing promises, as the director of the Tunisian Forum for Economic and Social Rights, Alaa Talbi, calls it. The researcher in history knows the social movements as the doctor knows (the case) of his patient.
Talabi, speaking at his office in Farhat Hachad Street in the center of Tunis, said that the government and the government have dealt with the recent demonstrations against the law of financial security crackdown, pointing to the occurrence of random arrests among young people, mostly aged between 15 and 19, many of whom have been out of school for a long time. The 850-person trial, according to Interior Ministry figures, is due to begin on Thursday.
"A generation of freedom and dignity that knows its rights"
The campaigns carried out by Tunisia "restored confidence to the popular social movement," according to a researcher in history. She drew attention to the fact that "a new generation of young people still believes that there is a revolutionary path that must be completed."
Revolutionary youth, or, as Lina Ben Mhenni describes it, which we met at the headquarters of her "Constitution," the human rights group, "the generation of freedom and dignity that knows its rights" and says "no" if necessary. Jill was 11 or 12 years old when Ben Ali left power in 2011 and grew up in various social strata, including students, unemployed, activist activists and political activists. He joined the "Maniche Masamih", "Funch Nestnaou" or " Against the excesses of security elements] to defend the principles and objectives of the revolution.
Lina means youth, activists and activists, both those who participated in the revolution and those who came after it. She also spoke about another category of young people, preferring the option of "jihad" or "adventure on average" for life or death. According to Alaa Talabi, according to official sources, 6151 Tunisians were able to reach Italian territory in 2017.
"The current political generation will end, either intellectually or biologically"
Death and life. The title of the novel is true. Tunisian youth, the rebel revolutionary, took the second part, Al-Hayat, to join the Fash Nestnaou campaign and accepted it under the banner of Maniche Mesameh, founded in 2015, against the law of financial reconciliation.
These youth campaigns gave the young Tunisian a chance to be a spokesman for his own name, as the activist from Maniche Musameh, Salim Ben Tawfiq, confirmed. "We listened to the media and even the government." "The current political generation will end, either intellectually or biologically," says the 27-year-old.
While waiting for the demise of the old generation, Tunisian youth feel that "his freedom is threatened, and the evidence is that there are a large number of arrests among activists, protesters, bloggers or artists." Young people with a degree often join the ranks of the unemployed, "which creates great frustration because life has not changed for him, and he is aware that he has not reaped the fruits of his revolution on Zine El Abidine Ben Ali."
"Nothing changed but the right to express"
"Nothing but the right to expression has changed, which explains the anger that is sweeping the country," said Ben Henni, who was a professor of language at the University of Anthropology in Tunisia until 2015 before she was dismissed for her work and criticized government policy. "The government does not offer a solution or a substitute," she said, concluding that "there is no hope for Tunisian youth."
The youth of Tunisia, between hope and frustration, between death and life. The mirror of Tunisian society, says Ms Chenawi. Young people wish to self-determination. Will he succeed?
