Latest news with #ZineElAbidineBenAli
The Independent
23-07-2025
- The Independent
Popular island at risk due to tourism, neglect and climate change
Nestled in the southern Mediterranean, off the south-east coast of Tunisia, lies the island of Djerba. With a rich cultural and religious history, it has been a crossroad of many civilisations, including the Phoenicians, Romans, Byzantines and Arabs, and is home to many unique architectural sites. These include the Sedouikech underground mosque, St Joseph's Church and the El Ghriba Synagogue. But, for many years, Djerba's cultural heritage has been in danger. This is due to a combination of over- tourism, environmental change and human neglect. By the 1990s to early 2000s, when Djerba was at the height of its popularity, the island was attracting between 1 million and 1.5 million visitors each year. It is one of Tunisia's most popular tourist areas, with more hotels than any other destination in the country. Tourism has resulted in excessive tourist traffic in Djerba, particularly during the summer. It has also contributed to other problems such as water stress and waste generation. According to figures from 2020, hotels alone generate between 35% and 40% of all the waste on the island. But the development of tourism has, above all, altered Djerba's cultural landscape. In some areas of the island, Djerba's traditional housing – houmas, menzels and houchs – have given way to more modern tourist infrastructure. This has accelerated since Tunisia's 2011 revolution, when long-time dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali was ousted. Weak institutional oversight has led to vandalism, illegal construction on archaeological sites and unauthorised demolitions. The development of tourism on Djerba has also eroded traditional ways of life. The island has experienced significant changes due to tourism, with the development of roads, ferries, an airport and the internet leading to a decline in traditional activity. Livelihoods like agriculture, fishing and artisanal crafts have declined and are often now showcased only in tourist areas. Climate change has worsened Djerba's problems. Rainfall patterns have changed across the island over recent decades, with models suggesting that annual precipitation rates could drop 20% by the end of the century. More frequent and prolonged droughts are expected. At the same time, rising sea levels and increasingly common storm surges are affecting the island. Research from 2022 found that 14% of Djerba's beaches are now highly vulnerable to submersion and coastal erosion. Several historical monuments on Djerba have already experienced periodic flooding and saltwater intrusion. The ruins of Sidi Garous and the shrine of Sidi Bakour are now entirely underwater and have been replaced by memorials. Other archaeological sites located near the coast like Haribus, Meninx, Ghizene and Edzira, some of which date back to the Roman era (eighth century BC to fifth century AD), are now partially or fully submerged. Studies by Tunisia's National Institute of Heritage suggest that many of these sites have been lost permanently to the encroaching sea. World heritage site Significant portions of Djerba's cultural heritage have already been erased by sea-level rise and coastal erosion. Future losses could be even more severe. The island's cultural heritage will only grow more precarious without meaningful preservation and climate adaptation efforts. However, many of Djerba's monuments, historical buildings and traditional dwellings have suffered from years of neglect. A chronic lack of local and international funding, as well as weak institutional frameworks for heritage management, mean some of the island's historic structures have been abandoned. Many other buildings have deteriorated due to a lack of protective measures and maintenance. Community organisations such as the Association for the Safeguarding of the Island of Djerba have tried to step in to fill the void left by weak institutional frameworks. Their work ranges from delivering public awareness campaigns to local young people to efforts like re-purposing ancient rainwater tanks to manage periods of drought. But these grassroots efforts alone are not enough to stop Djerba's cultural heritage from deteriorating at its current pace. In September 2023, the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) announced that it was adding Djerba to its list of world heritage sites. Tunisia's culture ministry welcomed the decision. It followed years of efforts by local groups and government officials to add Djerba to the list. Djerba's inclusion offers hope for the long-term preservation of the island's heritage. A world heritage site designation increases global recognition and enables improved access to sources of funding. And since Djerba's classification, there has been some progress. The culture ministry has established a task force to monitor the construction of buildings and other infrastructure, collect data on designated protected areas, and prepare projects to preserve heritage sites. But Djerba's cultural heritage remains in danger. Improved preservation of these sites will require continuous funding and stringent regulation of tourism and construction activities. Majdi Faleh is an Academic Fellow & Lecturer in Architecture and Cultural Heritage at Nottingham Trent University. Mehdi Elouati is a PhD Candidate in Anthropology, École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales (EHESS).
