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As the lights of the International Press have switch out, I have traveled to all the destitute villages to meet some of the Revolution’s protagonists.
Few moths after the bloody riots that was toppled the 23-year autocratic rule of dictator Zine Ben Ali by protesters who expelled him on January 14 with his wife Leila. Tunisians gave the example of the ‘square’ to the Arab World as also to Spain, Portugal, France, and Greece.
For the first time after 23 years, the Tunisians can speak freely about politics without being threatened of censorship, torture and prison.
On October 23, Tunisians will vote for the first time after decades.
The magazine of Tunis Airlines has as a main title: “The revolution of jasmine”. But there is no Tunisian who accepts this tourist wording. “We sacrificed our children to the revolution. Dignity is what we ask. At work, in education, in society”, says Ms Sahla Sadeou who lost her son from a police-sniper at his friend’s funeral, who has been killed by riot forces in Kasserine, the city with 37 martyrs –the highest number – and the city where the percentage of unemployment is almost 70%.
The report is from Sidi bou Sid, where the sparkle of the revolution fired when Mohamed Bouazizi, set himself on fire, touching off a season of revolt across the Arab world. Erdeyef, the mine-city where the riots started in 2008 but Ben Ali’ forces have ‘drown’ it, Kassrine and Tela.

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851 Graffity on the main street of Sidi bou Zid writes "We love freedom". The Tunisian revolution started in Sidi bou Zid from the young graduate street-seller Muhammad Buazizi who put himself on fire © Maro Kouri 852 Hiset Amart, 32-years, archaeologist, unemployed for the last seven years. His parents have sold everything, in order their son to obtain his diploma. Together with other desperate, unemployed graduates, Hiset had put the copy of his diploma on the wall outside the main entrance of the city mayor, during the days of revolution. The Tunisian revolution started in Sidi bou Zid from the young graduate street-seller Muhammad Buazizi. “We know what democracy is, but we do not know what to vote. For the last 23 years that Ben Ali was corrupting the election, we did not know anything about the political parties”, he says. “The new government should restore all the Romaic sights of west Tunisia and improve the agriculture sector, in order people to find job” © Maro Kouri 853 Aysa Abashi is praying. Professor of kickboxing and graduate of Drama University, unemployed, she worries about the extreem-muslim parties. If they take authority, on October election, then every Tunisian will be obligated to change complete their life © Maro Kouri 854 23-years old Aysa Abashi(c) has her dinner in her house with her sister and her mother (r). Father is not living with them. Aysa wears her kickboxing metals. She is professor of kickboxing and graduate of Drama University. But she had never worked in her life. She teaches kickboxing volunteer in the Youth Center. Her sister is unemployed. They worry about the extreme-Islamist parties. If those parties take the authority, on October election, then all Tunisians will be obligated to change completely their life to conservatism © Maro Kouri 855 58-years old Om Ilkir Nezi is the mother of the 23-years old martyr Hasin Nezi who jumped from the electricity column on 22, December 2010, demonstrating for the corrupted loans. After the first demonstrations that started in Sidi bou Zid on 17, December 2010, ministers of Ben Ali came and promised loans to the young people. Hasin couldn’t take it… © Maro Kouri 856 58-years old Om Ilkir Nezi is the mother of the 23-years old martyr Hasin Nezi who jumped from the electricity column on 22, December 2010, demonstrating for the corrupted loans. After the first demonstrations that started in Sidi bou Zid on 17, December 2010, ministers of Ben Ali came and promised loans to the young people. Hasin couldn’t take it… © Maro Kouri 857 58-years old Om Ilkir Nezi is the mother of the 23-years old martyr Hasin Nezi who jumped from the electricity column on 22, December 2010, demonstrating for the corrupted loans. After the first demonstrations that started in Sidi bou Zid on 17, December 2010, ministers of Ben Ali came and promised loans to the young people. Hasin couldn’t take it… His brother Feyzel shows her a video when Hasin was climbing the column to protest © Maro Kouri 858 The portrait of 23-years old martyr Hasin Nezi who jumped from the electricity column on 22, December 2010 replaces the