Family of man who set himself ablaze call for democracy скачать в хорошем качестве

Family of man who set himself ablaze call for democracy

(21 Jan 2011) The family of a young man who set himself ablaze, triggering a popular uprising that overthrew Tunisia's autocratic president, wants Tunisians to honour his memory by fighting for democracy. Mohamed Bouazizi's mother prayed at her son's concrete tomb in the graveyard of Sidi Bouzid, a central Tunisian town, on Thursday - as she does daily. "I pray that the new authorities will make new fair policies - policies that my son inspired," Manoubia Bouazizi said. Mohamed Bouazizi was a 26-year-old university graduate without a steady job. He struggled to make ends meet for his widowed mother, four brothers and three sisters. Having failed to find better employment, he would fill up a rickety wooden cart with fruits and vegetables and wheel it into the town market. His relatives said he was harassed by municipal officials for not having a licence to sell the vegetables. When he didn't pay bribes, town authorities broke up his cart and stopped him from selling his wares. His family said a municipal official hit him, spat in his face, and called him filthy when they destroyed his small business. In despair, he stood on his vegetable cart, poured a litre and a half of petrol on his body and set it on fire. "He burned himself for the sake of all of us. We're not upset with him," said family friend Majid Gharbi. His self-immolation on 17 December last year - which left him in intensive care, wrapped head to toe in white bandages - resonated with other young graduates struggling to find jobs, sparking protests first in his town and then, town by town, around the country. After two days hovering between life and death, he died on 5 January. "My nephew did not burn himself to receive charity, or to get work." said his aunt Radia Bouazzizi. "He burned himself for dignity and freedom and democracy," she said. Others died too, protesters killed in clashes with Tunisian police, or those who imitated Bouazizi's suicidal act. In recent days self-immolations have taken place in Egypt, Algeria and Mauritania, apparently inspired by Bouazizi. On the street where Bouazizi set himself on fire, graffiti proclaims: "Here died Bouazizi the martyr." For decades, Tunisia has promoted itself as an Arab world success story, a stable place where the economy is stronger than in neighbouring countries, women's rights are respected, unrest is rare and European tourists can take stress-free vacations at beach resorts. But the recent protests have exposed a side of Tunisia that the country has long tried to hide: the poverty of the countryside, poor job prospects for youths and seething resentment at the government of President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, who had ruled Tunisia with an iron fist since 1987. Nearly a month of protests following Bouazizi's self-immolation drove Ben Ali to flee to Saudi Arabia. A caretaker government is struggling to restore calm. "We want a new government that will give us our rights as a real citizens, not just lip service and not one that will steal from us," said Bouazizi's sister, Samia. 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...