Bouazizi lit rebellion

Onus on young
THE year 2011 can be marked the Bouazizi year, as this Tunisian street vendor Mohammad Bouazizi, who had set himself ablaze in protest against harassment by the local authorities, had set off a chain of revolutions in the entire Middle East.


It is not an exaggeration to say that Bouazizi caused the fall of long serving dictators: Zine Al-Abidine Ben Ali in Tunisia, Hosni Mubarak in Egypt and Muammar Gaddafi in Libya.


He also shook many other regimes in the Middle East, like those in Yemen, Syria and some Gulf countries. One can see how Tunisia and Egypt held free elections for the parliament and the presidency after the revolutions. In fact, countries like Jordan and Morocco also made reforms that led to more participation of people in the country’s affairs. Moreover, after the North African springs, Gulf countries started spending more on their people, added more social programs and granted more freedoms like freedom of speech, expression, and so on.


Although Bouazizi was behind the start of the domino effect, he also made the future of these countries more challenging.


It is now the responsibility of people and the young generation in these countries to do their bit after seeing ‘the sun of freedom.’ Will they be as genuine and pure as this man in building their future in a solid and constructive way?





Email: Labeed.abdal@gmail.com
By: Labeed Abdal


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