portrait of the revolution’s most famous martyr, Mohamed Bouazizi, from its perch atop a garish gold statue on the street where he set himself on fire, touching off a season of revolt across the Arab world. Mr. Bouazizi’s neighbors say it was taken down in disgust, several weeks ago, after his mother, uncle and siblings left Sidi Bouzid, an act the neighbors considered a betrayal. Their anger stemmed from news that the family had accepted large sums of money to move to a fancy villa in Tunis. But more than that, they said they were furious at being left behind, in a place with no jobs, money or hope, without the famous Bouazizis to give voice to their despair. © Maro Kouri 859 22-years old Abdlaahab Abdaali Steiff dances break-dance in the entrance of an old flipper-cafe. He meets the rest of the break-dance group at the close “Moga-dreams” café. He works in a German toy factory, only nights and he earns 100 euros per month. A traditional dressed woman-shepherd watches him. © Maro Kouri 860 22-years old Abdlaahab Abdaali Steiff dances break-dance in the entrance of an old flipper-cafe. He meets the rest of the break-dance group at the close “Moga-dreams” café. He works in a German toy factory, only nights and he earns 100 euros per month. © Maro Kouri 861 Old man traditional dressed, carries a donkey in the central market, near the place where on 17th of December 2010, young Muhammad Buazisi set himself on fire, touching off a season of revolt across the Arab world. Unemployment is more than 40 percent in Sidi Bouzid today, economists say © Maro Kouri 862 At the market of Sidi Bouzid © Maro Kouri 863 'The truth is that still young are jobless, still the elder have no grants, but both they can freely talk about politics, talk about Ben Ali, and enjoy their freedom. “The education’s level was so low, that in the exams I had to answer about a TV persona!”, young man says. “My lad has been totally forgotten from the dictator who invested a lot to the sea-side part of the county. The new government of October 23, should invest to the agriculture”, the old woman says. They stand in frond of the Prefecture where on the 17th of December 2010, Mohammad Buazizi put fire on himself, uprising the Arab World revolution © Maro Kouri 864 17-years old Dauha Zirkeulu - between two traditional dressed women -studies Italian. To buy her clothes, she sells perfumes to Tunis. Youth unemployment was high in Tunisia even before the revolution — as high as 30 percent, and more than 40 percent in towns like Sidi Bouzid, economists say. Tunisians blame the lack of progress on the transitional government, which has moved slowly to address one of the revolution’s central complaints — youth unemployment — especially here in the towns of central Tunisia, where the uprising began. © Maro Kouri 865 24-years old Ali (l) lives with his 11-member family in the countryside of Sidi Bouzid. His mother wants the Islamist party to win the election of 23rd October 2011, so he does. He earns few dinars going every day to a factory 50km far away. His colleague says that if that happens, they will not be free to meet their girlfriends in public, they will have no legal access to all websites © Maro Kouri 866 "There are two reasons that make me happy: one is the revolution. Second, is the wedding of a fighter who was always hidden, or he was in jail -because of his communist believing-. Everybody joins to this wedding -the first wedding in the village with no police around", says the woman while she prepares the traditional wedding food in the groom's home yard © Maro Kouri 867 35-years old philosopher Taha Sasi owns his wedding happiness to the revolution. Before he was popping in and out in jail. He is communist - illegal during Ben Ali dictatorship. "I've suffered different ways of torturing in the prison" he says. "Do you know the chicken attitude? with tied legs to the roof your are hanging totally naked above coals". For the first time the villagers of Sidi Abuale -near Sidi Bouzid- enjoy a wedding party without the police presence. They dance singing rebel-songs © Maro Kouri 868 Wafa Abbasi with the view of Sidi Bouzid. She is a desperate unemployed with no benefits. "It was Friday night, on 17th of December 2010, when Mohammad Buazisi was waiting the pilgrims from that mosque, who like to buy some presents for their family. A policewoman took his scale, so he could not work. He went to the prefecture office to complain, but nobody heard him. He was educated. He set fire on himself and on ... the uprising OF the Arab World” she says. © Maro Kouri
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