Colour and Smiles, Not Smoke and Screams

I love the Tunis market. It's a place of colour and warmth: The cheese seller who greets me as a friend now, the spice vendor who walked past, recognized me and gave me a solemn nod, the man quietly reading the Koran at his vegetable stand, another cheese seller (the one with the kind eyes) who gave me a sample even though he saw I had already bought from someone else, the bread guy who was joking with us and snatched the bread from me, then grinned, the vegetable seller who called my friend and me "daughter" the other day, and the man who gave us presents (straw fans) worth much more than the couple dollars we spent on eggs and raisins. Each time I go there I am reminded of how lovely the people of Tunisia are, how vibrant and joyful and generous.
For friends overseas, these are the people you should think of when you think of the Arab world, not the outspoken, violent few who manage to make international news.

Tunisia Two Months On...

A Tunis street

Tunisia caught me by surprise. This confusing, frustrating and beautiful place is taking more time to get to know than most countries I’ve lived in. But, as I am starting to see, it is worth the effort...

 For the first few weeks here, I was miserable. To be honest, to me Tunisia was lacking the vibrant colour and warmth of Senegal. The cold bit into me at night and as I sat working during the day. People seemed so aggressive- pushing each other on the sidewalks, men catcalling me every other minute, yelling from all sides, all the time. They spoke to me in Arabic and then laughed when I couldn’t answer back. I saw things in shades of grey- the sky, the dark clothes, my mood when I was constantly harassed by men. I’ve been a world traveller since I was a kid, and for the most part I don’t experience much culture shock anymore. But this place was different. I couldn’t wrap my head around it. I couldn’t get used to it. I would get home tired and discouraged. I didn’t want to read, or write, or think, I just wanted quiet from the cacophony of noise I was bombarded with each day.

One of the only things that made me smile was working at Tunisia Live. The stories I wrote were exciting, exhausting, and fulfilling. They made me think, and a couple times, cry.

Blue skies from the roof

I got to know some of the Tunisian writers as I edited their stories and asked for their help with my own. I made mistakes (some of them big), and their kindness and patience in teaching me about their country started to slowly change my view of my new home. I went to the market at lunch time, taking in the colours and laughter of fresh produce and the vendors who are colourful characters themselves. One friend showed me a used bookstore across from our office, a treasure for someone who loves to read like I do. I bought a novel by my favourite author, Antoine de Saint Exupery, and sat reading it in the sunshine by the open balcony, looking up at one of the first blue skies I’d seen since arriving. Tunisia was starting to look better.

Fashion Week Tunis: a look from Narcisco Domingo Machiavelli

And then Fashion Week Tunis rolled around. Being immersed in the creativity of a country rebuilding itself was one of the most exhilarating experiences of my life. I have aways wanted to write about fashion and social change, but never thought that I would be able to write about both in one story. I realized then that I am doing exactly what I dreamed of when I signed up for journalism school.

It was also at Fashion Week that something else occurred to me: this is part of the Revolution too. The beauty, message, passion, joy and youth is all vital to this new phase in Tunisia’s history. And by writing about it, and more “serious” topics, I’m a part of all that as well. It’s a humbling thought. As my friend Seyf said to me one day, why wouldn’t I want to be here, crafting a country from scratch, whether it’s in fashion, art, music, politics or journalism? There is a freedom here, a sense of possibility that I have never experienced before.

Tunis in bloom

And that’s why, a little over two months into living in Tunisia, I can’t imagine being anywhere else. I’ve also had a chance to travel a bit outside Tunis, and the beauty of the country has left me itching to see more. There is so much left to see, so many things I want to know. I feel like I am contributing in some small way, as a part of a team of people I am proud to call my friends. Every day is its own adventure, and every day I am learning. And for me, that’s enough to make me stick around.

A better view (by Rabii Kalboussi)

The Malian Coup

Yesterday I had the great privilege of speaking with a Tuareg man from Mali. He runs community programs for his people in Timbuktu. I was writing a piece about the coup in Mali, and I wanted some background about the Tuareg rebellion- the catalyst that led Mali's army to seize power from the government.

I don't know how long the interview lasted, but my pen could not write fast enough. The scope of the Tuareg's history, their migrations and discontent, their history in conflicts from Libya to Niger, was staggering. I felt a deep sympathy for this people without a home, but at the same time I ached for the soldiers being pitted against their superior weapons and tactics.

When I hung up the phone, I was exhausted. My colleague across the desk looked at me, quite worried, but I just shook my head. What can someone do in the face of a conflict that has lasted for over a hundred years?

