Jump to content

Mohamed Bouazizi

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(Redirected from Death of Mohamed Bouazizi)

Mohamed Bouazizi
محمد البوعزيزي
Born
Tarek El-Tayeb Mohamed Bouazizi[1]

(1984-03-29)29 March 1984
Sidi Bouzid, Tunisia
Died4 January 2011(2011-01-04) (aged 26)
Ben Arous, Tunisia
Cause of deathSuicide by self-immolation
Resting placeGaraat
OccupationStreet vendor
Known forInciting the Arab Spring through self-immolation

Tarek El-Tayeb Mohamed Bouazizi (Arabic: طارق الطيب محمد البوعزيزي, romanizedṬāriq aṭ-Ṭayib Muḥammad al-Būʿazīzī; 29 March 1984 – 4 January 2011) was a Tunisian street vendor who set himself on fire on 17 December 2010 in Sidi Bouzid, Tunisia, an act which became a catalyst for the Tunisian Revolution and the wider Arab Spring against autocratic regimes. His self-immolation was in response to the confiscation of his wares and the harassment and humiliation inflicted on him by a municipal official and their aides.

Simmering public anger and sporadic violence intensified following Bouazizi's death, leading the then-president of Tunisia, Zine El Abidine Ben Ali to step down on 14 January 2011, after 23 years in power.[2] The success of the Tunisian protests inspired protests in several other Arab countries, plus several non-Arab countries, such as in China. The protests included several men who emulated Bouazizi's act of self-immolation, in an attempt to bring an end to their own autocratic governments. Those men and Bouazizi were hailed by New York Times commentators as "heroic martyrs of a new North African and Middle Eastern revolution".[3]

In 2011, Bouazizi was posthumously awarded the Sakharov Prize jointly along with four others for his and their contributions to "historic changes in the Arab world".[4] The Tunisian government honored him with a postage stamp.[5] The Times of the United Kingdom named Bouazizi as "Person of 2011", The Jerusalem Post's Amotz Asa-El named him "Person of the Jewish Year 5771" and "The Protester" was named Time 2011 Person of the Year.[6][7]

Mohamed Bouazizi's grave (front right)

Early life

[edit]

Mohamed Bouazizi, who was known locally as "Babousa",[8] was born in Sidi Bouzid, Tunisia, on 29 March 1984.[9] His father, a construction worker in Libya, died of a heart attack when Bouazizi was three, and his mother married Bouazizi's uncle some time later.[2]

Along with his six siblings,[10] Bouazizi was educated in a one-room country school in Sidi Salah, a small village 19 kilometres (12 mi) from Sidi Bouzid.[11] Although several media outlets reported that Bouazizi had a university degree,[10][12][13] his sister, Samia Bouazizi, stated that he had never graduated from high school,[14] but that it was something he had wanted for both himself and his sisters.[11] With his uncle in poor health and unable to work regularly,[15] Bouazizi had worked various jobs since he was ten,[2] and in his late teens he quit school in order to work full-time.[15]

His father left a three-hectare plot of land whose produce hardly provided for the family. His uncle tried to build a farm that uses irrigation water by taking a loan from a bank to finance the project. With Mohamed working on the farm, the uncle fell in debt, and subsequently, the bank took hold of the land. It was during that time that the young man became a street vendor.[16]

Bouazizi lived in a modest stucco home, a 20-minute walk from the centre of Sidi Bouzid,[17][18] a rural town in Tunisia burdened by corruption[19] and suffering an unemployment rate estimated at 30%.[2] According to his mother, he applied to join the army, but was refused, and several subsequent job applications also resulted in rejection.[15] He supported his mother, uncle, and younger siblings, including paying for one of his sisters to attend university, by earning approximately US$140 per month selling produce on the street in Sidi Bouzid.[11][15] He was also working toward the goal of buying or renting a pickup truck for his work.[20] A close friend of Bouazizi said he "was a very well-known and popular man who would give free fruit and vegetables to very poor families".[15]

