I myself, along with many other people who follow the news, wondered what started the radical rebellion in a majority of African countries. Well, I asked my parents, and after that I looked online to find any online articles for information to support the facts; what I found was shocking. Here's where the story begins... A young man who was born and raised in a small town near central Tunisia was working on the street selling food like he had for years. This was a common occupation for many men and their families in Tunisia, not by choice though. In Tunisia, and many other countries in Africa, dictatorships governing the nations have been depriving their people of almost all necessities to survive. Majority (and even more) of the population in Tunisia are simply dirt poor; they have nothing but their families; they work for hours upon hours just to have food at the end of the day. It's a lot different than how people in the U.S. live. The young man was no different than the majority of his people. Because all these people are so poor due to the corruption within their government, almost all food carts are set up without a permit; permits are expensive, and people have to move on from this law to make money. The dictator, Zine Al-Abidine Ben Ali, had been in control of the country for over twenty-three years and sent many of his police officers to go into the streets to find any illegal events so more money can be collected for the government.
An excerpt from Irish Times interviewed this young man's sister stating:
"The cart had been his livelihood for years, as he could not find a job after finishing his education, his 19-year-old sister, Samia, explains. 'The whole family is unemployed . . . Mohamed’s dream was to buy a car – not for pleasure, but a van to help the family,' she says as we chat near the white stuccoed family home just outside town. 'He was always laughing. He liked his work a lot, despite his difficulties.'”
It is evident that they are poor and depended on this young man to provide for them. When the police came to the street where his cart was set up, they took away his cart. Frustrated, the young man pleaded for them give back his cart if stopped selling his products on the street until he got a permit. The men ignored him and took the young man's only lively hood away from him. In desperation, the young man went to the governor's office to protest and plead for his cart. No one would listen let alone acknowledge him yelling in front of the building. In complete desperation, the young man took the gallon canister of gasoline he brought with him, poured it over his body, and set himself on fire to burn in front of the office. This was the last straw for the people; the start of a revolution - even though this was not the first violent protest which was evident against the government. The young man did not die there, he was hospitalized suffering third degree burns all over his body. He died three weeks after the incidence.
It is a strong message portrayed by the 'burning man', one which should be told at least once to everyone so they can understand why there are new protests and revolutions in Africa. It is not because they decided they do not like their governments anymore, randomly one day, but because they have been suffering for decades with no hope for a future. The burning man is a shocking reminder of how desperate these people have become in order to get their governments to listen to them and also change their governments objectives to benefit the people. Enough is enough, and I hope that with all this effort, the people of these deprived nations will gain a government and lifestyle they deserve to live peacefully once again. The burning man will not have suffered and died for nothing.
I hope you gain a better understanding of what the people throughout Africa are going through today.
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