10 years on, Tunisian emotions mixed in birthplace of Arab Spring

Ten years after the first Arab Spring protests erupted in the central Tunisian city of Sidi Bouzid, the locals are still suffering economic hardships amid a lack of government support.
A man walks past a sculpture of Mohamed Bouazizi's cart (bearing text reading in Arabic: "I do not forgive") in the square named after him in the centre of the town of Sidi Bouzid in central Tunisia on October 27, 2020, the cradle of the 2011 Tunisian revolution where unemployment remains high ten years later. - The sister of Mohamed Bouazizi, whose self-immolation sparked a string of Arab uprisings, says she is "very disappointed" in Tunisia's revolution and has urged young Tunisians to continue the fight
A man walks past a sculpture of Mohamed Bouazizi's cart (bearing text reading in Arabic "I do not forgive") in the square named after him in the center of the central Tunisian town of Sidi Bouzid, the cradle of the 2011 Tunisian revolution, where unemployment remains high 10 years later, Oct. 27, 2020. - FETHI BELAID/AFP via Getty Images
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Stephen Quillen
@stephen_quillen

SIDI BOUZID, Tunisia — In the heart of Tunisia’s central town of Sidi Bouzid is a statue of a fruit cart towering above the presidential seat of power — a homage to fruit vendor Mohamed Bouazizi’s storied role in setting in motion the country’s 2011 revolution.

The 26-year-old street vendor set himself alight on Dec. 17, 2010, after a dispute with police who confiscated his handcart and produce — his only way to make a modest living for a household of eight. The desperate act of protest ignited a tidal wave of demonstrations in Tunisia that ousted the country’s longtime autocratic ruler and eventually rippled across the region.

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