Confiscation of wares and self-immolation

[edit]

According to friends and family, local police officers had been targeting and mistreating Bouazizi since his childhood, regularly confiscating his produce cart;[15] Bouazizi, having no other way to make a living, continued working as a street vendor. Ostensibly, he was targeted because he lacked a vendor's permit,[20][21] but whether he even required one was initially unclear: Rania Abouzeid of Time Magazine claimed that street vending was outright illegal in Tunisia,[20] while Guardian reporter Peter Beaumont claimed that Bouazizi had attempted to secure a permit but was refused.[11] Following his death, it was confirmed by then-head of the Sidi Bouzid State Office for Employment and Independent Work Hamdi Lazhar that no permit is required to sell from a cart.[19] As a result, police were accused by two of Bouazizi's sisters of attempting to extort him, leaving him ultimately unable to pay the bribes necessary to allow his street vending to continue.[11][22][19] In an interview with Reuters, one of the sisters stated: "What kind of repression do you imagine it takes for a young man to do this? A man who has to feed his family by buying goods on credit when they fine him ... and take his goods. In Sidi Bouzid, those with no connections and no money for bribes are humiliated and insulted and not allowed to live."[18]

On the evening of 16 December 2010, he took on approximately US$200 in debt in order to acquire the produce he was to sell the following day. The following morning on 17 December, he started his workday at 8 a.m.[11] Just after 10:30 a.m., the police began to harass him.[20][21] The details of the events were disputed: Bouazizi's family alleged that he was publicly humiliated and slapped in the face by female police officer Faida Hamdi, who allegedly spat at him before toppling his cart and confiscating his electronic scales.[2][10][15] [20] It was also claimed that she made a slur against his deceased father;[18][20] her gender, according to his family, made his humiliation worse.[10][23] Hamdi and her brother disputed this, maintaining that she did not slap Bouazizi or otherwise mistreat him,[2][10][15] and an unnamed eyewitness likewise said to Asharq Al-Awsat that they did not see her slap Bouazizi.[24][25] Hamdi did admit, however, that her colleagues may have kicked and beaten him after confiscating his fruit cart.[24][25]

Angered by the confrontation, Bouazizi went to the governor's office to complain and demand the return of his scales.[20][26][27] The governor refused to see or listen to him, even after Bouazizi was quoted as saying, "If you don't see me, I'll burn myself."[20] Bouazizi then acquired a can of gasoline from a nearby gas station and returned to the governor's office. At 11:30 a.m., less than an hour after the altercation, Bouazizi stood outside the office in the middle of traffic and shouted, "How do you expect me to make a living?"[27] before dousing himself and igniting himself with a match.[20]

Ben Arous Burn and Trauma Centre where Bouazizi died

According to Bouazizi's sister and uncle, people immediately panicked when he caught fire, and one of them tried to douse him with water.[28] Bouazizi had suffered burns on over 90% of his body before locals managed to stop the flames. He was taken by ambulance to a hospital, where he was placed in an intensive care unit. He was subsequently transferred to a second, larger hospital in Sfax, more than 110 kilometres (68 mi) away, and then to the Ben Arous Burn and Trauma Centre in the capital, 270 kilometres (170 mi) away.[10]

On 31 December 2010, doctors reported that Bouazizi was in stable condition, and that he was showing a positive possibility of recovery.[28] Despite the optimistic prognosis, Bouazizi remained comatose until his death.[29][30] Bouazizi was visited in the hospital by then-President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali,[31] who promised to send him to France for medical treatment according to Bouazizi's mother Benobia, but no such transfer ultimately occurred, leading to criticism.[15]

Death and funeral

[edit]

Bouazizi died on 4 January 2011, at 5:30 p.m. local time.[15][32]

