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Tunisian government ousted, virtually unprecedented in modern Arab history

A. The 2010–2011 Tunisian Revolution is a series of street demonstrations taking place throughout Tunisia since December 2010. The demonstrations and riots were reported to have started over unemployment, food inflation, corruption, freedom of speech, and poor living conditions. The protests constituted the most dramatic wave of social and political unrest in Tunisia in three decades and have resulted in scores of deaths and injuries. The protests were sparked by a self-immolation of Mohamed Bouazizi on December 17 and led to the ousting of President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali 28 days later on 15 January 2011, when he officially resigned after fleeing to Saudi Arabia, ending 23 years in power. The protests inspired similar actions throughout the Arab world, most notably in Algeria, Egypt, Yemen, and Jordan.

A. Mohamed Bouazizi was a poor man who tried to sell produce from a rolling cart to support his family. Local police officers harrassed him for not having a “proper” vendors license to do so, though some government officials state that a license was not required if selling from a cart. It is “claimed” that Bouazazi did not have the funds to bribe the police which is what resulted in his belongings being taken. He was later humiliated by a 45-year-old female municipal official, F. Hamdi, who slapped him in the face, spat at him, confiscated his electronic weighing scales, and tossed aside his fruit and vegetable cart; all while her two colleagues assisted her in beating him.

Angered by the confrontation, Bouazizi went to the governor’s office to complain. Following the governor’s refusal to see or listen to him, even after Bouazizi was quoted as saying “‘If you don’t see me, I’ll burn myself’,” he acquired a can of gasoline (or two bottles of paint thinner) and, at 11:30 a.m. local time (less than an hour after the altercation), he doused himself in front of a local government building and set himself on fire.

It is estimated that more than 5,000 people participated in the funeral procession in honor of Bouazazi as many people identified with his feeling of injustice and inequality. From the crowd, many were heard chanting “Farewell, Mohammed, we will avenge you. We weep for you today. We will make those who caused your death weep.”

A. The protests in Egypt are similar to Tunisia in that many people are frustrated with unemployment, food inflation, corruption, and other inequalities that also exist in Egypt. The Egyptian people feel that if protestors can “reform” their country in Tunisia by mass demonstations, the same effort may bring about change in social and governmental policy in Egypt as well. In the beginning of the Egyptian protests, many anti-government protestors were waving the Tunisian flag as a symbol of shared unity and inspiration for change.

The 2011 Egyptian protests, and also referred to as the 2011 Egyptian uprising, are an ongoing series of street demonstrations, marches, rallies, acts of civil disobedience, riots, labour strikes and violent clashes that began in Egypt ON 25 January 2011.

A. Grievances for Egyptian protesters have focused on legal and political issues including police brutality, lack of free elections and free speech, and corruption, as well as economic issues including high unemployment, food price inflation, and low minimum wages. The primary demands from protest organisers are the end of the Hosni Mubarak regime, the end of Emergency Law (martial law), freedom, justice, a responsive non-military government, and management of Egypt’s resources. Ultimately, they are looking to force the current President who has ruled Egypt for over 30 years to leave the country, which would of course mean for him to relinquish office.

In this month’s newsletter, we are focusing on educating students more about the situation in Egypt and ultimately about news in the world. Our newsletters will focus on helping students develop better English skills through our “English education through Real World News”. We are including this News Story video to complement our news story written above.

We hope by doing both an easy to understand written story and video in our newsletter, our students can gain a better understanding of why and how developments in Egypt and news in the world occur.

Where was I?…. Oh yes….

When I last left off in my story depicting my “epic” adventures in this new and mysterious land, I had just secured a job and was hunting for a new place to lay my head down at the end of what will be long and stressful days of work.

Remembering what I learned from a “guesthouse” mate when I first came to Japan, I researched several websites beforehand and began visiting several real estate agencies (“fudosan”) on my day off. My Japanese speaking friend whom I had met at work was kind enough to accompany me in my pursuit of a “castle”, which made communication much easier when discussing the details of the potential rooms. After visiting a couple of agencies, I learned firsthand what my room mate meant when he told me getting an apartment was difficult for foreigners!

[Lesson Learned 1: Owners can refuse to rent to someone based on them being “non-Japanese” – In other countries like the U.S., owners (landlords) CAN NOT refuse to rent to someone based on gender, nationality, religion, etc… It is ILLEGAL to turn someone down because they are a foreigner. ]

My friend tried to get the real estate agent to find flats that would be ok for a foreigner to rent but most of my options were limited to only older buildings or pricey accomodations provided on a monthly basis like Sakura house or similar companies. As I was looking to stay for longer than a year, these options were pretty much out of the question.

After nearly two weeks of searching and mostly frustration due to the discrimination I felt toward “gaijins”, I bit the bullet and took a (1K, 6 tatami) room that was in a fairly old building but conveniently located near Nakano station and most importantly near the school I was working at. The rent was only 65,000yen so I couldn’t complain. The initial upfront costs were a little daunting, but I knew about this ahead of time so I had to again dig into my savings. The good point was that the owner of the building, an elderly woman in her late 60’s, was very nice and gave me an old oven stove she had stored away.

[Lesson Learned 2: Apartments DO NOT come furnished with a refridgerator, lights, or oven!- In the U.S. if you rent an apartment or house, it must be equipped with these basic things. I would say 90% of rentals in the states also come with a washer/dryer as well. ]

The day before moving into my new crib, I was so excited that I could not sleep 🙂 I know it was not my first apartment as I had lived on my own since college, but it was my first place in Tokyo. I don’t know why but being able to have some place to call “home” was a great feeling for me. I guess these are the little pleasures in life.

On the “BIG” day, I moved into my new apartment with my only belonging being the clothes on my back and a suitcase. Immediately afterwards, I went to several places in Tokyo to pick up furniture I had bought or received for little to no money thanks to a website called “Craigslist” where people offer their furniture for sale.

[Lesson Learned 3: I know I know.. This should be common sense and not a lesson learned but.. Do not carry furniture on the train .. People will look at you very strangely if you are carrying a fridge on the train and through the ticket gates… “stupid me”.. BUT I am trying to save money!]

Ok! I am set. Fridge.. Check! Oven.. Check! Desk.. Check! Coffee table.. Check! Curtains.. Check! Bed… (half check!) I would like to get a bed but for now I feel a futon will suffice.

As I sit here in my little humble home, I can’t but feel a sense of lonliness… I wish I had someone to share my sense of joy with.. I would like to call either my parents or friends back home but my Internet won’t be set until next week…

Though my new found friends invited me out for a drink to celebrate my new apartment, I feel I will sit in the quiet and truly enjoy MY CASTLE. << to be continued>>