Middle East Eye
03-07-2025
- Politics
- Middle East Eye
Why western visions for a 'new Middle East' are irrelevant
With the collapse of the Soviet Union, political scientist Francis Fukuyama announced, with unprecedented bravado, 'the end of history' - declaring the victory of not only the United States over the USSR, but also of liberal democracy and capitalist economics. The US reshaped the international order. It took Russia two decades to rebuild its strength, declare wars on Georgia and Ukraine, and witness the rise of an emboldened China. Today, the international system has demonstrated that history did not end at all - and that liberal democracy is in retreat, grappling for its identity and for the global order born out of the Second World War. With the end of the recent war between Israel and Iran, claims have reemerged that this could give rise to a 'new Middle East' - one where Iran's axis of resistance has been weakened, with its influence rolled back in Syria, Lebanon and Gaza. This echoes claims that have been repeated every decade for the past century. Ever since the collapse of the Ottoman Empire and the partitioning of the Middle East by western interests, the refrain has been the same: after every war, a new era will dawn, and the Middle East will flourish. But every military campaign has only planted the seeds for the next conflict. New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters Consider the Six-Day War of 1967. Israel defeated three Arab armies and conquered the Sinai Peninsula, the Golan Heights, and the rest of historic Palestine. Yet from this victory emerged its biggest long-term challenge: the rise and entrenchment of the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO). Until then, the PLO had been largely shaped and dominated by Arab regimes, but after the defeat of those regimes, Palestinians asserted their independence within the organisation, aligning it with their own interests rather than those of Arab states that treated Palestine as a political tool. Undermining democracy Similarly, after Israel's invasion of Lebanon in 1982, it achieved a remarkable military feat, swiftly reaching Beirut and occupying the country's south. But from that victory emerged Hezbollah, a force that has posed a direct and constant threat to Israel for four decades now. Unlike Arab regimes that often fail to recognise or utilise the strength within their own borders, Israel understands the latent potential of Arab states. The recurring Israeli fantasy of a 'new Middle East' is not only unrealistic; it rests upon demands that no Arab regime can accept At the outset of the Arab Spring, after the fall of Tunisian leader Zine El Abidine Ben Ali and amid the beginnings of a democratic process in Egypt, Israel acted quickly to undermine that democratic wave, focusing especially on Egypt. The reason was plain: Egyptian public opinion is largely hostile towards the Camp David Accords and normalisation with Israel. So it came as no surprise when Israel leveraged its influence in Washington to legitimise President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi's regime following the 2013 military coup. The recurring Israeli fantasy of a 'new Middle East' is not only unrealistic; it rests upon demands that no Arab regime can accept. Even when states consider making far-reaching compromises, Israel always demands more. Just weeks before 7 October 2023, Saudi Arabia was reportedly ready to join the Abraham Accords - a move that would effectively empty the Palestinian cause of its meaning - without receiving anything substantial in return, other than increased lobbying power in Washington. Constant reinvention After two years of Israeli attacks on Gaza and Lebanon came the unexpected Israeli attack on Iran. The West found itself once again supporting a blatantly illegal campaign that violated international law, risking the lives of millions. The Israeli and US strikes on nuclear installations risked causing a radiological disaster across multiple nations, and flew in the face of intelligence assessments - showing once again that international law applies only when it serves western interests. Western leaders have embraced the mantra of a 'new Middle East' as if it were gospel. In reality, this term is fiction; the Middle East is perhaps the only place in the world that reinvents itself every decade. Vital lessons can be drawn from the recent war between Israel and Iran. There was no decisive victory, but both sides exposed their advanced military and intelligence capabilities, while also revealing vulnerabilities. As Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu grows stronger domestically and the regime of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei endures, tensions and future confrontations will likely continue. Israel-US attack on Iran: The price of Netanyahu's forever wars Read More » Secondly, Arab states proved how exposed and militarily irrelevant they remain. When drones crashed in Jordan and Iran threatened to shut down the Strait of Hormuz, Gulf states could only defend themselves by aligning with Israel and relying on American bases, apparently unable to assert their own role. This confrontation has exposed Arab nations to two profound threats. Iran will likely try to rebuild its 'soft power' across Iraq, Lebanon and Syria, presenting itself as the only force capable of standing up to Israel and the US. Meanwhile, Israel, emboldened by messianic forces within its government, will pursue policies that could forcibly displace Palestinians from Gaza and the occupied West Bank at the expense of Arab states. As Israel and Iran jostle for position in the Middle East, much rests upon neighbouring Arab nations. Two years into the Gaza genocide, in a world that has failed to halt the slaughter and starvation of Palestinians, Arab nations must ask deeper questions about the two prevailing approaches that have shaped their politics for decades: pro-western secularism and Islamism. As proponents of each have clashed, Arab peoples have been left exposed and vulnerable. Perhaps the time has come for Arab nations to pursue a vision for a truly new Middle East: one that serves Arab interests first, and is shaped by Arabs themselves - not by external powers from the West or East. The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Eye.