It is estimated that more than 5,000 people participated in the funeral procession that began in Sidi Bouzid and continued through to Bouazizi's native village, though police did not allow the procession to pass near the spot at which Bouazizi had burned himself.[33] From the crowd, many were heard chanting "Farewell, Mohamed, we will avenge you. We weep for you today. We will make those who caused your death weep."[34] He was buried at Garaat Bennour cemetery, 15 kilometres (10 mi) from Sidi Bouzid.[35] His grave was described by Al-Jazeera as "simple" and surrounded by cacti, olive, and almond trees.[15] In addition, a Tunisian flag flies next to the site.[36] Tom Chesshyre also describes his tomb after visiting it: small, white, by a row of cacti, and with a simple inscription: "Martyr Mohamed Bouazizi. Peace for his life. And in the next life, have peace as well".[37]

Investigation

[edit]

An investigation was launched following Bouazizi's self-immolation to find the details leading up to his actions. On 20 December 2010, it was reported that Faida Hamdi, the officer who accosted Bouazizi the day of his immolation, was suspended along with the secretary-general (governor) of Sidi Bouzid,[38] but this was subsequently denied by the latter.[39] Some time later, Hamdi was arrested on orders from President Ben Ali and held in an unspecified town.[2][24] A brother of Hamdi later stated that she had been arrested and detained twice, the first time following Ben Ali's visit to Bouazizi in the hospital and subsequent meeting with Bouazizi's mother and sister at his presidential palace. Hamdi's brother then says his sister and her aides were released following a short detention and the closing of the investigation which "confirmed her innocence".[24] He said her second arrest was "in response to the demands of the Tunisian protesters", and that the Tunisian security authorities informed him that she was being held only for her own protection and would be released once the protesting ended.[24]

According to Bouazizi's mother, Bouazizi chose to take this action because he had been humiliated, not because of the family's poverty.[20] "It got to him deep inside, it hurt his pride," she said, referring to the police harassment.[15] One of Bouazizi's sisters stated during an interview with Asharq Al-Awsat that their family intends to take legal action against all involved, "whether this is the municipal officers that slapped and insulted him, or the mayor [who] refused to meet him".[24]

On 19 April, the case against Hamdi was dropped and she was cleared of all charges after Bouazizi's mother withdrew the family's complaint against her. She stated "It was a difficult but well-thought-out decision to avoid hatred and ... [to] help reconcile the residents of Sidi Bouzid." Hamdi had maintained her innocence, telling the court she did not slap Bouazizi, while her lawyer said the matter was "purely a political affair". Bouazizi's brother Salem supported the decision, saying "All the money in the world can't replace the loss of Mohamed who sacrificed himself for freedom and for dignity." Large crowds of people outside the courtroom also appeared to have been satisfied by the Bouazizi family's decision with some claiming Hamdi was being used as a scapegoat.[40][41]

Protests

[edit]
Tunisian street protests

Outraged by the events that led to Bouazizi's self-immolation, protests began in Sidi Bouzid within hours,[19] building for more than two weeks, with attempts by police to quiet the unrest serving only to fuel what was quickly becoming a violent and deadly movement.[42] After Bouazizi's death, the protests became widespread, moving into the more affluent areas and eventually into the capital. The anger and violence became so intense that President Ben Ali fled Tunisia with his family on 14 January 2011,[20] trying first to go to Paris but being refused refuge by the French government. They were eventually welcomed into Saudi Arabia under "a long list of conditions" which included being barred from public exposure (including the media) and from working in politics, thus ending his 23-year rule and sparking "angry condemnation" among Saudis.[42] In Tunisia, unrest persisted as a new regime took over, leaving many citizens of Tunisia feeling as though their needs were still being ignored.[43]

Aftermath and legacy

[edit]
A French protest in support of "the Hero of Tunisia", on 15 January 2011

Many Arabs in the Middle East and North Africa regard Bouazizi as a hero and inspiration.[44][45] He is credited with galvanising the frustrations of the region's youth against their governments into the mass demonstrations, revolts, and revolutions that have become known as the Arab Spring.[46] One year on, Tunisian writer and academic Larbi Sadiki asserted that Bouazizi's self-immolation "changed the course of Arab political history", achieving the "breakthrough in the fight against autocracy". However, he also wrote it would take years before the act and the subsequent chain of events that followed were "profoundly grasped by historians and social scientists".[47]

