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December 17: Mohammed Bouazizi, an 26-year-old man trying to support his family by selling fruits and vegetables in the central town of Sidi Bouzid, douses himself in paint thinner and sets himself on fire in front of a local municipal office.
Police had confiscated his produce cart because he lacked a permit and beat him up when he resisted. Local officials then refused his hear his complaint. He is taken to a hospital near Tunis for treatment of his third-degree burns.
Bouazizi's act of desperation highlights the public's boiling frustration over living standards, police violence, rampant unemployment, and a lack of human rights. The protests begin in Sidi Bouzid that same day. They quickly spread across the region, then the country.
December 20: Mohamed Al Nouri Al Juwayni , the Tunisian development minister, travels to Sidi Bouzid to announce a new $10 million employment programme. Protests continue unabated.
There's no need, if everyone goes out and does their civic duty (votes, local and federal elections) the voice of the majority will be heard. Simple as that.
The important detail they left out of the story is that this vendor had been questioned about his permit by a female inspector who had slapped him across the face. Considering the position of females in this society that was the height of mortification to a muslim man.
You really can't assess the story properly without knowing that fact.
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