Yahoo
18-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Tunisian 'revolution oasis' palm grove thrives on self-rule
Since the inhabitants of Jemna in southern Tunisia wrested control of their 100-year-old palm grove from the state during the 2011 Revolution, residents say their lives have radically improved. The desert town -- where the palms produce some of the North African country's finest dates -- ejected businessmen tied to the old regime when the uprising toppled longtime ruler Zine El Abidine Ben Ali. Jemna, population around 8,000, has since become a unique grassroots experiment in Tunisian agricultural self-management -- a non-profit project run by a local community to reinvest all benefits locally. Residents founded the Association to Protect the Jemna Oasis (ASOJ) which runs the grove where 57-year-old Abdelbasset Abed works full-time, along with some 50 other people. During harvest season, the 12,000 date palms provide work for 160 people -- 10 times more than before. Two-thirds of these are seasonal workers. "The situation is a lot better than before," said Abed as he cleared away dry branches at the foot of a towering date palm. "I have a stable job." - Visible results - The results are visible beyond the grove itself, with production generating nearly 14 million dinars (roughly $4.5 million) over the past 15 years. A covered market, a sports field, computer labs in schools, scholarships and funds for other groups... the association has created more opportunities in a highly indebted Tunisia where little to no government funding reaches NGOs. "They even help students with financial aid," Abed said of the ASOJ. UTAIM, another local association that works with children who have disabilities, has had a constant source of income after ASOJ donated 50 palm trees to it. "They gave us a stable source of revenue," UTAIM director Halima Ben Othman told AFP. The local cemetery has also been revamped using income generated by the town's surrounding palm trees. It now has a separation wall and a seating area for people visiting the graves of those buried there. "Even the dead benefit," smiled Tahar Ettahri, the head of ASOJ. Such gains did not come easily, however, and now locals are saying they have to fight to preserve their economic self-rule. Two days before Ben Ali fled the country in early 2011, locals occupied the palm grove that had been leased cheaply to two well-connected businessmen. - Peaceful sit-in - "The young people of Jemna decided to reclaim their ancestors' land," which Ettahri said had a history of being plundered since French colonial rule. When the regional governor sent armoured vehicles and deployed security forces in an attempt to reclaim the grove, residents staged a three-month peaceful sit-in. Meanwhile, they had to keep producing the dates. So local trade unionists, activists, and ordinary citizens formed a coalition, and a community fundraiser gathered some 34,000 dinars (about $10,000) from more than 800 contributors to fund the project at its onset. "We came together with the goal of improving the well-being of our community," Ettahri said. "We came from different ideological backgrounds, but our shared interest in Jemna united us. Maybe that's why we succeeded." In his book "Jemna, the Revolution Oasis", sociologist Mohamed Kerrou called it a unique legacy of the ideals that sparked the Arab Spring. Ettahri said this stemmed from a sharp sense of social justice and a propensity for the common good. The town has a public space -- the "Jemna Agora" -- where people are handed a microphone and speak freely to discuss a problem or to propose projects for locals to put to a vote. - Sorting plant - Despite being a success, with revenues of 1.8 million dinars (about $592,000) by the fourth year of self-management, Jemna has had to battle post-revolution governments in order to preserve its model. Now, 15 years later, Ettahri said residents were still waiting to "settle the issue legally with the state". The former unionist and teacher said this was not a fight against the authorities -- the residents asked to lease the grove, and were ready to pay 15 years in back rent. To comply with a decree from President Kais Saied establishing "citizen's enterprises", which cited Jemna as an example, the ASOJ has formed a "community company". It has 334 members -- far more than the required 50-member minimum -- and all of them insist on voluntary status, another unique aspect among such enterprises, Ettahri said. "It's a lot of members, but the idea is to sociologically represent everyone," Ettahri said. The group now aims to launch a plant to sort and package dates locally, providing year-round employment for 100 women. Ettahri, 72, is a grandfather of seven and has taken a step back from day-to-day date production. He still heads the ASOJ, but more as a lookout to warn of potential problems ahead. fka/bou/srm/fec
Yahoo
18-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Tunisian 'revolution oasis' palm grove thrives on self-rule
