Inkwell Institute

Middle East Desk

How many of my readers remember the Arab Spring?

A couple of years ago the Arab World blew up…..blew up into demonstrations, protests, civil disobedience and yes….revolution.  It hit almost every country across North Africa and the Middle East…….Egypt, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, even countries like Syria, Bahrain,  Jordan….so many protests and so many changes occurring……

Well the whole  exercise did change some things and some things not so much……regime changes in Libya, Egypt, Algeria and Tunisia….then nothing in places like Bahrain, Jordan…….and then there is the situation in Syria…….that one is a bloody mess.

So far not much has really changed other than the leadership….not much democracy breaking out…….lots of violence and protests and government changes, mostly to appease the multitudes and to prevent all out revolution……..

Ah, Tunisia……when I went to the Middle East many years ago I went for a job with the UN headquartered in Tunis…..unfortunately I did not get the job….my Arabic was not as good as it should have been and my French just sucked…….after a couple of weeks I landed a job with a Spanish newspaper with their North Africa desk located in Tunis……and from there the rest is as they say….history.

The one bright spot has been the country of Tunisia……..the country where it all began…….the Arab Spring was fueled by a situation in Tunisia…….18 December 2010 in Sidi Bouzid, following Mohamed Bouazizi‘s self-immolation in protest of police corruption and ill treatment….from that one seemingly small occurrence fueled the events that spiraled out of control.

(BTW, if you are a Star Wars fan….what was the name of the planet that Luke lived on?  Take a good look at the map……in southern Tunisia….look familiar?)

Since the beginning Tunisia has struggled but after many months of legislative deadlock….a constitution and elections to be held in late 2014…….Tunisia is emerging as a secular society meaning that extremists are having a hard time establishing a foothold……..it’s economy is getting better but not far from the toilet……unfortunately the IMF will step in and destroy the economy so they can strengthen it…….

Tunisia has a way to go but it is tracking well to be the first true democracy in North Africa…….we should do all we can as a country to help these brave souls accomplish what they are hoping to do…….a true secular democratic society.

What say you?