The death of fear

In an exclusive two-part documentary Rageh Omaar traces the roots and repercussions of the uprising in Tunisia - a revolution which ended half a century of autocratic rule and inspired a wave of public protest that swept across the Arab world.

On December 17, 2010, Mohammed Bouazizi set himself on fire in the small provincial Tunisian town of Sidi Bouzid. According to his family, the 26-year-old street vendor had been stopped by a local official who, when he was unable to pay the bribe she demanded, confiscated his goods and slapped him twice across the face.

It was one humiliation too many for a young man already struggling to survive and, unable to recover his goods, he poured fuel over himself and struck his lighter.

With youth unemployment over 20 per cent there was a depressing familiarity to this story and Mohammed was not the first young man to take his life in Tunisia's impoverished and forgotten south.

President Zine Abidine Ben Ali's dictatorship had however perfected its system of repression and censorship over 23 years.

Local officials acted with impunity and protests like Mohammed's never saw the light of day, or if they did, they seeped out as rumours days or weeks later.

What made this story different was the fact that Mohammed's cousin Ali filmed the immediate aftermath on his mobile phone and posted the video on his Facebook page.

On the same day Mohammed set himself on fire, hundreds and then thousands saw stark evidence of the brutality of the regime and for many, a reflection of their own sense of despair.

Ben Ali may have had complete control of the state media but broadband internet and the ability of its users to share images online had created an insurmountable problem for his regime.

Newspapers and television could be controlled, international satellite channels could be discredited but citizen journalists could neither be monitored nor effectively censored. Most mobile phones now had cameras, many had video. Added to this, social networking sites meant that images could be spread to thousands with the click of a button.

The protests which followed across Tunisia, at first small, but gradually gathering momentum, forced Ben Ali to fall back on the other element of his regime that he had perfected over 23 years, repression, with bloody consequences.

The first part of The death of fear can be seen from Wednesday, March 9, at the following times GMT: Wednesday: 2030; Thursday: 1230; Friday: 0130; Saturday: 0630; Sunday: 2030; Monday: 1230; Tuesday: 0130.

 
River to Sea Uprooted Palestinian