Thousands of Tunisians gather on Avenue Bourguiba for the one year anniversary of the fall of Ben Ali

Photo: Jessica Kulig

A man attending mass at the Cathedral of St. Vincent de Paul, the see of the Archdiocese of Tunis, on the day after the one-year anniversary of the fall of Ben Ali

Photo: Jessica Kulig

Campaign posters from the October 23 elections in Tunisia

Photo: Jessica Kulig

The Tunisian military and police forces stationed in front of the Interior Ministry on January 14, 2012

Photo: Jessica Kulig

A man dressed as Ben Ali walks through the crowded streets of Tunis on January 14, 2012

Photo:Jessica Kulig

Reflecting Back from the US

Yesterday, our group arrived back in Boston after 12 days in Tunisia. While we once again failed as a group to post enough content on our blog that is because we were incredibly busy throughout our entire trip. These NIMEP trips are always fast-paced, non-stop experiences, and this trip was no exception. Compared to past NIMEP trips, we moved around more frequently. Our four-day trip outside of Tunis to Sousse, Kairouan, Sfax, and El Djem was exhausting as we were leaving our comfort zone by heading out of the Tunisian capital. We had some experiences with food poisoning and other illnesses that were partially the result of traveling to places without a well-developed tourist industry. However, our experiences outside of Tunis were overwhelmingly positive as a result of the students that we met in Sfax. This group, led by Oussama El Echi, was incredibly kind in taking three days of their time during finals to show us around their hometown and nearby El Djem. Without their hospitality, our trip would not have been the same. They arranged everything for us from lodging to meetings to food, so we owe them a ton of thanks.

This part of the trip took us to areas of Tunisia that are less developed than Tunis, but they are not part of the nation's interior where the worst protests are occurring. We did not visit Sidi Bouzid, Kasserine, Gafsa, and other parts of the country that are having the greatest economic difficulties. However, in just seeing the differences between coastal Tunisia and Tunis, it is clear that the large differences between these areas are nothing compared to the larger differences between Tunisia coastal and interior regions. For the revolution to truly be successful, the relatively strong economy in Tunis is going to first have to reach the other coastal cities and most importantly, the interior cities where people continue to set themselves on fire. I wish we could have traveled to these cities, but it simply was not possible with the nature of our trip.

The lasting image that I am going to have from this trip is the sight of the Avenue Bourguiba on January 14th 2012. While our photographer will add more pictures of the scene in the coming days, I was struck by the protests. Around noon, myself and two other trip members sat down with a dozen bloggers at a cafe outside the El Hana International Hotel. These bloggers were nervous about the day as they thought their revolution had been taken over, which is somewhat true. Our table was directly across the street from the National Theater, which was the epicenter of the En-Nahda victory celebrations. Therefore, we could hear the En-Nahda chants most easily. They talked about everything from celebrating the departure of Ben-Ali to solidarity with Palestine, the Syrian National Congress, and the rebels in Libya. While En-Nahda was the largest group taking to the Avenue Bourguiba that day, many other group marched as well in very close proximity. There was the CPR, Ettakatol, the Salafists (banned from the elections), the socialists (the Etajeeds), PDP, the Communists, and many other group/individuals expressing their hopes for the future of Tunisia and their complaints about the current state of Tunisia. Many people (including these bloggers) were protesting the visit of the Emir of Qatar as many secular Tunisians are afraid that the Qatari-supported En-Nahda will turn Tunisia into a country with Islamic values similar to the Gulf states.

While many of the messages being expressed on the Avenue Bourguiba were not optimistic, I found the scene to be overwhelming hopeful. Just over a year ago it would have been impossible for Tunisians to express themselves freely in the streets. While Tunisians are no longer united, they were only truly united behind one message in wanting Ben-Ali to leave. Now that Tunisia is an emerging democracy, people are expressing their democratic rights. It is only natural for the messages to conflict. As long as these protests and manifestations continue to occur peacefully and do not hamper the country's economic recovery (i.e. strikes), then I am fully supportive of these protests. Days like January 14th show that Tunisians are making the most of their fledging democracy. Tunisia still has a way to go in securing its democracy, but the overall message is guardedly optimistic as the basic freedoms of democracy seem secure. Sure, people express scary messages, but as long as they adhere to democracy, the future seems brighter for Tunisia.

Official January 14th Anniversary Ceremony in Tunis

Emir Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani of Qatar speaks at the Congress Building in Tunis on the one year anniversary of the fall of Ben Ali. Other guests of President Marzouki include Algerian president Abdelaziz Bouteflika, the head of Libya's NTC Moustapha Abdeljalil, and Moroccan Foreign Minister Saad-Eddine El Othmani.

Ennahda founder Rached Ghannouchi speaks to the press at the end of the ceremony.

Photos: Jessica Kulig