Bouazizi is considered a martyr by the Progressive Democratic Party (PDP) of Tunisia.[15] Tunisian film director Mohamed Zran plans on making a feature film about Bouazizi, describing him as "a symbol for eternity".[46] Tarak Ben Ammar, another Tunisian film director, intends to make a film on Bouazizi as well, stating he is "a hero for us as Tunisians and the Arab world as a whole".[44]

Since suicide is forbidden in Islam, Bouazizi's self-immolation created controversy among scholarly Muslim circles. While Al-Azhar University, the most prestigious religious institution in the Sunni Muslim world, issued a fatwa (a religious opinion) stating "suicide violates Islam even when it is carried out as a social or political protest", influential Egyptian cleric Yusuf al-Qaradawi spoke sympathetically of Bouazizi.[3]

On 4 February 2011, Bertrand Delanoë, the mayor of Paris, announced that, as a tribute to honour Bouazizi, a square in Paris will be named after him;[48] the Mohamed-Bouazizi Square was unveiled four days later. On 17 February, the main square in Tunis that was previously called "November 7", after the date of Ben Ali's take-over in 1987, was renamed "January 14", though some had suggested it should honor Bouazizi (though a major roadway leading to the city's airport was renamed for him).[49] Bouazizi was posthumously awarded the 2011 Sakharov Prize as one of "five representatives of the Arab people, in recognition and support of their drive for freedom and human rights".[50] On 17 December, a cart statue was unveiled in Sidi Bouzid in honor of Bouazizi. Tunisia's first elected president Moncef Marzouki attended the ceremony, stating "Thank you to this land, which has been marginalised for centuries, for bringing dignity to the entire Tunisian people."[51] Also, in Sidi Bouzid, as well as in the capital city of Tunis, both cities' respective main streets were renamed, "Boulevard Mohamed Bouazizi".[citation needed] The United Kingdom's The Times newspaper named Bouazizi person of the year for 2011.[52]

"By Fire", a story by Moroccan author Tahar Ben Jelloun inspired by this incident, was published in The New Yorker edition of 16 September 2013.[53] It is a fictional treatment; some details in the story differ from the factual account. An interview with the author about his story[54] was posted to The New Yorker's "This Week in Fiction" on 9 September 2013. In 2011 Hamid Sadr, an Iranian author based in Austria, published the book "Der Fluch des Gemüsehändlers Mohamed Bouazizi" ("The curse of the greengrocer Mohamed Bouazizi"), in which he speculated whether the ensuing protest movement would lead towards democracy or theocracy.[55]

On 17 December 2015, the Tunisian National Dialogue Quartet, the Nobel Peace Prize laureates of that year, as well as other civil society organizations, celebrated Mohamed Bouazizi and the start of the Arab spring five years after his death in a ceremony in Sidi Bouzid.[56]

A Guardian article in 2020 noted that many Tunisians had become disillusioned at the bleak economic situation in the country, and "cursed" Bouazizi's name and legacy.[57]

[edit]

Bouazizi's actions triggered a number of self-immolations, in protests emulating his own, in several other countries in the Greater Middle East and Europe. In Algeria in particular, protests against rising food prices and spreading unemployment[58] have resulted in many self-immolations. The first reported case following Bouazizi's death was that of Mohsen Bouterfif, a 37-year-old father of two, who set himself on fire when the mayor of Boukhadra, Tébessa Province refused to meet with him and others regarding employment and housing requests on 13 January 2011. According to a report in El-Watan, the mayor challenged him, saying if he had courage he would immolate himself by fire as Bouazizi had done.[59] He died on 24 January. In nearby El Oued Province, Maamir Lotfi, a 36-year-old unemployed father of six, also denied a meeting with the governor, burned himself in front of the town hall of El Oued on 17 January, dying on 12 February.[60] Abdelhafid Boudechicha, a 29-year-old day laborer who lived with his parents and five siblings, burned himself in Medjana on 28 January over employment and housing issues. He died the following day.[61]