Since the inhabitants of Jemna in southern Tunisia wrested control of their 100-year-old palm grove from the state during the 2011 Revolution, residents say their lives have radically improved. The desert town -- where the palms produce some of the North African country's finest dates -- ejected businessmen tied to the old regime when the uprising toppled longtime ruler Zine El Abidine Ben Ali. Jemna, population around 8,000, has since become a unique grassroots experiment in Tunisian agricultural self-management -- a non-profit project run by a local community to reinvest all benefits locally. Residents founded the Association to Protect the Jemna Oasis (ASOJ) which runs the grove where 57-year-old Abdelbasset Abed works full-time, along with some 50 other people. During harvest season, the 12,000 date palms provide work for 160 people -- 10 times more than before. Two-thirds of these are seasonal workers. "The situation is a lot better than before," said Abed as he cleared away dry branches at the foot of a towering date palm. "I have a stable job." - Visible results - The results are visible beyond the grove itself, with production generating nearly 14 million dinars (roughly $4.5 million) over the past 15 years. A covered market, a sports field, computer labs in schools, scholarships and funds for other groups... the association has created more opportunities in a highly indebted Tunisia where little to no government funding reaches NGOs. "They even help students with financial aid," Abed said of the ASOJ. UTAIM, another local association that works with children who have disabilities, has had a constant source of income after ASOJ donated 50 palm trees to it. "They gave us a stable source of revenue," UTAIM director Halima Ben Othman told AFP. The local cemetery has also been revamped using income generated by the town's surrounding palm trees. It now has a separation wall and a seating area for people visiting the graves of those buried there. "Even the dead benefit," smiled Tahar Ettahri, the head of ASOJ. Such gains did not come easily, however, and now locals are saying they have to fight to preserve their economic self-rule. Two days before Ben Ali fled the country in early 2011, locals occupied the palm grove that had been leased cheaply to two well-connected businessmen. - Peaceful sit-in - "The young people of Jemna decided to reclaim their ancestors' land," which Ettahri said had a history of being plundered since French colonial rule. When the regional governor sent armoured vehicles and deployed security forces in an attempt to reclaim the grove, residents staged a three-month peaceful sit-in. Meanwhile, they had to keep producing the dates. So local trade unionists, activists, and ordinary citizens formed a coalition, and a community fundraiser gathered some 34,000 dinars (about $10,000) from more than 800 contributors to fund the project at its onset. "We came together with the goal of improving the well-being of our community," Ettahri said. "We came from different ideological backgrounds, but our shared interest in Jemna united us. Maybe that's why we succeeded." In his book "Jemna, the Revolution Oasis", sociologist Mohamed Kerrou called it a unique legacy of the ideals that sparked the Arab Spring. Ettahri said this stemmed from a sharp sense of social justice and a propensity for the common good. The town has a public space -- the "Jemna Agora" -- where people are handed a microphone and speak freely to discuss a problem or to propose projects for locals to put to a vote. - Sorting plant - Despite being a success, with revenues of 1.8 million dinars (about $592,000) by the fourth year of self-management, Jemna has had to battle post-revolution governments in order to preserve its model. Now, 15 years later, Ettahri said residents were still waiting to "settle the issue legally with the state". The former unionist and teacher said this was not a fight against the authorities -- the residents asked to lease the grove, and were ready to pay 15 years in back rent. To comply with a decree from President Kais Saied establishing "citizen's enterprises", which cited Jemna as an example, the ASOJ has formed a "community company". It has 334 members -- far more than the required 50-member minimum -- and all of them insist on voluntary status, another unique aspect among such enterprises, Ettahri said. "It's a lot of members, but the idea is to sociologically represent everyone," Ettahri said. The group now aims to launch a plant to sort and package dates locally, providing year-round employment for 100 women. Ettahri, 72, is a grandfather of seven and has taken a step back from day-to-day date production. He still heads the ASOJ, but more as a lookout to warn of potential problems ahead. fka/bou/srm/fec
Al Arabiya
30-04-2025
- Politics
- Al Arabiya
The ‘Arab Spring' belongs to another era