My answer was, as it has always been, to write about it. I was overwhelmed, but my fellow editors and journalists at Tunisia Live encouraged me to dig deeper, and to write the article I have linked below. I hope you will read it, because Mali needs the world to understand what has been going on for too long inside their borders.

Click the link: The Malian Coup - Decades of Rebellion and One Night of Gunfire


A Tuareg in Algeria sits in his army fatigues. Photo by Garrondo, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

Tunisia Live

Hello all!
I am now settled in my new job in Tunis, Tunisia. Posts might be sporadic as I learn the ropes of my new home and position as an editor for Tunisia Live.
Check out www.tunisia-live.net for articles I write or have collaborated on. And follow me on Twitter for more consistent updates on what I am doing or working on.
Merci!

January 31st Protest

It was to be expected: I arrived early, like I usually do. The protest started late, as things in Africa usually do.



I met up with the team from Al Jazeera and let them know that the police were setting up just past the monument. We got some shots of them forming a perimeter around 2:30pm, well before anyone arrived for the demonstration, which was scheduled for 3pm in La Place de L'Obelisque (or, as some old-school Dakar residents will know it as, The Monument).



By around 4 pm a crowd of a few hundred had gathered. It was a mixture of mostly men, groups of young women, children and a few older women milling about in the triangle in front of the Obelisque. I stopped one elderly lady and asked her why she was there.

"Wade needs to leave," she said. "We are tired of him."
"Are you here for your family?" I asked
"I am here for myself, I am here for everyone."

Another young woman said in an interview with Al Jazeera that she didn't understand why Wade had told Gaddafi to leave office, but now was insisting on his right to run for a third term.



As the people grew quiet and bored waiting for the M23 leaders to arrive, Y'en a Marre was assembled behind the monument. They held signs, chanting and singing in preparation to march to the open area in front of L'Obelisque.



Then opposition leader Macky Sall arrived, waving from an SUV as his supporters walked down the street yelling. This was where things got going. By the time they reached the square there were thousands gathered.



As I walked across the sand to the other side of the monument, I stopped to take a picture of three little boys. They were quite fascinated by my audio recorder, and one little boy started talking into it quite loudly in Wolof. One of his friends laughed and told him to speak in French. I managed to piece together that they were Idrissa Seck supporters.

"He's going to help us," they said.

"And what about Wade?" I asked

"We want him to go."



I gave them my orange for their trouble and hoped they would get out of there before things started to heat up.

The Al Jazeera team and I headed to the upper floor of a nearby building to watch from the balcony. Y'en a Marre marched on the square, forming a huge mass of people that filled the space in front of the monument and the surrounding street.

Then Youssou N'Dour arrived. A huge cheer went up from the crowd. There was a definite air of celebration and hope in the air as people sang the national anthem of Senegal. It was quite moving to see so many people (my estimate would be over 10,000) coming together to stand up for their rights as citizens of this country.



When the speeches began I decided it was time to leave and caught a taxi home. Just in time apparently, since people began tweeting that the protesters were burning tires and the police were shooting tear gas soon after I left. Several people have been injured tonight, and reports say that one young person has died after being run over by a police vehicle. After watching a video of the attack, I am shocked more people were not killed. The armored police vehicle drove right into a crowd near the Obelisque, as another truck came behind firing shot after shot of tear gas.

Here is the report by Al Jazeera that I helped with. I'm just a bit tired now, so it might give you the information my muddled brain missed.

Good night everyone. Pray for peace in Senegal.

AJE Interview

My interview with Al Jazeera English about the current situation in Senegal should air on the 9pm news from London, UK tonight.

Update: Senegal

Here is what has happened since my last post:

- Riots on Friday left one police officer dead, and the remnants of burned tires and market tables in the streets
- Senegal's Constitutional Court has said that Youssou N'Dour is not eligible to run, as 4000 of his required signatures were deemed invalid
- The court denied the appeals of N'Dour (to be able to run), the opposition (to disqualify Wade) and Wade (to disqualify certain opposition candidates)
- A youth who was said to be a leader in the M23 protest movement was killed in Podor
- 80% of news websites operating out of Senegal are said to be not functioning properly
- An M23 protest is scheduled for 3pm tomorrow at Place de l'Obelisque
- The opposition and Youssou N'Dour have all been quoted as saying that they will not allow Wade to become president for a third term. Opposition parties say that they will make the country "ungovernable".

In all this, the international media is starting to realize that the story is not that Youssou N'Dour, international superstar, is getting into politics- it's that 80+-year-old Wade isn't getting out of politics.

More updates are posted on my Twitter.