In the six months immediately after Mohamed Bouazizi's death on 4 January 2011, at least 107 Tunisians set themselves on fire.[62] The men who self-immolated were mostly young unmarried men from poor, rural areas, and had only basic education.[62] Amenallah Messaadi, who collated the figures and is head of the Burns Centre, said that people "should stop adding fuel to the fire".[62]

In Egypt, Abdou Abdel-Moneim Jaafar, a 49-year-old restaurant owner, set himself alight in front of the Egyptian Parliament.[63] His act of protest helped instigate weeks of protest and, later, the resignation of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak on 11 February 2011. In Saudi Arabia, an unidentified 65-year-old man died on 21 January 2011 after setting himself on fire in the town of Samtah, Jizan. This was apparently the kingdom's first known case of self-immolation.[64][65]

Although these cases, with the exception of Egypt, did not garner the same kind of popular reaction that Bouazizi's case did in Tunisia, the Algerian, Yemeni, and Jordanian governments experienced significant protests and made major concessions in response to them.[20] As such, these men and Bouazizi were hailed by some as "heroic martyrs of a new Middle Eastern revolution".[3]

On 11 February 2011, in a case very similar to Bouazizi's, Noureddine Adnane, a 27-year-old Moroccan street vendor, set himself on fire in Palermo, Sicily, Italy in protest of the confiscation of his wares and the harassment that was inflicted on him by municipal officials.[66] He died five days later.[67] In Amsterdam, the Netherlands, Kambiz Roustay, a 36-year-old asylum seeker from Iran, set himself on fire on Dam Square in protest of being refused asylum. Roustay had fled the country for publishing works undermining the regime, and feared being tortured by the Iranian government upon his return.[68]

