In Tunisia's Kasserine area, many feel marginalized скачать в хорошем качестве

In Tunisia's Kasserine area, many feel marginalized

(4 Jan 2022) LEAD IN: One thing that ties the Tunisian city of Kasserine with the smaller communes and towns surrounding it, is the palpable sense of desperation. More than 11 years after the revolution that toppled the North African nation's autocratic leader, locals of this region say their conditions are dire. STORY-LINE: At the mountainous rural commune of Hassi El Ferid, in central Tunisia's Kasserine area, people say they live in a woeful state without sufficient government services. "We are dying," says farmer Mabrouk Ayadi, who adds that people can die during the commute from the town to the nearest hospital. In the city of Kasserine, a similar level of desperation is palpable and many college graduates' only aspiration is to find stable work. It has been 11 years since Tunisians took to the streets and started a revolution that toppled the nation's autocratic leader months later. But many in Kasserine's population of more than 400,000 say there has been little change or improvement in their lives in the past decade. Farmer Karim Mhamdi feels marginalized living in the border province, saying "we are forgotten".   "We are the state's eyes, we are part of its national security," he says, referring to the location of Kasserine, which borders Algeria. Tunisia, the country that triggered the 2011 Arab Spring revolutions, found itself in the midst of a political crisis last year. President Kais froze parliament in July and took on sweeping executive powers in what his critics have called a coup. In the city of Kasserine, which overlooks the Chaambi mountain, college graduate Hichem Abaidi says he does not care who leads the country. "Our sole interest is for the state to employ us, regardless of who is ruling," he adds. Abaidi is among many Tunisians who are looking for work as the North African country has an 18% unemployment rate. Tunisia's economy has been deteriorating, something that has been exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...