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Self-immolation persists as grim form of protest in Tunisia
by Francesca Ebel, The Associated Press
Posted Dec 17, 2020 2:15 am EDT
Last Updated Dec 17, 2020 at 2:26 am EDT
Hosni Kalaia, 49, looks down in his house in Kasserine, Tunisia, Friday, Dec. 11, 2020. He s among those Tunisians who followed the example of Mohammed Bouazizi, a 26-year-old fruit seller who set himself ablaze on Dec. 17, 2010, to protest police harassment. Kalaia spent three years in a hospital and then a private clinic recovering from his burns. (AP Photo/Riadh Dridi)
KASSERINE, Tunisia In his old life, Hosni Kalaia remembers strolling the streets of his hometown of Kasserine in central Tunisia with confidence. He flashed his heavy gold bracelets and rings, and puffed out his chest, broad and sculptured from regular workouts.
Thursday, 17 December, 2020 - 08:00
Tunisian Prime Minister Hicham el-Mechichi (File photo: AFP) Tunis- Al Mongi Al Saidani
A number of Tunisian and international human rights organizations and opposition parties condemned the recent statement of Prime Minister Hicham el-Mechichi on irregular immigration and terrorism.
During a special interview with France24, Mechichi pointed out that illegal immigration is linked to terrorism, noting that all Tunisians who present a threat to France should return home.
The Democratic Current party said Mechichi’s interview was “disgraceful”, calling on the prime minister to apologize for the shocking statement because it feeds the stigma about many Tunisian expatriates, and legitimizes the European far-right rhetoric.
Published date: 17 December 2020 10:28 UTC | Last update: 3 months 2 weeks ago
On 17 December 2010, Mohamed Bouazizi, a 26-year-old street vendor from the central Tunisian town of Sidi Bouzid, set himself on fire in protest against the corruption of his local police force, which regularly humiliated him and confiscated his wares.
The act of defiance, which cost Bouazizi his life, became the catalyst for an uprising that took down President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali after 23 years of repressive rule, and spread across North Africa and the Middle East in what would become known as the “Arab Spring”.
From uprisings to political crisis: How Tunisia s democracy came to be at riskRead More »
Francesca Ebel
A man rides his motorcycle in front of garbage in Kasserine, Tunisia, on Friday Dec. 11, 2020. Hundreds of desperate Tunisians have set themselves on fire in the past 10 years to protest police harassment, poverty or the lack of opportunity in the country. (AP Photo/Riadh Dridi) December 17, 2020 - 10:22 AM
KASSERINE, Tunisia - In his old life, Hosni Kalaia remembers strolling the streets of his hometown of Kasserine in central Tunisia with confidence. He flashed his heavy gold bracelets and rings, and puffed out his chest, broad and sculptured from regular workouts.
Today, Kalaia hides his face from the world behind dark sunglasses and beneath a woolen hat. On his left hand, three blackened, gnarled fingers protrude from one glove; on his right, he has none at all.