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Encyclopædia Britannica: Mohamed Bouazizi Archived 20 February 2012 at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Fahim, Kareem (21 January 2011). "Slap to a Man's Pride Set Off Tumult in Tunisia". New York Times. p. 2. Archived from the original on 1 July 2017. Retrieved 23 January 2011.
  3. ^ a b c Worth, Robert F. (21 January 2011). "How a Single Match Can Ignite a Revolution". New York Times. Archived from the original on 7 October 2011. Retrieved 26 January 2011.
  4. ^ "Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought 2011". European Parliament. Archived from the original on 23 October 2011. Retrieved 27 October 2011.
  5. ^ Kent, David A. (May 2011). "New Issue of the Week: Revolution in Tunisia". Mekeel's & Stamps Magazine. 207 (10): 19.
  6. ^ "Times names Bouazizi person of 2011". uk.reuters.com. 28 December 2011. Archived from the original on 22 January 2012. Retrieved 29 December 2011.
  7. ^ "Britain's Times names Tunisian fruitseller 'Person of 2011'". abs-cbnnews.com. 28 December 2011. Archived from the original on 30 December 2011. Retrieved 29 December 2011.
  8. ^ "Tunisia events turning point in Arab world". Gulf News. 16 January 2011. Archived from the original on 3 December 2013. Retrieved 22 January 2011.
  9. ^ von Rohr, Mathieu (18 March 2011). "The Small Tunisian Town that Sparked the Arab Revolution". Der Spiegel. Archived from the original on 27 August 2012. Retrieved 27 October 2012.
  10. ^ a b c d e f "Tunisia: 'I have lost my son, but I am proud of what he did'". The Independent. UK. 21 January 2011. Archived from the original on 30 March 2019. Retrieved 23 January 2011.
  11. ^ a b c d e f Beaumont, Peter (20 January 2011). "Mohammed Bouazizi: the dutiful son whose death changed Tunisia's fate". The Guardian. UK. Archived from the original on 29 July 2013. Retrieved 23 January 2011.
  12. ^ "The Story of Mohamed Bouazizi, the man who toppled Tunisia". IBTimes. 14 January 2011. Archived from the original on 17 January 2011. Retrieved 23 January 2011.
  13. ^ Jaf, Dana (17 January 2011). "What Can We Do for Freedom". Kurdish Aspect. Archived from the original on 15 March 2011. Retrieved 23 January 2011.
  14. ^ Toumi, Habib (31 December 2010). "Man at the centre of Tunisia unrest recuperating, doctors say". Gulf News. Archived from the original on 3 December 2013. Retrieved 23 January 2011.
  15. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Ryan, Yasmine (16 January 2011). "The tragic life of a street vendor". Al Jazeera English. Archived from the original on 23 January 2011. Retrieved 23 January 2011.
  16. ^ Bayat, Asef (2017). Revolution without Revolutionaries: Making Sense of the Arab Spring. Stanford University Press. p. 125. ISBN 9781503602588.
  17. ^ Chick, Kristen (19 January 2011). "Tunisian emotions burst forth". The Christian Science Monitor. Archived from the original on 22 January 2011. Retrieved 23 January 2011.
  18. ^ a b c Noueihed, Lin (19 January 2011). "Peddler's martyrdom launched Tunisia's revolution". Reuters. Archived from the original on 25 November 2011. Retrieved 23 January 2011.
  19. ^ a b c d Thorne, John (13 January 2011). "Bouazizi has become a Tunisian protest 'symbol'". The National. Archived from the original on 16 January 2011. Retrieved 23 January 2011.
  20. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Abouzeid, Rania (21 January 2011). "Bouazizi: The Man Who Set Himself and Tunisia on Fire". Time. Archived from the original on 22 January 2011. Retrieved 23 January 2011.
  21. ^ a b Kherigi, Intissar (19 January 2011). "Tunisia needs real freedom". The Guardian. UK. Archived from the original on 20 September 2013. Retrieved 26 January 2011.
  22. ^ Murphy, Dan (14 January 2011). "Sticking a fork in Tunisia's Ben Ali". Christian Science Monitor. Archived from the original on 21 January 2011. Retrieved 23 January 2011.
  23. ^ Toumi, Habib (31 December 2010). "Man at the centre of Tunisia unrest recuperating, doctors say". HabibToumi.com. Archived from the original on 12 October 2017. Retrieved 23 January 2011.
