Revolution

A couple of my best friends in France are Tunisian (and now French). Through our friendships, I have gotten to know a bit about Tunisia. I visited this small North African country three times with Tunisian friends and there are many stories I could tell but those are for another time. They like their food spicy (one family I visited ate jalapeno peppers like we eat carrot sticks). Their beautiful coastline and warm Arab hospitality makes it a popular tourist destination. In some ways it is a prosperous nation with a growing middle class, but in another sense many young people want out. Jobs are too scarce and all to often getting one depends far more on who you know than on your competence. While stability has reigned it is also one of the largest police states in the world. There has been little freedom of expression especially when it came to politics. The story is told of a well-fed, sleek Tunisian dog who crossed the border into Algeria in the 1990s (when Algeria was going through great civil turmoil). He met a scraggly, dirty, thin Algerian dog who asked him why he had come to Algeria. "I've come so I can bark." When I told this joke to a Tunisian friend this morning she howled with laughter. 

If you follow international news you'll know that the Tunisian people have begun a revolution. A movement that began in a smaller city in the middle of the country spread.  The crackdown was violent at times but all that did was bring more people into the streets.  In the end, President Ben Ali fled the country and there is now an international warrant out for his arrest due to theft and currency charges. 

My heart goes out to the Tunisian people.  They are proud of what they have done.  They are thrilled that they can now "bark".  But they are also fearful of what will come.

I've been reading a biography of Alexander Hamilton (he's on the $10 bill) who was the first Treasurer  of the USA.  It has been interesting to read about the hard work it took to build this nation out of a revolution.  John Adams had a vivid sense of how easily righteous causes could degenerate into mob excess.  In many ways that is what happened during the French revolution and they ended up with another dictator.  The US was blessed to have men like Washington, Madison, Adams, Jefferson, Hamilton and many others who could lead, persuade and keep the union together.  Within a few short years they became political enemies but mob excess was not allowed to prevail.

Which way will it go in Tunisia? The Tunisian people don't know. They have seen the damage mob excess can do. There have also been those who have gone out and cleaned up the streets and helped protect their neighborhoods and businesses from looters. At this point it can go either way. May men and women of peace and wisdom rise to the top and lead the Tunisian people into more freedom - freedom to speak their opinions on politics and religion, freedom to debate and disagree, freedom to pursue happiness in a nation where hard work pays.  

Here's a couple of links that give a time line for the revolution in Tunisia.  The 2nd one gives more details.
http://prospectjournal.ucsd.edu/blog/?p=957
http://english.aljazeera.net/indepth/spotlight/tunisia/2011/01/201114142223827361.html