Tunisia is a small, Mediterranean country in North Africa. Back in 2007, Tunisian citizen-journalists had documented the tourism/shopping sprees of the dictator's wife aboard the presidential plane to Europe and global shopping/fashion capitals. (H/t Global Voices)
In 2010, the TuniLeaks website was set up to post (WikiLeaks-released) internal U.S. Embassy documents candidly exposing the corruption of Tunisia's dictatorship. Here's a heartfelt thank you to Chelsea Manning from a Tunisian.
Fascinating photo (released by Ben Ali's office) of dictator Ben Ali visiting the hospital bed of the desperate young man who set himself on fire in protest in Dec. 2010 -- the young man didn't live long enough to learn that his act led to the overthrow of Ben Ali after sustained, Internet-fueled nonviolent protests.
Amid the protests, Tunisian rapper El General put out this widely-circulated music video against Ben Ali that urged people to join the protest. It led to his arrest for a few days. Soon after, the dictator fled. The song went on to become an anthem in Tunisia, Egypt and elsewhere.
Despite upheaval, Tunisia has been the model of democracy and compromise in the wake of the Arab Spring, as suggested this article from 2016, and this new documentary.
U.S. jazz legend Dizzy Gillespie performs his classic jazz tune "Night in Tunisia," first recorded in 1944.
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