The 'Arab Spring' truly belongs to another era. But a more cautious approach alone is not enough by itself to keep ghosts of trouble forever at bay. To avoid renewed unrest, many of the regimes of North Africa and the Middle East have, in varying degrees, learned to adjust their mores. For all the latest headlines follow, our Google News channel online or via the app. As protests erupted in south-central Tunisia earlier this month, some wondered if we were witnessing a remake of the December 2010 events which sparked the Arab Spring. Hundreds of inhabitants took to the streets of Mazzouna, a small city in the same province of Sidi Bouzid where a street vendor named Mohammed Bouazizi set himself on fire unleashing a wave of unrest which led to the fall of the Zine El Abidine Ben Ali regime, more than 14 years ago. The catalyst for the protests, this time, was the death of teenagers who were crushed under the weight of the debris of a decaying school wall, which local authorities neglected to repair. Another similarity were the protests by angry crowds which for a few days set tires on fire and blocked city roads to voice their anger. But similarities stopped there; as Tunisia of 2025 was not the Tunisia of 2010. In fact, all the Arab countries, which had witnessed the watershed upheaval of 2011 and even those which did not, have in many ways changed great deal. All across the region, there was a rude awakening the day after the Arab Spring. Ensuing experiences of civil war, chaos or just stalled transitions offered unappealing models. In Libya, the institutional vacuum created by four decades of Gadhafi rule, combined with outside interventions and domestic strife, hurled the country into a chaotic situation from which it is yet to recover. Revolts in Yemen and Syria evolved into full-fledged civil wars brought about by short-sighted and sectarian rulers and unbridled interference of foreign powers, wrecked the two countries. Tunisia, the poster child of the 'Arab spring,' did for a while offer the semblance of an exception. But, as its inept governments engaged in political feuding at the expense of economic reform, the country quickly joined the ranks of failed experiences providing cautionary tales about the consequences of regime change under street pressure. In most non-oil producing Arab countries, the lack of meaningful reform continued to fuel poverty and unemployment, breeding new contingents of despair. Populations learned not to believe in the politicians' promises nor to expect their salvation through elusive democratic change. They ended up pinning more hope on individual solutions, mainly emigration, than on street protests. To avoid renewed unrest, many of the regimes of North Africa and the Middle East have, in varying degrees, learned to adjust their mores. In dealing with occasional eruptions of protest, more cohesive and disciplined security forces have mostly abandoned recourse to lethal means while the protesters themselves learned to eschew violence in expressing their grievances. Drawing the lessons of the slippery path of extreme violence which ended up sealing the fate of 'Arab spring' regimes, such policies went a long way towards preventing protests from spinning out of control in more recent years, even if keeping a lid on vicious cycles of violence remained an uphill task in places awash with weapons, such as Libya or Iraq. The North African countries, which were not engulfed by the 2011 turmoil, were in fact those which had the wisdom to avoid using excessive force in dealing with demonstrators. Morocco escaped the maelstrom by managing to keep protests peaceful while pointing to the reforms and political overtures it had introduced in the nineties as well as by capitalising on the king's legitimacy. Despite mass protests, from December 2010 to January 2012, Algeria, too, avoided bloodshed. It had been immunized by the memory of its bloody decade and was helped by oil revenues it used to cushion social woes. On the political level, the post-2011 governments of Tunisia, Libya and Egypt learned the hard way that the fallen regimes' practices of dynastic rule, combined with corruption, were key to eruptions of anger, and hence should be a red-line for all not to cross. A more cautious form of authoritarianism was born; as rulers realized they should not take their tenure for granted. They were now convinced they had to appease social discontent by introducing reforms or at least taking token measures in the face of looming unrest; even if such palliatives could take their toll on the budgets. Not all regimes seemed to realize that the freedom of expression genie could not be put back in the bottle but no ruler could ignore the fact that social media have widened their reach and were proving, every day, that they were a step ahead of the authorities and of traditional media. The aftermath of the Arab Spring also led the West to modify its approach to countries of the region. Desire for stability trumped all cards. Regional governments were now meeting the West half-way: while Europe and the US showed a willingness to refrain from democratic proselytism and the advocacy of regime change, the countries south of the Mediterranean accommodated Western calls to fight illegal emigration and curtail cross-border security threats. In the battle for the hearts and minds, authorities in the Maghreb, in particular, stayed vigilant about the early signs of re-emergence of the 'Hogra' mindset among the disenfranchised. Such a mindset, long associated with the feeling by the poor and the marginalized of being disrespected by authorities, had always proven to be a mobilizing battle cry and a harbinger of incoming turbulence. The Arab Spring truly belongs to another era. But a more cautious approach alone is not enough, by itself, to keep ghosts of trouble forever at bay. There remains the need for meaningful reform in order to revive hope in the future and make sure constituencies of despair start shrinking. Till that happens, too many cadres and underprivileged youth will continue to set their sights on Europe instead of seeking better lives at home.