  24. ^ a b c d e f Al-Saleh, Huda (2 February 2011). "Controversy over 'the slap' that brought down a government". aawsat.com. Archived from the original on 26 February 2011. Retrieved 15 February 2011.
  25. ^ a b Michael J. Totten (17 May 2012). "The Woman Who Blew Up the Arab World". World Affairs Journal. Archived from the original on 22 December 2015. Retrieved 17 May 2012. Barack Obama mentioned me in a speech. He said I was a cop. He said I slapped Mohamed Bouazizi. He's a stupid fool for not checking. Americans are great people, but you need to do a better job of checking your information.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  26. ^ "Tunisia revolt sparked by a police slap". The Australian. 19 January 2011. Archived from the original on 19 January 2011. Retrieved 23 January 2011.
  27. ^ a b Simon, Bob (20 February 2011). "How a slap sparked Tunisia's Revolution". CBS News. p. 1. Archived from the original on 26 April 2011. Retrieved 25 April 2011.
  28. ^ a b Toumi, Habib (31 December 2010). "Man at the centre of Tunisia unrest recuperating, doctors say". Gulf News. Al-Nisr Publishing. Archived from the original on 3 December 2013. Retrieved 18 June 2011.
  29. ^ Jodi Orgill Brown (28 March 2011). "Life Under Construction: Revolutions of Hope in the Middle East". Lifeconstructionzone.com. Archived from the original on 11 October 2011. Retrieved 18 June 2011.
  30. ^ "The Arabs by Eugene Rogan". Arabsahistory.com. Archived from the original on 23 March 2012. Retrieved 18 June 2011.
  31. ^ "President Zine el Abidine Ben Ali visits young man Mohamed Bouazizi". Tunisia-tour.com. Archived from the original on 31 December 2010. Retrieved 23 January 2011.
  32. ^ "Tunisian protester dies of burns". Al Jazeera English. 5 January 2011. Archived from the original on 28 January 2011. Retrieved 23 January 2011.
  33. ^ Ben Bouazza, Bouazza (5 January 2011). "Youth at heart of Tunisia unrest buried". WTOP-FM. Archived from the original on 19 March 2015. Retrieved 23 January 2011.
  34. ^ Falk, Richard (25 January 2011). "Ben Ali Tunisia was model US client". Al Jazeera English. Archived from the original on 27 January 2011. Retrieved 26 January 2011.
  35. ^ Ben Salah, Hamida (5 January 2011). "Thousands bury Tunisian whose protest sparked unrest". Yahoo! News. Retrieved 4 February 2011.[dead link]
  36. ^ "A Tunisian flag flies next to grave". Yahoo! News. 11 March 2011. Archived from the original on 4 November 2012. Retrieved 25 April 2011.
  37. ^ A Tourist in the Arab Spring. Bradt Travel Guides. 2013. ISBN 9781841624754. Archived from the original on 15 December 2020. Retrieved 19 October 2020.
  38. ^ "Tunisia suspends four over attempted suicide". Radio Netherlands Worldwide. 28 December 2010. Archived from the original on 28 September 2012. Retrieved 23 January 2011.
  39. ^ "Tunisia: Sidi Bouzid; Municipal Secretary Not Suspended". Ansa Mediterranean. 28 December 2010. Archived from the original on 28 September 2011. Retrieved 23 January 2011.
  40. ^ "Tunisia revolt: Mohamed Bouazizi police suspect freed". BBC News. 19 April 2011. Archived from the original on 20 April 2011. Retrieved 20 April 2011.
  41. ^ Day, Elizabeth (23 April 2011). "Fedia Hamdi's slap which sparked a revolution 'didn't happen'". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on 27 September 2016. Retrieved 12 December 2016.
  42. ^ a b "Ben Ali gets refuge in Saudi Arabia". Al Jazeera English. Archived from the original on 9 February 2011. Retrieved 24 January 2011.
  43. ^ Abouzid, Rania (21 January 2011). "Bouazizi: The Man Who Set Himself and Tunisia on Fire". Time. Archived from the original on 24 January 2011. Retrieved 24 January 2011.
  44. ^ a b Jansen, Michael (1 February 2011). "Ben Ammar to produce film on Tunisian hero Bouazizi". Arab News. Al-Sharq al-Awsat. Archived from the original on 1 February 2011. Retrieved 11 April 2011.
  45. ^ Jansen, Michael (18 January 2011). "Egyptian injured in self-immolation protest". The Irish Times. Archived from the original on 28 January 2011. Retrieved 11 April 2011.
