Mohamed Bouazizi memorial
This Monday marked the second anniversary of the self-immolation of the young Tunisian street vendor, Mohamed Bouazizi, whose act of defiance catalyzed the Tunisian revolution and the end of nearly 55 years of authoritarian rule over the country. Although he was not the first person to take his own life in recent years to protest against the Tunisian government or other regimes in the Arab world, the death of Bouazizi has come to represent the beginning of the political and social transformations impacting the Middle East in various forms from Tunisia to Libya, Egypt, Syria, Morocco, Jordan and Bahrain.
The personal aspects of Bouazizi’s story are both tragic and powerful. News articles retelling his life through the memories of his family and friends provide a small but detailed portrait. He was the son of a construction worker who died when Bouazizi was three. At 10 years old, Bouazizi started working as the primary source income for his mother, ailing uncle, and five younger siblings. At 19, he stopped attending high school to work full-time as a street vendor, allowing his younger sisters to continue to go to school. Later on, he attempted to find better paying jobs in the army and elsewhere, but was rejected each time. He continued to go to the local market each day to sell fruits and vegetables, but was constantly harassed by local police who would fine him for selling produce without an official permit. On Dec. 17, 2010, after suffering especially humiliating abuse from a policewoman, Bouazizi sought to present his grievances to the local government and, when denied an appointment, set himself on fire. He was 26 years old when he died from his injuries in January 2011.
The power of Bouazizi’s personal narrative is intensified by its resonance with broader issues within Tunisia and the Arab world. Entrenched systems of corruption, political suppression, and fear permeated daily life, constraining not just open political expression, but also the basic ability for many people without the necessary money, connections or influence to earn a living. This environment fed the immense frustration and powerlessness in Bouazizi’s actions and in many parts of the Arab world before 2011. This pressure was felt especially by the young, educated citizens of these countries who represent an increasing portion of the population, yet have drastically higher rates of unemployment and underemployment. The lack of high-wage jobs prevents many in this “demographic bulge” from buying houses and starting families. Although Bouazizi himself was not a university graduate, many media outlets initially reported him as one — an inaccuracy which perhaps speaks to the desire for him to be a more comprehensive symbol of disempowerment among Arab youth.
While the personal and universal components of Bouazizi’s story tied directly to the dislocation of Arab regimes from their people, none could have predicted the enormous impact of his life and death. The regional and global consequences of Bouazizi’s death stemmed from a more connected world. While Arab governments alienated from their people have used the tools of repression to contain popular turmoil for decades, the protests started by Bouazizi’s friends and family on the night of December 17 were amplified locally and nationally by social media and then regionally and internationally by Al Jazeera and other satellite channels. Protesters such as Rochdi Horchani, a relative of Bouazizi, went into the streets with “a rock in one hand, a cell phone in the other” because “without videos no one would take any notice of us.”
Although the impact of Twitter and Facebook in the revolutions can be exaggerated, social media clearly played a key role in both Tunisia and Egypt, where the “We are all Khaled Said” Facebook group used the tragic case of a young Egyptian beaten to death by police to unify dissent. Dependent on the fragmentation and isolation of dissent, the post-colonial regimes in Egypt, Tunisia and elsewhere collapsed once unified protests broke down the so-called “fear barrier.”
The story of Bouazizi remains incomplete. In just two years, the revolutionary outpouring following in the wake of their deaths has toppled long-lasting regimes in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya; pushed another in Syria to the brink; and forced the monarchies in Morocco, Jordan and the Gulf to redirect or repress unprecedented levels of unrest. However, despite the downfall of three or four regimes, these countries at first glance appear no closer to the goal behind much of the revolution and the impetus for Bouazizi’s act of defiance — equal opportunity within a just system. Political and religious divisions kept in check by authoritarian power have gained increased importance. Counter-revolutionary forces mask the remnants of old systems in the call for stability above all else. The individual actions of Mohamed Bouazizi and many others have helped open the space for regional political expression in Middle East, but transforming this opening into lasting change and increased social justice for populations long denied self-determination will require the sustained engagement of many more.
Ben Stevenson is the policy assistant to Baker Institute founding director Edward P. Djerejian. He holds a Master of Arts in Arab studies from Georgetown University’s Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service and graduated cum laude from Rice University with a Bachelor of Arts in history and political science.