Tunisia : the paradigm of a “happy revolution”

Abstract

On 17 December 2010, a Tunisian youngster from Sidi Bouzid, in South West Tunisia, set himself on fire, triggering a political earthquake in Tunisia that led to the ousting of President Ben Ali, his family and his close relatives. Other immolations or attempts at immolation took place in other Arab countries from Yemen in the Arab Peninsula in the East, to Mauritania in the West. We already knew of the “kamikaze” phenomenon which involves someone commits suicide while killing others. But protest immolation is a new phenomenon in the Arab countries. Destitute of all “religious” or “sacrificial” significance, the gesture is rather a form of expression, an act to say “enough” or to say “no”. It cannot be linked at any time to any concept of “djihad” for any reason, nor, a fortiori, to a simple suicide. These young Arabs immolate themselves to communicate their despair. Perhaps, they hope that by rebound effect, they will succeed in awakening their own respective people to get them going.