  46. ^ a b Watson, Ivan (22 March 2011). "The Tunisian fruit seller who kickstarted Arab uprising". CNN. Archived from the original on 8 April 2011. Retrieved 11 April 2011.
  47. ^ Sadiki, Larbi (29 December 2011). "The Bouazizi 'big bang'". Al Jazeera English. Archived from the original on 26 July 2012. Retrieved 28 July 2012.
  48. ^ "Delanoë veut donner le nom du jeune Tunisien immolé à un lieu parisien" [Delanoë to give the name of the young immolated Tunisian to a place in Paris] (in French). Agence France-Presse. 4 February 2011. Archived from the original on 31 July 2012. Retrieved 5 February 2011.
  49. ^ "Tunis renames square after man who sparked protests". Reuters. 17 February 2011. Archived from the original on 15 December 2020. Retrieved 2 July 2017.
  50. ^ "Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought 2011". European Parliament. Archived from the original on 23 October 2011. Retrieved 27 October 2011.
  51. ^ "Tunisia unveils Bouazizi cart statue in Sidi Bouzid". BBC News. 17 December 2011. Archived from the original on 12 July 2012. Retrieved 28 July 2012.
  52. ^ "UK's Times newspaper names Bouazizi person of 2011". Al Arabiya. Reuters. 28 December 2011. Archived from the original on 4 February 2012. Retrieved 28 July 2012.
  53. ^ Ben Jelloun, Tahar (16 September 2013). "By Fire". The New Yorker. Translated by Nezami, Rita S. pp. 62–71.
  54. ^ Deborah Treisman (6 September 2013). "This Week In Fiction: Tahar ben Jelloun". The New Yorker. Archived from the original on 1 October 2013. Retrieved 21 September 2013.
  55. ^ "Der Fluch des Gemüsehändlers Mohamed Bouazizi: Demokratie oder Herrschaft des Islam? > ISBN 13: 9783854525585". ZVAB (in German). Archived from the original on 31 October 2023. Retrieved 31 October 2023.
  56. ^ Ben Bouazza, Bouazza; Wiacek, Benjamin (17 December 2015). "Tunisian Nobel winners marking 5 years of Arab Spring". Business Insider. Associated Press. Archived from the original on 22 December 2015.
  57. ^ "'He ruined us': 10 years on, Tunisians curse man who sparked Arab spring". TheGuardian.com. 16 December 2020. Archived from the original on 5 May 2022. Retrieved 5 May 2022.
  58. ^ Xinhua (25 January 2011). "Algeria reports 2nd death of self-immolation". China Daily. Retrieved 22 February 2011.[permanent dead link]
  59. ^ Benslimane, Mehdi & Slim Badaoui (24 January 2011). "Le maire à Mohcin Bouterfif : ' Si tu as du courage, fais comme Bouazizi, immole-toi par le feu '" (in French). DNA-Algerie. Archived from the original on 28 January 2011. Retrieved 22 February 2011.
  60. ^ "Quatrième décès par immolation en Algérie, à la veille de la marche du 12 février". Jeune Afrique (in French). 12 February 2011. Archived from the original on 15 February 2011. Retrieved 22 February 2011.
  61. ^ A. B. (29 January 2011). "Un jeune décède après s'être immolé par le feu à Bordj Bou Arréridj". El Watan (in French). Archived from the original on 1 February 2011. Retrieved 22 February 2011.
  62. ^ a b c "Tunisia one year on: New trend of self-immolations". BBC News. 12 January 2012. Archived from the original on 23 June 2012. Retrieved 23 June 2012.
  63. ^ "In Egypt, man sets himself on fire, driven by economic woes". English Al-Ahram. 17 January 2011. Archived from the original on 20 July 2011. Retrieved 23 January 2011.
  64. ^ "Man dies after setting himself on fire in Saudi Arabia". BBC News. 23 January 2011. Archived from the original on 23 January 2011. Retrieved 23 January 2011.
  65. ^ Mifthah, Mohideen (22 January 2011). "Man dies in possible first self-immolation in Saudi". The Sunday Times. London. Archived from the original on 25 January 2011. Retrieved 23 January 2011.
  66. ^ "Street Vendor Sets Himself on Fire in Palermo, Critical". Agenzia Giornalistica Italia. 12 February 2011. Archived from the original on 29 June 2011. Retrieved 22 February 2011.
  67. ^ "Palermo, Moroccan street vendor dies after setting himself on fire". Ahora Italia. Archived from the original on 7 July 2011. Retrieved 22 February 2011.
  68. ^ "Iraniër waarschuwde al voor wanhoopsdaad". At5.nl. 7 April 2011. Archived from the original on 14 April 2011. Retrieved 18 June 2011.
[edit]